Each person at Pennhurst had a File. Each person at Pennhurst had a Life.

File/Life is a community-led exploration of the Pennhurst archives produced by the Insitute on Disabilities, Temple University, CEHD. Seven archivists (all people with disabilities and/or family members) share stories from the archives that made them listen, feel, imagine, and remember. In doing so, they ask the question: Can a file ever contain a life? Stories are told through a variety of mediums, including short films of varying artistic styles, that together create an hour-long, deeply personal, visual, and aural exploration of the archives.

The film is a co-creation between media artist María Teresa Rodríguez and the File/Life team developed over 20 months. The compilation film will be screened at Scribe on Saturday, December 14th with a discussion with the File/Life collaborators to follow. The film and some installation materials will be on view at Scribe through Saturday, December 21.

File/Life Team (Community Archivists, Collaborating Artists, Film Crew, and Design): Jonathan Atiencia, David Bradley, Alex Catanese, Leah Day, Cait Giambroni, Harold Gordon, Ramona Griffiths, Sabrina Kariat, Val Keller, Cecilia Lee, Jacob Lee, Elia Lyssy, Danielle Moore, Nate Mucha, Frank Orr, Biany Perez, Virginia Plottier, Nicki Pombier, María Teresa Rodríguez, Mike Schut, Margery Sly, Lisa Sonneborn, and Kevin Stalder.

The film is audio described, open captioned, and ASL interpreted. Major support for File/Life: We Remember Stories of Pennhurst was provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.