| Sleepless in New York | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Christian Frei |
| Written by | Christian Frei |
| Produced by | Christian Frei |
| Starring | Helen Fisher Alley Scott Michael Hariton Rosey La Rouge |
| Cinematography | Peter Indergand |
| Edited by | Christian Frei |
| Music by | Max Richter Eleni Karaindrou Giya Kancheli |
Release date |
|
Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Language | English |
Sleepless in New York is a 2014 documentary film about heartbreak and how to overcome it by director and producer Christian Frei. [2]
The documentary film deals with lovesickness, often laughed off as nothing more than an affliction of adolescence. Oscar-nominated director Christian Frei and award-winning cinematographer Peter Indergand dive into the frenzied nights of three people who have recently been rejected: nights full of pain and tears, yet also of wakefulness and creativity. Anthropologist Dr. Helen Fisher reveals the processes that unfold in the brain of the lovesick. She says: "The game of love matters. It matters big time." Exploring the difficult path out of self-destructive, obsessive behavior, toward a new self, "Sleepless in New York" was promoted as "a film for those in love, out of love or looking for love." [3]
Through a deft hand and a great deal of empathy, Frei is able to turn this film into something more. He’s painted a beautiful portrait of people at their most vulnerable.
— Ryan Mcneil, The Matinee [4]
Proof that you can find beauty even in the darkest areas. It’s not the depressing look at love you may be imagining, and we’re witness to people coming through these hard times with a fiery, new spirit, and a renewed outlook on life.
— William Brownridge, The Film Reel [5]
Sleepless in New York is able to superbly personalize those feelings of desertion and anxiety we’ve all felt after a major breakup. The filmmaker takes matters further by welcoming anthropologist Helen Fisher to introduce psychological theories that explain the hurt and why we react the way we do. Her opinions are astounding and the results she delivers are unbelievable.
— Addison Wylie, Wylie Writes Movie Reviews [6]
Festivals:
Sheffield DocFest is an international documentary festival and industry marketplace held annually in Sheffield, England.
Christian Frei is a Swiss filmmaker and film producer. He is mostly known for his films War Photographer (2001), The Giant Buddhas (2005) and Space Tourists (2009).
Helen Elizabeth Fisher was an American anthropologist, human behaviour researcher, and self-help author. She was a biological anthropologist, a senior research fellow, at The Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, and a member of the Center For Human Evolutionary Studies in the Department of Anthropology at Rutgers University. Prior to Rutgers University, she was a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is the largest documentary festival in North America. The event takes place annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 27th edition of the festival took place online throughout May and June 2020. In addition to the annual festival, Hot Docs owns and operates the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, administers multiple production funds, and runs year-round screening programs including Doc Soup and Hot Docs Showcase.
David Fisher is an Israeli documentary film director, producer and lecturer. In 1999–2008, he was Director General of The New Fund for Cinema and Television (NFCT).
Ricardo, Miriam y Fidel is the first feature-length documentary of the Swiss director Christian Frei. It had his premiere at the Swiss film festival Visions du Réel. The film is a portrait of Miriam Martínez and her father, the Cuban revolutionary Ricardo Martínez. Daughter and father are torn between the desire to emigrate to the United States and the faith in the revolutionary ideas.
Space Tourists is a feature-length documentary of the Swiss director Christian Frei. The film had its premiere at the Zurich Film Festival in 2009 and has won the "World Cinema Directing Award" at the Sundance Film Festival in 2010.
You've Been Trumped is a 2011 documentary by British filmmaker Anthony Baxter. The film documents the construction of a luxury golf course on a beach in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, by developer Donald Trump and the subsequent struggles between the locals, Donald Trump, and Scottish legal and governmental authorities.
Encounters South African International Documentary Festival (Encounters) is the premier documentary festival in Africa and one of the oldest film festivals on the continent. It remains one of only a few on the continent that is solely dedicated to the genre. The festival is organised by the Encounters Training and Development Institute. Since its inception, the festival has advanced the currency of documentaries in the country and region, supporting new productions and giving an African platform to international documentaries.
Willem Baptist is a Dutch filmmaker and documentary-director.
The 50 Year Argument is a documentary film by Martin Scorsese and co-directed by David Tedeschi about the history and influence of the New York Review of Books, which marked its 50th anniversary in 2013. The documentary premiered in June 2014 at the Sheffield Doc/Fest and was soon screened in Oslo and Jerusalem before airing on the British Arena television series in July. It was also screened at the Telluride Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival and was seen at the New York Film Festival, in September, and at other film festivals. It first aired on HBO in September 2014 and was given other national broadcasts. It had a limited theatrical release in Toronto in 2015.
A Sinner in Mecca is a 2015 documentary film from director Parvez Sharma. The film chronicles Sharma's Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia as an openly gay Muslim. The film premiered at the 2015 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival to critical acclaim as well as negative controversies. The film opened in theaters in the US on September 4, 2015, and is a New York Times Critics' Pick.
Red Queen Productions is a Toronto-based, Canadian cinema company founded by filmmakers Maya Gallus and Justine Pimlott, dedicated to creating films about women, social issues, culture and the arts. Their films have screened internationally at Sheffield Doc/Fest, Dok Leipzig, SEOUL International Women’s Film Festival, Women Make Waves (Taiwan), This Human World Film Festival (Vienna), Singapore International Film Festival, Frameline Film Festival, Outfest (LA) and Newfest, among others, and have been broadcast around the world. Their work has won numerous awards, including a Gemini Award for Best Direction for Girl Inside.
Haida Gwaii: On the Edge of the World is a 2015 Canadian feature documentary film directed by Charles Wilkinson, and produced by Charles Wilkinson, Tina Schliessler, and Kevin Eastwood for the Knowledge Network. The film premiered on April 28, 2015 at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival where it won the award for Best Canadian Feature Documentary.
Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds is a 2016 documentary about the relationship between entertainer Debbie Reynolds and her daughter, actress and writer Carrie Fisher. It premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and on January 7, 2017, on HBO.
Eliane Raheb is a documentary filmmaker and director from Lebanon. She made her debut as a director with her 2012 film, Layali Bala Noom. Her latest film is Miguel's War from 2021. That film received the Teddy Award for best LGBTW film at the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival.
Death in Arizona is a 2014 autobiographical documentary film by Tin Dirdamal about his return to the empty home of a former lover.
Love & Stuff is a 2020 American documentary film written, directed, and produced by Judith Helfand. It follows Helfand as she deals with her mothers belongings following her death, and becoming a mother.
Acts of Love is a 2021 documentary-fiction hybrid film by Isidore Bethel and Francis Leplay that premiered in Hot Docs's Nightvision section, which focuses on future "cult classics."
Shane Boris, is a film producer and the founder of Cottage M, an independent production house. Boris was nominated for Best Documentary Feature for The Edge of Democracy at the 92nd Academy Awards in 2020. Later, in 2022, Boris produced two acclaimed documentaries, Fire of Love and Navalny, both securing Oscar nominations and marking him the first producer since Walt Disney to be nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature in the same year. Unlike Disney, Boris not only garnered nominations but also won the Oscar in 2023 for Navalny. This dual accomplishment of two nominations and a win set a new record in film history.