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The documentary film and educational initiative Objects and Memory is about how we respond to history while it is happening and how we tell our stories through the otherwise ordinary things in our homes and museums that are associated with people, places, and events.

The film was the PBS national prime time special in commemoration of the seventh anniversary of 9/11. With narration by Frank Langella and music by Philip Glass, Objects and Memory invites viewers to consider what they value most, and how we form communities across time.

                                                                                                                                                                                        Objects and Memory is now available for purchase.         The DVD includes additonal interviews, personal stories, and deleted/extended scenes.   Available here.

Objects and Memory will have multiple showings on PBS in the weeks around the 10th anniversary of 9/11:  Check local listings here.

Filmmaker Jon Fein will be appearing at the following events:

  • ABC's 20/20 9/11 special, September 11, 9 pm - with a segment on 9/11 objects

  • September 8: North Central Texas College - film screening and Q&A

  • September 9: North Central Texas College - presentation  

  • September 11: Brooklyn Museum - film screening and discussion

  • September 15: Virginia Commonwealth University - screening and presentation

  •  September 16: National Association for State and Local History annual meeting, Richmond, VA - screening and presentation

Objects and Memory was selected as a winner of the American Association for State and Local History Leadership in History Awards, which were presented on September 24, in Oklahoma City.  These awards are considered the most prestigious national recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history.  [Press Release].

Filmmaker Jon Fein was recently interviewed on Public Radio in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Listen at Public Broadcasting or at iTunes.

Click here to discover the "Objects and Memory Educational Initiative"

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Explore the
Objects and Memory Project

In the face of sudden disruption and inexplicable loss, there is a need to bridge the irreplaceable past with a hopeful future. This film follows people driven to preserve meaningful objects in the aftermath of 9/11 and other upheavals. Otherwise ordinary items come to symbolize experiences, aspirations, and identity. Without the objects, the stories would lack vibrancy; without the stories the objects would lack significance. Taken together, the images of the objects and the stories they evoke lead the viewer on a journey where the commonplace is transformed into the remarkable and where the stuff of history is highly personalized.