Documentary Films - Competition 2009 / Lessons from the Night / Australia 2008
During the routine execution of her job, a Bulgarian immigrant named Maia – one among the nameless hordes of male and female cleaners – muses about life and its meaning, thus allowing a look into her surprisingly diverse past. This existential film about cleaning is also a tribute to the thousands of anonymous individuals carrying out serious work for laughable pay.
Darkness falls on the town, and thousands of anonymous individuals are just beginning their work shifts. Equipped with cleaning supplies, they move silently through shopping centers and office buildings, leaving behind dozens of empty wastebaskets and myriad square meters of polished floors. During the routine execution of her job, a Bulgarian immigrant named Maia – one among the nameless hordes of male and female cleaners – muses about life and its meaning, thus allowing a look into her surprisingly diverse past. The director calls his short documentary an existential film about cleaning.
9 min / Color, HD CAM
Director Adrian Francis
/ Screenplay Adrian Francis
/ Dir. of Photography Marcus Dineen
/ Editor Adrian Francis
/ Producer Melanie Brunt
/ Production Feather Films
/ Contact Feather Films
www: www.featherfilms.com.au/lessons-from-the-night
Adrian Francis traveled through Europe and Asia after studying film and making several short features. After a four-year stint teaching English in Tokyo, he returned to his native Australia where in 2006 he finished film studies specializing in documentary filmmaking. His short doc Soft Words (2006) took several student awards.
Feather Films
68 Herbert Street, Northcote, 3070, Victoria
Australia
Phone: +61 4 386 800 68
E-mail: [email protected]
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