Something More Than Night

As a material, film is constantly changing. In archives, these changes are documented via condition reports. Sometimes the encounter between the film print and the person inspecting it can feel like a revelation. In this series, filmmaker Juan González would like to share his personal moments of discovery experienced during his time inspecting film prints at Arsenal. In the cinema, we often overlook an essential feature of what we do: the pleasure of seeing without being seen. It is perhaps no coincidence that going to the cinema is often seen as a nocturnal activity. In SOMETHING MORE THAN NIGHT, Daniel Eisenberg takes us into the night as voyeurs. With long, contemplative shots of public spaces in Chicago - airports, shopping centers, train stations and offices - the film paints a portrait of the city as a place of hidden work, social disruption and expectant tension. Whoever enters this film space is initiated into one of the most important secrets of cinema: darkness enables us to see. (Juan González)