Memory Hole

Péter Lichter / Hungary / 2026 / World Premiere / 5 min.

synopsis

35mm propaganda and advertising films and Hungarian political publications lay buried in the earth. Once exhumed, space voyages, chocolate Santas and reports on Putin meet in fleeting flashes amid the ebb and flow of stains, fissures and blooms of colour. The decomposition of matter, media manipulations and data forms the basis of this abstract reading of Orwell’s novel 1984.

“In the walls of the cubicle there were three orifices. To the right of the speakwrite, a small pneumatic tube for written messages, to the left, a larger one for newspapers; and in the side wall, within easy reach of Winston’s arm, a large oblong slit protected by a wire grating. This last was for the disposal of waste paper. Similar slits existed in thousands or tens of thousands throughout the building, not only in every room but at short intervals in every corridor. For some reason they were nicknamed memory holes.” — George Orwell, 1984

biography

Péter Lichter (1984) is a Hungarian experimental filmmaker, theorist and author of publications on film studies. He studied film theory and history at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest. Since 2002, he has been creating abstract found footage films. He is a master of socially critical concision. The Ji.hlava IDFF has screened his films Baroque Femina (Nr.7-11) (2020), Arnheim in Anaheim (2021) and Being Here, Dreaming There (2025).