Split Decision(1979)

Split Decision is an experimental film that weaves together the lives of Lower Manhattan artists with a meditation on how cinema represents reality. The title references a boxing term for a divided judges' vote—here applied to the central conflict between two protagonists seen in fragmented scenes: negotiating a casual encounter in a bar, then dissolving into domestic quarrel at home. The real tension, though, lies in the film's formal approach: a clash between conventional narrative continuity and radical abstraction achieved through computer-generated grids. Shot with early digital imaging predating personal computers, Split Decision blurs the line between soap opera melodrama and avant-garde cinema, featuring an appearance by performance artist Carolee Schneemann. The result is a layered exploration of representation itself, where style and substance become inseparable.