L'Alternativa 2018: The image you missed

Donal Foreman. USA-Ireland-France-UK, 2018. 73'. Original language, Spanish subtitles.

It's time again for the L'Alternativa Independent Film Festival, this year celebrating its 25th anniversary. Tonight, an Irish filmmaker grapples with the legacy of his estranged father, the late documentarian Arthur MacCaig, through MacCaig's archive spanning decades of the conflict in Northern Ireland. Drawing on over 30 years of unique imagery, 'The Image You Missed' weaves together a history of the Troubles with the story of a son's search for his father. In the process, the film creates a candid encounter between two filmmakers born into different political moments, revealing their contrasting experiences of Irish nationalism, the role of images in social struggle and the competing claims of personal and political responsibility.