An experimental take on the little-known Filipino-American War: a hybrid between documentary and fiction, a weaving of stories in which stylised historical recreations, attempts at interviews with unwitting present-day US citizens, oral history and animation all have their place.
The Filipino-American War is quite possibly the past century’s least known armed conflict, especially troubling as its horrors foreshadowed so many of the horrors to come. Everything that we later saw in the Korean, Vietnam and, most recently, the Gulf Wars - from water boarding to search-and-destroy tactics - already happened during the USA’s first major 'civilizing mission' abroad, as it was sold to the public at the time.
Memories of a Forgotten War is an experimental take on that behemoth of a hole in history: a hybrid between documentary and fiction, a weaving of stories in which stylised historical recreations, interview attempts with unwitting present-day US citizens (one of them wondering in all seriousness whether the war was fought over rice- eating preferences!), oral history and animation all have their place.