Second Generation (Miryam Charles, 2019) (Patreon)

A film that hints at a narrative but is presented as an assemblage of fragments, Second Generation suggests a love affair, a pending marriage, a history of migration and resettlement, and a sense that the shifting and unmooring of cultural identities may be playing a role in creating strife between the apparent couple, "M." and "J." Slightly reminiscent of certain films by Su Friedrich, Second Generation creates text / image relationships that are open and vertical, like dense modern poetry, rather than explanatory across time.

At the same time, I am not entirely sure that Charles places as much emphasis on the visual aspect of Second Generation as she does on its writerly elements. This seems to be part of an uncharacteristic trend in this year's programs, with a number of films (The Bite, SaF05, Billy, Sun Rave, This Action Lies) foregrounding language and narrativity over more formal considerations. This could be purely coincidental, or it might point to shifting priorities of our times.