Experiencing Interruptions?

MONUMENT

MONUMENT is a series of three short films (TAPE, ERASURE, and PILE) that grieve the loss of my childhood home. I wrote, filmed, and edited these experimental documentary films, which are meant to be viewed in this order. Featuring sentimental objects and archival footage (VHS home movies from the '90s, an old tape cassette from 71', and an old voice recorder from 2010), I worked with the themes of nostalgia, control, impermanence, and immortality to reach a level of acceptance. Every object has something to say. They keep the past alive. This is my attempt to preserve that history as a digital monument so that their stories will never leave me. As the family historian, I took it upon myself to archive as many artifacts as I could. I'm trying to hold onto all of it before it's gone.
I've learned a lot about myself and the human experience through this project. I hope you can connect with my nostalgia as we all learn to navigate change, which is the only constant in life.
A special thank you to Caleb Michael, who coincidentally created a song (MONUMENT) years ago, that fits this narrative so well, and for all of your helping working on the house.
View the full-length film (18 mins): MONUMENT here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ3K1...​
and View the MONUMENT collection photo series) here: https://padlet.com/JElizaWall/MONUMENT ​.

  • Joy Waldinger
    Director
  • Joy Waldinger
    Writer
  • Joy Waldinger
    Producer
  • Joy Waldinger
    Editor
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Short
  • Runtime:
    18 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    May 6, 2021
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Joy Waldinger

I am an artist, writer, filmmaker, and educator from Philadelphia. I write, produce, direct, film, and edit my short films. Ever since I was about 10 years old, I’ve been filming with whatever junky camera I could get my hands on and instructing those closest to me to breathe life into one of my scripts. I have been published in PhillyVoice, CRED Philly Magazine, The Sun Magazine, and Evening Street Review. I was the Lloyd E. Penland Scholarship recipient (2012), received honorable mention for my short story “Cicada Crescendo” in the 2020 CRAFT Elements Contest (2020), placed third in The Bucks County Short Story Fiction Contest (2017) and The Bucks County Community College Haiku Contest (2012). I am a volunteer curator for Button Poetry and I recently self-published my children’s book Like The Sun Holds The Moon: A Children’s Book on Amazon.

Recently, I’ve turned my stories and poems into short films.
HEY, IT’S MOM: selected for the Ridgway Independent Film Fest (2020)
THANKS, DAD: selected for the (2020) Short to the Point ISFF AWARDS and
Semi-Finalist for the October-November bimonthly for DFF (Dumbo Film Festival)
DESIGNED TO FAIL: won for WRPN Women’s International Film Festival (2021)
SACRED: Won Indie Super Short Documentary for the Best Indie Film Award (January 2021) AND
Official selection for the Global Indie Film Fest
Official selection for the Beyond Film Festival 2021
JURASSIC AGGRESSIVE: Semi-Finalist for Iconic Images Film Festival (2021)
POCKET: honorable mention for the Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival
Finalist for the International Short Film Awards
WINNER for the Hong Kong Indie Film Festival April 2021
NOURISHMENT: finalist for the Paris International Short Festival (2021)
TAPE: finalist for the Toronto Independent Film Festival of Cift (2021)

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