Negative Two | First | 38

Roxy Cinema and Triple Canopy present the premiere of a trilogy by Daniel Chew and Micaela Durand that captures the hypermediation of life and the constant trial of self-representation. The screening of the short films First (2019), Negative Two (2019), and 38 (2021) will be followed by a conversation with Matías Piñeiro, an award-winning filmmaker whose work was recently featured at the New York Film Festival.

Chew and Durand’s films probe the compulsion to be “extremely online” while navigating the entanglement of desire, self-representation, sexuality, race, and class (as well as the streets and dance clubs of New York City). Rather than represent the internet on screen, First, Negative Two, and 38 transpose the prevalent norms—the sense of distraction and simultaneous conversations, the relentless documentation of mundane activities, the parasocial relationships—into film. By doing so, Chew and Durand convey the actual feeling of always being online whether or not a device is present, whether seeking solace or sex.

The screening will be followed by a conversation between Chew, Durand, and Piñeiro, whose films often examine the dramatization of private feelings and intimate relationships.

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Micaela Durand and Daniel Chew are a filmmaker duo based in New York. Their work has been shown in the United States and abroad at venues including the International Film Festival Rotterdam, New York Film Festival, MoMA PS1 (New York City), White Columns (New York City), MOCA Los Angeles, the Shed (New York City), Sheffield DocFest, and Le Cinéma Club. They have received fellowships from MacDowell and the Jerome Foundation. They are currently developing their first feature film.

Triple Canopy is a New York–based magazine that publishes digital works of art and literature, books, and software, among other media and experiences.