This presentation focuses on a body of work stemming from research conducted at the Alinari's Photographic Archive in Florence, Italy. It consists of an essay film titled Negotiating Amnesia, an exhibition and pedagogic project that, focusing on the Ethiopian War of 1935-36, aim to expose the legacy of the Italian, fascist imperial drive. Mostly built out of archival images, Negotiating Amnesia employs a self-reflexive voiceover to deconstruct the colonial gaze and explore the way the colonial past has been marginalised in post-fascist Italy, revealing different strategies that have contributed to the creation of a collective amnesic culture.

Jayne Pucknell, archivist at Bristol Archives, will introduce a selection of film clips from the British Empire and Commonwealth Collection. Shot mostly by British families living and working in Empire and Commonwealth countries, the archive contains over 2000 amateur films made between the 1920s and 1970s. This selection highlights a few of these rare, personal perspectives of life in the British colonies.

Lord Moyne was a wealthy and well-connected Anglo-Irish aristocrat who sought contact with the most inaccessible places and people. He explored the south coast of Papua and visited the Asmat people there. This recovered silent film provides a unique view of this encounter, showing both visitors and local people involved in exchange and mutual recognition. The material now offers opportunities for contemporary Asmat people and Moyne's heirs to reassess aspects of their past.