A Sleepless Night

A Sleepless Night

Logline

El struggles to fall asleep, constantly being interrupted by the intrusive memories of the argument she had with her partner, Rory.

Synopsis

El tosses and turns whilst trying to get to sleep. We see into her mind through snippets of her day, from the mundane morning commute, to the intense argument she had with Rory, her partner. Although El pushes away the thoughts of their argument at first, it is something she cannot avoid thinking about, and the audience learns more and more about who was at fault as El gradually relinquishes control and lets the memory take over. We see the argument split up into non-consecutive moments, piecing it together as the narrative continues. The film culminates with El in a void-like space staring at Rory, who is asleep by his desk on the opposite side of the void. She decides to call him and the film ends. 

A few words from the director

A Sleepless Night was inspired by my own sleepless nights, unable to switch my brain off after the stress of the day, and this film's aim to capture this feeling of frustration and share it on screen with an audience. As the project evolved, we developed an experimental approach to the film, seeing how we could contort El's two realities (her attempt at sleeping and the thoughts in her head) visually and create a distinct style for each of them. El is forcefully muffling her thoughts, assuming this is what will help her sleep, and this is something we're intending to show through the cinematography and editing. 

We also wanted to explore how we as a crew could work in a less conventional manner. Our approach throughout has had an emphasis on collaboration - we are a team of creatives working together rather than separate departments that are solely responsible for separate elements. Along with this, we value having the freedom for spontaneous decisions at every point in the filmmaking process, which means each of our crew members has a very strong understanding of both of the characters and their individual idiosyncrasies, strengths, flaws and insecurities. This allows our film to constantly evolve, and we're in a state of ideation from beginning to end, from the drafting of the script, to being inspired to find new camera angles on set, to Artur's final steps of editing. 

We don't 100% know what the film will look like when we're finished - but we all know exactly what it will feel like, and most importantly, that it will be an interesting film!

Who is this aimed at?

A Sleepless Night is a film for anyone who gets overstimulated by their thoughts and has had their own sleepless nights from the difficulty of switching off stressful thoughts. Along with this, it will also appeal to young adults with frictions in their relationships, showing that the arguments that occur between people are often about something deeper than the surface of their disagreement. El and Rory are both flawed - and their own insecurities drive their argument.

Meet the crew!

Madi Mazur (Director/DoP)

Throughout my experiences in film, I have often dabbled in experimental filmmaking, although it hasn't been my main focus. I'm excited to bring out the characters to life, both through action on screen and the way the action is captured. My favourite part of this project is the unorthodox approach to the process; as a frequently inspired person, I love that there is room for spontaneous decisions at every point of our production. 

Sam Page (Producer)

I have produced a number of narrative short films and I am keen to continue applying the knowledge I have learnt on previous projects to new films that I work on, allowing them to reach bigger heights than the last. I am good at keeping organised and work well under pressure and tight deadlines. From previous experiences working on films, I have found that I have good resilience and problem solving ability so if things go wrong they can swiftly be fixed, although I like to be organised to predict where issues could arise before they happen, which is essential when working in an experimental process. 

Inigo Parish (Production Designer)

I love production design as I deeply enjoy world building and using design to create depth and interest within a narrative. This project is no different, it gives me the opportunity to characterise frustration and loneliness within the story. This narrative works with me specifically as it caters itself to the kind of dark and dramatic design that I’m interested in.

Finn Gilbert Jones (Sound Designer)

After finding my own style in more surreal and experimental sound design, A Sleepless Night has sparked much excitement. After leading sound departments on projects looking to uncover more metaphysical ideas and directing an award winning silent short, I am very much looking forward to exploring and expanding the bounds of my sound design and the limits within experimentation on A Sleepless Night. 

Artur Gorbunov (Editor)

This project's narrative is why I love it. There have undoubtedly been times when I've let other things divert my attention, had trouble falling asleep, and gotten into disputes with individuals over things that just wouldn't go away. As an editor, I fully resonate with the character, which will enable me to visually compel this story. I have a lot of expertise with improvisation and a solid foundation in editing techniques thanks to my history in experimental filmmaking and music video editing. I possess a keen eye for detail so I can approach editing from unusual perspectives which is exactly what we are going for. I don't mind taking chances or going against the grain to produce a unique cut.

How will we use the money?

The majority of our budget will go towards production design, aiding Inigo in creating a convincing environment to showcase the personalities of our characters. Along with this, the budget will allow us to compensate our crew for their transport and feed them on shoot days, giving us enough energy to be focused on creating an incredible film. Perhaps the most exciting element is distribution, giving us the opportunity to enter festivals such as BFI Future Film and FUSE festival... maybe we'll even win a Student BAFTA!