Rethinking the Trend of Personal Films in the Post-Cinema State: Aftersun (2022) as Essay Film

The post-cinema era is witnessing a trend of personal films created by filmmakers of the young generation, in which the lack of public value has always been questioned in circles of criticism. However, their refreshing and acknowledged performance in recent years drives this article to reflect the former perspective of judgment. By criticizing the "public" and "private" concepts used in prevailing criticism through Deleuze's film philosophy, this article first elaborates on the philosophical foundation of the criticism in the post-cinema state. Then based on the perspective of re-building film-philosophy, this article takes Charlotte Wells's Aftersun (2022) as an example of the new possibilities emerging in this trend, arguing that it is an accomplished essay film in terms of open-ended texts, the multiplicity of media, and the participating audience. By analyzing the relationship between the media consciousness of the director and the reduction of personal memory, this article concludes that rethinking the trend of personal films as fertile land for practicing essay film, which is an important form of participatory art in the post-cinema era, pointing to the cinematicity to be realized in the future.