Documentary-maker Ross McElwee turns the camera on grief after son's death at 27

Documentary film-maker Ross McElwee has released a new film, titled Remake, built around decades of home footage he recorded of his son, Adrian, who died at the age of 27.

McElwee, known for turning his own life and family into subjects of his documentary work, had filmed Adrian for a few minutes most months from infancy into adulthood, tracking milestones in the young man's life. Following his son's death, McElwee said he initially found it difficult to watch the accumulated footage.

When he eventually returned to the material, it became the starting point for Remake, which the director has described as a project born from grief rather than one he would have chosen to make. In the film, McElwee addresses his late son directly, saying he reviews the old footage partly to reassure himself that Adrian was once alive, and partly to come to terms with the fact that he is gone.

The film has been described by early reviewers as a powerful meditation on film-making, memory and loss, exploring how the act of documenting a life can take on new and painful meaning after death.