Map and territory of memory

Archiving and rewriting in Les années Super 8 by Annie Ernaux and David Ernaux-Briot

Abstract

Les années Super 8 (Ernaux and Ernaux-Briot, 2022) can be interpreted as a paradigmatic example of how intimate audiovisual archives can be reactivated and given new meaning through contemporary approaches to reading and reflecting on the archive. By revisiting home movies filmed in the 1970s, the constitutive violence of the archival process —the acts of selection, exclusion and silencing— is revealed, producing a polyphonic narrative that interweaves the 'voices' of Philippe Ernaux, David Ernaux-Briot and Annie Ernaux. The analysis addresses three interrelated dimensions: the articulation of multiple temporalities and subjectivities; the intimate-political tension between domestic memory and historical events; and the intertextual dialogue with Ernaux's writing, particularly Les armoires vides (1974). This functions as a counter-archive, destabilising the hegemonic representation of family life. Situating the film at the intersection of feminist theory, archival studies, and cultural memory, the article argues that it exemplifies how personal archives, rather than being neutral repositories of the past, become performative devices of subjectivation. Consequently, it invites us to reconsider audiovisual archives as spaces of emotion, critique, and political intervention, offering new insights into post-digital feminist memory practices.