DIARY FOR MY CHILDREN

Diaries are supposed to impose a certain order on memory. The first images of bombed-out Budapest already exhibit a high degree of chaos. Flashbacks intermingle with stock footage: symbols not only for instability, but also for the universal insecurity and distrust that overshadows all interaction. It is 1947 and the orphan Juli is still a minor, an adolescent attempting to reconcile the puzzle pieces of her memory with the events unfolding around her. Rebellious and wary, she refuses to accept simple explanations. DIARY FOR MY CHILDREN is the first chapter in Márta Mészáros’ autobiographical trilogy, in which she confronts her past against the backdrop of the post-war years and shares a personal view of history in the process.