2009 Guy Königstein

Family Stories

A literal representation of the thread of life.

Family Stories is comprised of two stop motion films focused on the shifting dynamics of family history and family relationships.

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Guy Königstein - family stories - saron paz

In Family Stories family members are represented by colorful spools of thread. The spools roll through their lives, 
changing direction when they move away or back home, crossing other people's life lines, joining them for a while and sometimes separating from each other again.

The first film, Moving Family investigates the history of movements of Königstein's own Jewish family over the last four generations - starting in central Europe at the end of the 19th century, over the Holocaust, the first years in Palestine and Israel's foundation and ending with the six children of the family scattered all over the globe.

In the second film, Home Feeling, an emotional component is added. The relationships between the members of the family and their emotions toward each other and toward their home are visualized by knots in the threads. The personal thread-lines undulate and become knotted during family conflicts, entwine when reconciliation is sought, and spin a colourful and complex web around the parental home. The film focuses in on the last five years of the family and shows the way they handle the complex question of the future of their home.

More information about Guy Königstein can be found here.