Compensation

Zeinabu irene Davis's 1999 American film tells two relationships in parallel across two periods. One is set at the start of the twentieth century and the other in the nineties; in both, a deaf Black woman is with a hearing man. The film builds its form on that doubling. The early sections were shot in the language of silent cinema, using intertitles, photographs and piano. Sign language scenes are central in both parts. The narrative keeps illness and discrimination in the background, with tuberculosis in the first part and another epidemic in the second. Davis is among the lesser known figures of independent Black cinema and the film was restored years later. Who it's for: those who like American independent cinema and formal experiment. Who it's not for: viewers expecting pace; the film is slow and moves constantly between its two parts.