“Good job—and good job spending Rolex’s money,” says Lin-Manuel Miranda to his protégé, Argentinian filmmaker Agustina San Martín, right after the premiere of her mini-documentary, Childhood Echoes, as the room breaks out in appreciative chuckles. Honestly, his little jest was a much-needed emotional release from the poignant roller-coaster ride that Martín had just taken us on.
Centred on the memories and feelings conjured up by the favourite songs of childhood, the intimate short film depicts how Martín’s interviewees progress from shy awkwardness to natural confidence as they let us into their minds and hearts, moving the audience to laughter and tears. Yet, this short doco is more than just a film. (For the past two years, Miranda and Martín have worked together under the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative’s newly created Open Category as requested by Miranda.) Projected onto three screens, positioned one in front of another, the black-and-white footage exudes a mesmerising, dream-like holographic quality that is enhanced by visuals of swirling smoke, beams of light and an evocative music score.
Part art installation, part film, kicked off the Rolex Arts Weekend, the two-day mini-arts festival that was held at various Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) venues—and it raised the bar
