City Dark
Directed by Ian Cheney
BRYCE CANYON ASTRONOMY FILM FESTIVAL
GRAND JURY PRIZE
ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL AT YALE
MOUNTAIN FILM IN TELLURIDE
SXSW
US, 2011, 84 min, HDCam, BluRay
After moving to New York City from rural Maine, filmmaker Ian Cheney asks a simple question, “Do we need the stars?”
"Excellent"
Press
Michael D. Lemonick, -, Time MagazineThe most important thing The City Dark has to tell us is that by losing touch with the stars, we've lost touch with something that inspired our distant ancestors in a profoundly spiritual way.
Neil Genzlinger, -, The New York TimesA documentary about light pollution that is entertaining and thought-provoking? It hardly seems possible, but that's what Ian Cheney has made in The City Dark.
Mark Feeney, The Boston GlobeWonder, open-mindedness, and curiosity are the best things about The City Dark
Ken Korman, -, Gambit Weekly, New Orleans'The City Dark' is more poetry than science.
Eric Kohn, IndiewireA gorgeous, tragic essay on the effect light pollution has on viewing the night sky, will make even the most dedicated city-dweller wince.
Steve Dollar, The Wall Street JournallThoughtful and yes, illuminating.
Jay Weissberg, VarietyImpressive images of star-filled nights will remind auds of childhood trips to the planetarium
Minneapolis Star TribuneA fetching, personal investigation.
Kenji Fujishima, Slant MagazineInformative in the best sensegenuinely inquisitive and exploratory ... as beautiful to look at as it is eye-opening in its content...This is a truly enlightening film, the increasingly rare documentary that not only opens your eyes to what the filmmaker considers an important issue, but also has the power to expand your perceptions in valuable and even life-affirming ways.
Gary Goldstein, -, The Los Angeles TimesIan Cheney's poetic, at times profound, film sheds, well, light on how the constant increase of modern-day artificial illumination has brightened our urban - and many suburban - night skies to the point that the stars and planets can often barely be seen.
Nick GioBarbieri, AutinistAn absolutely beautiful film from its quiet, nostalgic beginning to the final rapid-fire revelations from the compelling individuals we meet throughout
Jenn Brown, SlackerwoodThe City Dark will make us reconsider how much illumination can darken life as we know it.
Victoria Jaggard, National GeographicThe film touches on...that childlike sense of wonder we still get when looking up at the night sky.