Dinner as I Remember 2016 Directed by Francis Almendárez
In Dinner as I remember, a voiceover narrative recalling the period of time leading up to dinner during childhood is superimposed with a slideshow of images of typical dishes eaten in Central America and the Caribbean. The images are mostly shot candidly as commonly seen on social media: some really close up while others set further back, enough to show family members sharing a meal. The title and the tone in the voiceover imply a longing for those foods and of familial/cultural belonging, while also re-framing those intimate moments and family dynamics at the dinner table as parts of larger concerns. The viewer is essentially taken on a journey re-thinking the concept of “family dinner” or “dinner at a table” as a communal/sacred tradition and acknowledging how the foods we eat, as ordinary as they may seem, are layered with histories, cultures, and politics of their own.
