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Marginal Understandings (Dirt: Part Two) (avec sous-titres français)

Marginal Understandings is a poetic exploration of the American relationship to space, the soil, and ownership. While the drama of the European invasion and occupation of the American continent was justified as being the “destiny” of white people, there have always been alternative ways of living on the land, practiced by people who have been pushed to the economic margins.

A collage of poetic imagery, music, and abstracted, incantatory language, the film follows two men in an excavation of our cultural soil, using improvised dialog. Their words gives rise to unexpected landscapes, populated by bats, conquistadors, and flying fiddles. A postmodern video opera, Marginal Understandings bathes the viewer in music, language, and visual spectacle.

  • David Finkelstein
    Director
  • David Finkelstein
    Writer
  • Ian W. Hill
    Writer
  • David Finkelstein
    Key Cast
  • Ian W. Hill
    Key Cast
  • David Finkelstein
    Music composed by
  • David Finkelstein
    Animation and visual design
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Compréhensions Marginales (Le Sol: Deuxième Partie)
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Experimental, Short
  • Runtime:
    22 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    June 1, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    United States, United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States, United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    miniDV
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Millennium Film Workshop
    New York City
    United States
    January 20, 2023
  • Videoformes
    Clermont-Ferrand
    France
    March 18, 2023
  • Les Instants Vidéo
    Marseille
    France
    November 1, 2023
  • Festival de Cine Experimental de Bogotá
    Bogotá
    Colombia
    August 22, 2023
  • Videomedeja
    Novi Sad
    Serbia
    October 13, 2023
  • Traverse Video
    Toulouse
    France
    March 14, 2024
  • Moviate
    Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
    United States
    May 17, 2024
  • West Sound Film Festival
    Bremerton, Washington
    United States
    August 2, 2025
Director Biography - David Finkelstein

DAVID FINKELSTEIN a reçu une bourse Guggenheim en 2022. Ses vidéos on été présentées dans de nombreux festivals autour du monde et ont gagnées des prix à 27 d’entre eux. En 2013, il a été l’un des artistes invités au festival Traverse Vidéo à Toulouse en France. Son premier long métrage à été présenté au New Filmmakers à New York. Ses films ont été exclusivement projetés à Bilbao, New York, Chicago, Portland, Austin, Caroline du Nord, Minnesota, Los Angeles, Londres, Nouvelle Orleans, Philadelphia, et San Francisco. Ses travaux ont été financés par le Fund for Creative Communities, The Field, Movement Research, Meet the Composer, The Brooklyn Arts Exchange, BACA, et d’autres sources.

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