We acknowledge Australia’s First Nations People as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land, and pay respect to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, upon whose Country SFF are based.
We honour the storytelling and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.

Nocturnes

Directed by Anirban Dutta, Anupama Srinivasan
2024
India, USA
83 minutes
All Ages
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In the high forests of the Eastern Himalayas, a scientist uncovers the secrets of moth life – moths whose flutters echo the history of our changing planet, in this Sundance-selected, immersive documentary.

This stunning film focuses on the hawk moth – but that’s only a small part of the rich tapestry on screen. Ecologist Mansi Mungee treks into the rainforest over 2,300 metres above sea level. As daylight fades, she sets up screens and lights with the help of a local Indigenous man. The duo diligently identifies and tallies the swarming insects, accompanied by the forest’s night-time symphony of whirrs and clicks. Co-directors Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan (Flickering Lights, also screening SFF 2024) deftly capture this magical, meditative environment, leaving you mesmerised and awake to all the little things in our natural world.

Limited seats are available for patrons requiring access for wheelchairs, low vision and hearing loop. Please contact our ticketing team directly on 1300 733 733 or tickets@sff.org.au to complete your booking.
Put it this way: If audiences don’t walk out of Nocturnes immediately googling ‘hawk moths', they’ve simply been too temporarily dazzled to re-enter a world of fast-paced technology. That’s a good thing
Kate Erbland, IndieWire
Long before Mansi delivers a lecture on the specifics of her studies and their overlap with global climate change, the moths feel monumentally important, and deeply connected to us
Siddhant Adlakha, Variety

Special Guests

Anupama Srinivasan
Director, Screenwriter
Anupama Srinivasan is a filmmaker, educator and curator based in Dehli. With over two decades of documentary filmmaking experience, Srinivasan’s films have been screened across IDFA, Busan International Film Festival, Mumbai International Film festival, and Kara Filmfest. She was a recipient of the Global Media Makers LA Residency in 2022, and was a Festival Director of the IAWRT Asian Women’s Film Festival from 2013 to 2015.
Anirban Dutta
Director, Screenwriter
Anirban Dutta is a filmmaker, photographer and educator based in Dehli, who also founded the production company Metamorphosis in 2003. As a multi-disciplinary creative, Dutta had been a visiting artist at the University of Boise in 2009, and exhibited across India and in the University of Peru. Dutta was also a recipient of the Eurodoc Training Program from Creative producing in 2021.

Tickets

Wed 12 Jun
10am
State Theatre
Assisted Listening
Wheelchair
Past Event Cancel
Thu 13 Jun
6:15pm
Palace Central Cinemas - Cinema 1
Assisted Listening
Wheelchair
Past Event Cancel
Program Strand
International Documentaries
Year
2024
Classification
All Ages
Country
India, USA
Language
In Hindi, English and Bugun with English subtitles
Director
Anirban Dutta, Anupama Srinivasan
Producer
Anirban Dutta
Screenwriter
Anirban Dutta, Anupama Srinivasan
Cinematographer
Satya Rai Nagpaul
Editor
Yaël Bitton
Premiere
Australian Premiere
Genre
Documentary, Environmental, Women Directors, Animals & Creatures, Experimental, Indian subcontinent
Company Credits
Sales Agent: Dogwoof
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