When Victoria Mapplebeck found her decades-old Nokia phone hidden in the

back of a kitchen drawer, she was forced to relive a story she had worked
hard to forget.

“I realized I’d unwittingly archived a three-year message thread between

myself and my son’s father,” Mapplebeck told The Atlantic. “The story of our
relationship unfolded in just 100 texts: how we met, dated for a few months,
broke up, and subsequently dealt with an unplanned pregnancy.”

Mapplebeck’s short documentary, 160 Characters, is a poignant excavation of

memory through technology. Over the three years that Mapplebeck and her
son’s absentee father were in communication, conversation was increasingly
replaced by text messages. Like an emotional archaeologist, she chronicles
her former lover’s presence and makes his absence felt using only his digital
remains.

“It felt like a digital hit and run,” Mapplebeck said. “I began this project with a
personal story, but perhaps it also explores a universal story—one in which
we increasingly expect more from technology and less from each other.”

For Mapplebeck, making a film so personal was an exercise in vulnerability

and, ultimately, catharsis. “I didn't want to come across as a victim and neither
did I want to cast my son’s father as a pantomime villain,” she said. “The
situation we found ourselves in was complex. I'm sad about it and sometimes
I'm angry.” Over the years, Mapplebeck has witnessed the psychological
consequences for her son of his father’s decision not to be part of his life. “It’s
been hard at times, but I didn't want the film to be overwhelmed by those
emotions,” she continued. “I felt it was important to create space for viewers to
come to their own conclusions.”