A daughter digs through her late mother’s archive and discovers how her own life was shaped by the woman she never knew.
Filmmaker Rachel Elizabeth Seed attempts to piece together a portrait of her mother, Sheila Turner-Seed, an avant-garde journalist who died when she was just 18 months old. Seed’s father had always been reluctant to talk about her mother, so Seed was left to learn about her through her vast journalistic output, including lost interviews with iconic photographers Henri Cartier-Bresson, Gordon Parks, and Lisette Model. As Seed delved into this incredible archive, she unearthed secrets, truths, and a more meaningful connection to her mother—including learning about the ways her mother’s choices continue to shape her own. With film techniques Variety calls “ingenious,” A Photographic Memory is a poignant exploration of recollection, legacy, and stories left untold. (87 mins., DCP)
