Paternal rites
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"Paternal Rites is a first-person essay film that examines the secret underbelly of a contemporary Jewish American family as they grapple with the aftereffects of physical and sexual abuse on their present-day lives. It is also a groundbreaking film about the nature of trauma and memory itself: the ways in which trauma encrypts in uncanny ways; the function of speech and narrative in the process of decryption; and the role of film and filmmaking in the practice of healing. In the fall of 2013 filmmaker Jules Rosskam and his partner, Alex, set out to retrace a road trip that Rosskam's parents completed in the fall of 1974. Interspliced between, we hear present-day audio interviews between Rosskam and a chorus of voices -- including his mother, father, partner, and therapist. Interviews are heard, but the faces of speaking subjects are never seen. Here, Rosskam is attempting to make sense of conflicting narratives of his childhood; still images over live-action footage, colorful animations and hand-painted 16mm film are used to evoke the psychoanalytic process of memory's retrieval and trauma's repair"--Publisher's website
Credits
- Voices
- Jassy Timberlake, Marilyn Rosskam, Skip Rosskam, Alex Samets, Jules Rosskam, Adam Garcia; Rosskam, Jules, film producer, film director, director of photography (editor of moving image work); Marc Smolowitz (film producer); Neely Goniodsky (animator); Kadet Kuhne (composer (expression)); Alex Samets (on-screen participant)
Complete catalog record
Original source: This DVD is a recorded DVD and may not play on all DVD players or drives. | Produced in association with Center for Independent Documentary and Big Vision Creative. | Originally produced in 2018; copyright held by Jules Rosskam. | Animation, Neely Goniodsky ; sound design, composer, Kadet Kuhne.
Original production: [Baltimore, Maryland] : [Jules Rosskam], [2018]
Release: [Chicago, IL] : Video Data Bank, [2019]
Physical description: 1 videodisc (84 min.) : sound, color with black and white sequences ; 4 3/4 in. | 4 3/4 in. | burning | color black and white | monochrome | polychrome | NTSC | video file | DVD video
Subjects: Psychologically abused children -- United States | Sexually abused children -- United States | Parent and child -- United States | Siblings -- United States | Motion picture producers and directors -- Travel -- United States | Adult children of dysfunctional families -- Mental health | Siblings | Early memories | Family secrets | Healing | Parent and child | Psychologically abused children | Sexually abused children | Thought suppression | United States | Rosskam, Jules | Recovery of Function | Documentaries and Factual Films
Country: United States
Original production: [Baltimore, Maryland] : [Jules Rosskam], [2018]
Release: [Chicago, IL] : Video Data Bank, [2019]
Physical description: 1 videodisc (84 min.) : sound, color with black and white sequences ; 4 3/4 in. | 4 3/4 in. | burning | color black and white | monochrome | polychrome | NTSC | video file | DVD video
Subjects: Psychologically abused children -- United States | Sexually abused children -- United States | Parent and child -- United States | Siblings -- United States | Motion picture producers and directors -- Travel -- United States | Adult children of dysfunctional families -- Mental health | Siblings | Early memories | Family secrets | Healing | Parent and child | Psychologically abused children | Sexually abused children | Thought suppression | United States | Rosskam, Jules | Recovery of Function | Documentaries and Factual Films
Country: United States
Sources
- UCLA Library Catalog · record ↗ — title, year, creator, length, format, color, sound, genre, description, credits, catalog record
Record added 2026-11-08 20:56:12