Archiving Facts and Documentary Films: Sites of Memorial Struggle for the October 6, 1976, Massacre in Thailand

Abstract

Abstract None of the perpetrators involved in the October 6, 1976, massacre in Thailand have been brought to justice. It has been this “culture of impunity” that limits the possibility of truth projects. Past state violence has been protected by the country's blanket amnesty laws and libel laws. Additionally, unreleased archival materials are restricted from public release by copyright law. Audiovisual and documentary evidence for counter-memory projects are thus challenged. On the other hand, evidence collected by activist archivist groups reveals painful memories from the relatives of victims and provides hope for truth-seeking. Collections of photographs, audio interviews, testimonies, and artifacts are utilized by both archivists and documentary filmmakers to forge claims toward restorative justice. And while the dominant discourse forces society at large to keep silent, historians, archivists, and filmmakers collectively resist forgetting. Together they lay claim to photographic and audio evidence as well as personal painful memories to illustrate and generate public dialogue, telling truths through sight and sound. Some of these archival efforts led to practices in participatory documentary-making. Collectively, these efforts in archival practice and filmmaking give birth to an ethic of immediation in humanitarianism. Thailand's next generation is engaged in recalling memories of past state violence and questioning the present authoritarian regime through archival filmmaking and exhibition practices.