Each person at Pennhurst had a File. Each person at Pennhurst had a Life.

Over nearly eight decades, more than 10,600 people lived at the Pennhurst State School and Hospital. Their lives contain its history. Who are they? What do their stories have to say to us today?

File/Life is a community-led exploration of the Pennhurst archives. Seven archivists (all people with disabilities and/or family members) share stories from the archives that made them listen, feel, imagine, and remember. In doing so, they ask the question: Can a file ever contain a life? Stories are told through a variety of mediums, including short films of varying artistic styles, that together create an hour-long, deeply personal, visual, and aural exploration of the archives.

The film is a co-creation between media artist María Teresa Rodríguez and the File/Life team developed over 20 months. 

File/Life Community Archivists and Collaborating Artists: Jonathan Atiencia, David Bradley, Harold Gordon, Ramona Griffiths, Cecilia Lee, Jacob Lee, Danielle Moore, Frank Orr, Biany Perez, Nicki Pombier, María Teresa Rodríguez, Margery Sly, and Lisa Sonneborn.

The compilation film will be screened at Scribe on Saturday, December 14th with a discussion with the File/Life collaborators to follow. The film and some installation materials will be on view at Scribe through Saturday, December 21.

Film is audio described, open captioned, and ASL interpreted.