A Photographic Memory

Play trailer

2:37

A Photographic Memory

2025

1h 27m

Documentary

Biography

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

18 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

A daughter attempts to piece together a portrait of her mother, an avant-garde journalist and a woman she never knew. Uncovering the vast archive Sheila Turner-Seed produced, including lost interviews with iconic photographers Henri Cartier-Bresson, Gordon Parks, and Lisette Model, the film explores memory, legacy and stories left untold.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Kat Sachs

Chicago Reader

06/29/2025

It attempts to close the gap between the filmmaker and her mother and, in the process, does so between the viewers and her mother, an artist gone before her time.

Go to Full Review

Robert Abele

Los Angeles Times

06/23/2025

This poetic gem is a journey from the weight of absence to the serenity of presence, thanks in no small part to the inquisitive, gifted woman pulled from obscurity: Sheila Turner-Seed, whose life was short but full and worth revitalizing.

Go to Full Review

Michael Phillips

Chicago Tribune

06/23/2025

3.5/4

Without playing with anyone’s life, “A Photographic Memory” makes beautiful sense of the connections between mother and daughter, work and love and other mysteries.

Go to Full Review

Todd Jorgenson

Cinemalogue

06/20/2025

Although it might seem familiar in concept, this documentary about artistic legacies and family bonds is quietly powerful on multiple levels.

Go to Full Review

Steven Prokopy

Third Coast Review

06/20/2025

3/4

Rachel Seed might not have been the ideal candidate to make this movie, but it’s clear she needed to do it more than any outside creative might have...

Go to Full Review

Rob Thomas

Not That Rob Thomas (Substack)

06/18/2025

3/4

“A Photographic Memory” is an achingly personal film about Rachel’s attempts to stitch together a new kind of memory from those archival materials, to not just understand a woman she never knew but to somehow feel her mother’s presence within her.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Gaspar M

Aug 3

A mezmerizing and heartfelt documentary about a daughter whose mother died when she was 18 months old. I highly recommend seeing it !

See more

Srini V

06/29/2025

Great to see an independent filmmaker persisting with an important project about her mother for 13 years. The editing makes the movie a great story, aspects of which we can all relate to.

See more

Laird K

06/29/2025

A wonderful personal memoir of a woman's search for the mother who died when she was an infant. The mother and daughter were/are both professional photographers and film makers and the story takes advantage of the fact that everyone in the family captured life on film or audio, including a series of interviews the mother did with the greatest photographers of the second half of the 20th century. A wonderful story, beautifully produced.

See more

Stephen C

@bob25009 Jul 19

Real footage in 1 hour and 27 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $28,800.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dubbed and subtitled in worldwide studios!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Rachel Elizabeth Seed

Director

Rachel Elizabeth Seed

Self

Rachel Elizabeth Seed

Producer

Danielle Varga

Producer

Matthew Perniciaro

Producer

Michael Sherman

Producer

My Mom Jayne

100%

95%

My Mom Jayne

Watchlist

TRAILER

for My Mom Jayne

Salt in My Soul

100%

96%

Salt in My Soul

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Salt in My Soul

Martha

90%

94%

Martha

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Martha

Art for Everybody

100%

%

Art for Everybody

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Art for Everybody

Frida

90%

79%

Frida

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Frida

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

A Photographic Memory: Trailer 1

2:37

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

A daughter attempts to piece together a portrait of her mother, an avant-garde journalist and a woman she never knew. Uncovering the vast archive Sheila Turner-Seed produced, including lost interviews with iconic photographers Henri Cartier-Bresson, Gordon Parks, and Lisette Model, the film explores memory, legacy and stories left untold.

Director: Rachel Elizabeth Seed
Producer: Rachel Elizabeth Seed, Danielle Varga, Matthew Perniciaro, Michael Sherman, Sigrid Dyekjær
Distributor: Zeitgeist Films
Production Co: Bow and Arrow Entertainment, CapaRiva Films
Genre: Documentary, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 12, 2025, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 26, 2025
Box Office (Gross USA): $28.8K
Runtime: 1h 27m