We Don’t Talk Like We Used To

We Don't Talk Like We Used to Do was part of IDFA program in 2023, and withdrawn by the filmmaker. Upon the request of the filmmaker, we publish the following text as received:

"This film was one of 12 to withdraw from participation at IDFA 2023, amongst 28 total withdrawals that included moderators, jury, and others in protest at the festival's damaging denunciation of an action in solidarity with Palestine that took place on the opening night of the festival. At the time, the festival erased all information relating to the films withdrawn in protest from the website. In response to the publication of the Palestine Film Institute's 'Industry Protocol in Times of Genocide' in August 2024, and as a gesture towards transparency, IDFA reinstated the information relating to the withdrawn films in September 2024. No further accountability has been taken.”  - The Palestine Film Institute on behalf of the filmmakers, for the full statement click here

Film Synopsis

In recent years, artist Joshua Gen Solondz has divided his time between the US, Hong Kong and Japan, always with his camera at the ready. The result is a compilation of images in which medical face masks alternate with rubber SM masks, tourists take photos that you know will never be looked at again, the sun sparkles into the camera lens, a corny joke is followed by an abstract image, and casually written texts seem to address the viewer directly with mysterious messages.

The jerky rhythm of the editing is like a visual version of a hip-hop DJ’s scratching. The images are spread out into impressionistic strips or cut into a flickering bombardment of light. In his experimental film, Solondz explores the no-man’s-land between impressionistic travelogue, a psychological hall of mirrors and a cinematic noise rock show. Packaged in this overwhelming form, the maker addresses topics such as aging, rootlessness, lust, love and the need to make art.