The Wakeful Sleeper

NEW DOCS
Dealing with chronic sleeplessness, filmmaker Boris Van der Avoort undertakes a personal quest to examine his mental and physical space, looking for clues to his insomnia. He begins by “entering differently into the night,” making his observations about the behavior of nocturnal people, places, and things on a literal and figurative map of restless nights. The investigation translates cinematically as an essayistic journey, with the filmmaker as tour guide, researcher, and subject. Experts too are drawn into his mission in the forms of a naturalist, hypnotist, and therapist, among others. Images and vignettes are beguilingly superimposed, spellbinding sequences of dream-logic are intertwined with lucid encounters, and the narration is inquisitive and contemplative, which all combine in a shrewd reverie. The Wakeful Sleeper traces recognizable constellations out of seemingly disparate insights, unfolding in scenes that are alternately playful, disquieting, and inventive—like a dream. TM
Filmmaker Q&A available
Closed Captioning available
This film is only available to viewers in the United States
Director
Boris Van der Avoort
Producer
Marie Kervyn
Executive Producer
Marie Kervyn
Editors
Rudi Maerten, Boris Van der Avoort
Cinematographers
Boris Van der Avoort, Johan Legraie, Aliocha Van der Avoort, Didier Guillain, Charles BruËre, Yves Pezet
Original Title
Le Dormeur Éveillé
Release Year
2020
Festival Year
2021
Country
Belgium
Run Time
74 minutes
Subtitled
Yes
Premiere
North American Premiere