Generation Singles by Jana Počtová

Announced as ”a contemplation of diverse forms of hope and disillusion”, Generation Singles turns out to be a humorous essay on an eternally tangled issue: the romantic relationship at humans. We all know ”it’s complicated” nowadays, but someone finally made a film to dig deeper into real people’s souls. Competing for the best documentary award at Finále Film Festival, Jana Počtová’s film questions the reasons behind the decision to live without a partner. Like it or not, it seems like what people wear on their sleeve as a personal choice is often a more self-esteem-friendly name for bitter resignation.

Generation Singles follows the daily lives of five ordinary people over the course of one year, as they either praise their independence and proudly state they need no partner, or desperately dream of one. Director Počtová sneaks into their personal history and knows exactly what and how to show to stir our interest: not only do we laugh at their quirks, but we also sigh as the smiles fade when we realize how universal their problems are.

One man speaks about the importance of looks, another one complains that ”your skin gets thicker after every fleeting relationship”, a woman laughs at her friends who think that she would accept any man just because she is still single at 30 and the next one puts the blame on fairy tales for believing in the knight in shiny armour. As we watch these people go through unimaginable social games in the quest for someone to share their lives with, we get attached and also start questioning things: we get used to the idea that life is empty without a partner, but are all humans really made for couple life?

*This correspondence is supported by the Czech Centre Bucharest*