Land of Salvation: A Cinematic Journey Through the History of the Fight Against Tuberculosis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37130/DrHvol6iss1pp123-142Keywords:
Land of Salvation, Sotiria Museum, Sotiria Archive, Medical museology, Tuberculosis trauma, Collective healing, Dissonant heritage, Cinematic storytelling, Memory of space, DocufictionAbstract
This article presents Land of Salvation, an 18-minute docufiction film created in 2024 as part of the Sotiria Museum’s curatorial design. The museum is housed within one of Greece’s most historic pulmonary hospitals, a former sanatorium for tuberculosis patients in Athens. Structured around three axes—Museum Collection, Sotiria Archive and Monumental Space—the study investigates how cinematic narration and museological practice can reinterpret the history of tuberculosis in Greece. By giving visibility to patient voices and focusing on trauma-informed heritage, it examines how a difficult medical past can be reframed, contributing to collective healing. The conception and script of the film were grounded in long-term research on the Museum Collection and the Sotiria Archive, which preserves belongings left behind by former patients from the 1940s to the 1970s. Filming, captured immediately before the exhibition’s installation, took place in the museum, a restored yet empty space. Drawing on four narrative characters, the film aligns with a broader shift in medical museums toward more human-centered storytelling, while also prompting reflection on unconventional monuments, which are often overlooked or contested. Although produced within a specific framework, the film aims to stimulate additional research and to serve as an open platform for further reflection.
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