In the early 1900s, Maria, a young working-class mother,
wins a camera in a lottery. Her first impulse is to sell it
for grocery money but instead decides to keep it, changing
her whole life. Maria is married to Sigfrid Larsson, an
unskilled laborer, hard worker, lothario and alcoholic.
In an attempt to sell the camera, Maria meets photographer
Sebastian Pedersen, also known as “Piff Paff Puff," who
persuades her to use the camera, at least once, before
selling it. Pedersen teaches her the fine art of photography
and Maria sees the world through new eyes while “Piff Paff
Puff” sees Maria as the beautiful, talented woman she is.
Maria and her family are weighed down with poverty and hard
work. But in the evenings while Sigfrid sleeps off
drunkenness and the children are tucked into bed, Maria
develops her pictures in the kitchen. Neighbors, potted
plants, the children in the yard and the cat - all become
vibrant and immortalized in her photographs. Maria’s
pictures begin to narrate the reality in which she lives.
She documents poverty, change, the joys of life and the
outbreak of war, as well as a whole society undergoing
transformation.
Her photography and her relationship to "Piff Paff Puff"
open a possible path of freedom and independence to Maria
while also posing a challenge and threat to Sigfrid. Still,
the camera and "Piff Paff Puff," give Maria new strength and
arouse a longing in her that Sigfrid can not stop. Violent
arguments threaten to split the family but also present
opportunities for the family to grow stronger and develop.
EVERLASTING MOMENTS is an account of the great and
fascinating fate of a woman in the first decade of the
Twentieth Century: a time on the verge of being shaken into
massive change. It is a chronicle of people with an
impressive capacity to survive through the infinite gift of
invention and problem solving without bitterness and the
ability to enjoy everyday of life.
© IFC FILMS. All
rights reserved
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