News

The Memories I Ran From Found Me

Opinion

Supported by

Continue reading the main story

The Memories I Ran From Found Me

Feb. 7, 2023, 5:00 a.m. ET
  • Send any friend a story

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share.

    Give this articleGive this articleGive this article
  • +

By Iñaki Dubourg

Mr. Dubourg is a documentary filmmaker.

In 2017, I lived in San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba, and was pursuing my master’s in alternative cinema. I was struggling to find the story I wanted to tell for my thesis film. To distract myself, I played soccer every afternoon with a group of young locals. Inspired by those meet-ups and with no clear narrative direction, I set out to document them, trusting that eventually, those soccer games would inspire a film.

Almost two years after my return, I began to dream about those shoots and the material I got out of them. In the middle of the night, I couldn’t really tell what I had filmed and what was just my imagination. The doubt that kept me awake turned into the film I’d been searching for.

For me, the short documentary above is a celebration of the deep and extreme experiences people can live through while away from home, the memories of which they may never understand entirely.

Iñaki Dubourg is an Argentine filmmaker from Tandil, Buenos Aires Province.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: [email protected].


Op-Docs is a forum for short, opinionated documentaries by independent filmmakers. Learn more about Op-Docs and how to submit to the series. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.

Back to top button