Directed by Kristine Weatherston
American Boy is a short film that tells the story of my mother’s immigration to the United States after the failed 1956 Hungarian Revolution. As a filmmaker, I narrate within the context of four generations of my family, relating my grandfather’s life experiences, my mother’s childhood, and my understanding of these events to my infant son. Much has been written about Cold War history, the notions of the American Dream, and how we construct identity, but I approach this piece with a focus on how issues such as violence, displacement, and family narrative are framed on a micro, personal, and emotional level. Through the use of archive footage, including newsreels, commercials, and promotional videos, as well as images from my own archive of family documents, American Boy explores how found footage and reworked materials combine to build new associations concerning time, memory, and place.
About the Director
Kristine Weatherston is an Assistant Professor of Media Studies and Production at Temple University. She is a doctoral candidate in the Interdisciplinary Media, Art, and Text Ph.D. program at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her background in film and video blends both theory and practice, and she specializes in nonfiction modes of storytelling. She is the proud owner of a Leonberger named Wilson. American Boy is dedicated to her family and her son.