Hito Steyerl's 2007 film 'Journal No.1 – An Artist's Impression' explores lost Yugoslav archives and memory

Hito Steyerl's 2007 documentary 'Journal No.1 – An Artist's Impression' examines the destruction of visual archives during the Bosnian war from 1992 to 1995. The 21-minute film focuses on the Sutjeska film studios archive burning, which erased footage of a 1947 literacy campaign for Bosnian Muslim women. Steyerl uses a double-screen technique to juxtapose memories, incorporating documentary footage like 'Film Journal No.4' and clips from Bosnian feature films such as 'Sjećaš li se Doli Bel' (1981) and 'Valter brani Sarajevo' (1972). Graphic artist Armin recreates missing scenes through drawing while listening to a Bosnian woman's oral testimony. The film questions Yugoslavia's founding myths, particularly the advancement of women's rights against patriarchal Balkan traditions. It visualizes the collision of past and present meanings without nostalgia, addressing memory as a communal act disrupted by violence. Steyerl's approach blends art-based techniques with documentary elements, creating a palimpsest structure that reveals complexities in collective memory formation and destruction. The work serves as an educational tool for understanding memory loss in conflict zones like the former Yugoslavia.