Secondary Dominance is a feature film written and directed by Sarah Small and Wade McCollum. Sarah Small, a 42-year-old artist, is on a multi-decade journey to explore, question, process, and ultimately integrate an episode of sexual abuse perpetrated on her as a young child by her babysitter. A neuroscientist invites Sarah to speak at an academic conference on PTSD, trauma, and the brain. We first meet the artist and this scientist on a Zoom call where they gather to discuss the shape and content of this upcoming presentation. He is specifically interested in learning about how she's used her artistic process, therapeutically, as a way to explore the complexity of trauma. During her presentation at the conference, she decides to read a letter she wrote to her childhood sexual abuser. This triggers an unexpected journey into her psychological landscape illustrating the nonlinearity of memory and transformation. 

The Dragon found in traditional Balkan folklore is a central character in this film. This figure, disguised as a handsome suitor, descends from the sky in a whirlwind of fire, tempting, threatening, and ultimately controlling its young maiden victims. In the film, The Dragon appears in varying forms: costumed, in modern dance attire, and as a motion graphic "Dot" dancing with Sarah to underscores of music ranging from traditional Bulgarian acapella folksongs to angular techno-neoclassical music. 

The film is an interweaving of nonlinear scenes that explore early trauma and its sequelae through the lenses of cognitive science, mythology, dance, music, and visual metaphor.
  • JoinedAugust 7, 2023