Queering the Archive

Archives have traditionally catered to the mainstream, often excluding marginalized voices. We’re excited to introduce a new program that critiques and ‘queers’ the archives.

This collection of three short films either builds queer archives by presenting untold stories or reinterprets existing footage to (re)create narratives. Join us in the auditorium at Het Utrechts Archief to discover what happens when we take control of our own stories.

Few Can See — Frank Sweeney (Ireland, 42 mins)

Broadcasters across Ireland and Britain have entered into a blackout strike. The workers are transmitting a programme bringing censored voices back onto the airwaves. 

Few Can See examines the legacy of broadcast censorship of the violence and political movements during the late 1980s in the north of Ireland. The project weaves archival material with masterful reenactments of that which is absent from state archives due to censorship. 

Grandmamauntsistercat — Zuza Banasińska (Poland/Netherlands, 24 mins)

Created from archival materials from the Educational Film Studio in Łódź, Grandmamauntsistercat tells the story of a matriarchal family through the eyes of a child grappling with the reproduction of ideological and representational systems. A layered found footage exploration of gender roles, family ties, and interspecies kinship in post-communist Poland.

The Archive: Queer Nigerians — Simisolaoluwa Akande (England, 25 mins)

With queer history erased from the national narrative of Nigeria, five queer Nigerians in the UK tell their stories, documenting their experiences so they can never be erased again. From childhood to the present, their stories explore how universal ideas of family, love, and finding oneself are obfuscated within the intersection of blackness, African-ness, and queerness.