Only That Which Lingers
First Months of Freedom
Kriss LiCat, a transgender woman in Tennessee, has been institutionalized since she was four years old but got off parole in 2020, during the pandemic. This piece was composed from phone videos, Skype calls, archival material, and footage that a friend shot a few years before.
Kriss Li, Harvey François and Luísa Cruz present the original and, at times, unexpectedly utopian opinions of their films’ protagonists. The prison industrial complex, psychiatry, and religion are complicated by the filmmakers alongside three stories. The first is told by Cat, a woman and longtime member of the Prisoner Correspondence Project who has been released from prison. The second by Robert Dole, a gay man with schizophrenia whose knowledge of the Christian Bible and mysticism inform his relationship to the illness. The third by Rodrigo, a young man who is expected to become a religious leader in the community he left.
Only That Which Lingers considers what remains when someone walks away from the significant communities and practices that previously organized their lives. First Months of Freedom, Meeting Robert Dole, and Cidade Eclética (Eclectic City) each ask: What are the lasting impacts of the power enacted by these institutions? In what ways can the impact possess a body and mind? How does it alter the way one understands themselves and the world around them? Is there a right kind of institution?
Kriss Li is a multimedia artist who creates films, installations, and conceptual projects that explore structures of
power. Their work has been shown globally, including at DOC NYC, Oberhausen, and Vancouver International Film
Festival. They work as a union organizer in their day job.
Born in Chicoutimi, François Harvey is a musician and filmmaker from the Quebec underground scene. His cinematic approach lies at the frontiers of direct cinema and experimental cinema. He is active in the independent film industry and teaches sound design at Cégep de Jonquière and Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC). He directed several experimental films under the banner of Post Grunge Production.
Luísa Cruz is a filmmaker and producer. Born in Brazil, she has lived in many countries before settling down in Toronto. Eclectic City is her first film; since its production, she has gained interest in Latin American representation, migration, and filmmaking as a tool for exploring personal and collective memories.