The Darkness of Day

THE DARKNESS OF DAY is a haunting meditation on suicide. It is comprised entirely of found 16mm footage that had been discarded. The sadness, the isolation, and the desire to escape are recorded on film in various contexts. Voice-over readings from the journal kept by a brother of the filmmaker’s friend who committed suicide in 1990 intermix with a range of compelling stories, from the poignant double suicide of an elderly American couple to a Japanese teenager who jumped into a volcano, spawning over a thousand imitations. While this is a serious exploration of a cultural taboo, its lyrical qualities invite the viewer to approach the subject with understanding and compassion.

Details

Country of Production
USA

Year of Production
2009

Format
Digi Beta Pal, Beta SP Pal

Length
26 min

Director
Jay Rosenblatt

Production
Locomotion Film

Original Language
English

Festivals / Awards

IDFA 2009
Tampere IFF 2010 (Best Documentary)
It’s All True IDF 2010 (Best Short Documentary)
Krakow IFF 2010 (Best Short Documentary)
Play Doc IDF 2010 (Best Short Documentary)
Punto de Vista IFF 2010 (Special Mention)
San Francisco IFF 2010
Silverdocs IDF 2010
Denver IFF 2010
Oberhausen Short Film Festival 2010
IndieLisboa 2010
ZagrebDox IDF 2010
Buenos Aires International Film Festival
Silverdocs IDF 2010
Cali ISFF 2010 (Best Short Film in the Int. Competition)
Dallas Video Festival 2010
Denver IFF 2010
Winterhur ISFF 2010
Kassel Film and Video Festival 2010
L’Alternativa IFF Barcelona 2010
Festival dei Popoli Florence 2010