In an ongoing series of interviews with Sundance participants, indieWIRE interviews filmmaker Alan Berliner. A past Walker artist-in-residence, Berliner is introducing his new documentary, Wide Awake. Like the film he screened here, The Sweetest Sound (an obsessive history of naming and, specifically, his own name), this new effort is autobiographical. Only this time it’s about sleep:
Where did the initial idea for your film come from?
I’ve been a poor sleeper my entire life but wasn’t ready to tackle the problem in a film until now. I’m not sure if it had to do with marrying Shari, with having a child, or the fact that my last film “The Sweetest Sound” (a film about “names”) explored “identity” from the outside (looking in), so to speak — that I felt I needed to explore “identity” from the inside (looking out) this time. I’ve known all along that my insomnia is caused by my inability to shut down my brain at night. Making “Wide Awake” allowed me to dive head first into the problem — directly into my thought process, both conscious and unconscious – into the very place that provides fuel for my creative life, but paradoxically, also keeps me up at night and makes me exhausted during the day. I wanted to understand the source and seed of some of my deepest conflicts and contradictions and try to render them in ways both visceral and poetic. And cinematic.
At the same time, I want the film to generate a greater understanding of and empathy with the condition of sleeplessness — at both the personal and societal levels. There’s also a good deal of practical advice in the film that can help others with sleep problems as well.
See documentation of Berliner’s installation, exhibition, and film screenings for The Language of Names, or try out the interactive naming tools developed during his residency here (see how popular your name is, read stories about how people got their names, and more).
I WAS SHOCKED THAT THE DOCTORS ON THE SHOW DID NOT MENTION A DRUG WHICH IS USED TO KEEP FIGHTER PILOT’S AWAKE- THE DRUG NAME MAYBE MISPELLED IS CALLED PRO-VIGIL – I AM A NIGHT OWL AND THIS DRUG DOES NOT CAUSE HEART PALPATIONS- THE REASON FIGHTER PILOTS ARE GIVEN IT , IT WAS DESIGNED FOR HIGH ALTITUDES AS WELL AS JET LAG- ONCE TAKEN – THE PERSON BECOMES WIDE AWAKE BUT CAN FUNCTION FOR AS LONG OR AS SHORT AS IS NEEDED- IF IT IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR UNCLE SAM THAN IT IS GOOD FOR THE NIGHT OWLS. I HAVE USED IT WITH GREAT SUCCESS- ASK A FIGHTER PILOT THEY HAVE TO STAY AWAKE UP THERE IN THE SKY – THE COMMENT YOUR MOM MADE WAS WITH GOOD INTENT- BUT YOU DID NOT RUIN YOURSELF BY MAKING THIS MOVIE- YOU OPENED YOUR EYES TO WHAT WAS MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU. YOUR SON AND FAMLIY. CONSIDER 15 MINUTE POWER NAPS- THESE ONCE IN PLACE
WORK WONDERS- STOP WORRYING ABOUT NOT SLEEPING- YEARS BACK NASA DID A STUDY THAT CONCLUDED THAT WE DON’T NEED TO SLEEP- THAT WE JUST NEED TO LIE DOWN AND REST OUR MUSCLES- SO WHEN IT IS TIME TO GO TO SLEEP- DON’T HAVE A CLOCK IN YOUR ROOM- THAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FOE- THE NUMBERS CHANGING THE TICK TICK TICK AGAINST YOUR TOCK TOCK TOCK- NO NUMBERS EQUALS I DON’T KNOW HOW LONG I SLEPT -LOSE THE CLOCK- FIND A DOC AND ASK FOR THE
PROVIGIL – A DO MIGHT NOT LIKE THE CLASS OF DRUG IT IS
BUT AN MD WOULD REALIZE THE NEED FOR YOU TO WORK AND HAVE A LIFE WITH YOUR SON AND FAMILY- THIS POST MAY HELP YOU AND IF IT DOES IT MAY HELP OTHERS WHO SEARCH WITHOUT RESOLVE- SHARE THE KNOWING AND CHECK IT OUT – THE DOCU DRAMA WAS QUITE FUNNY- IT MADE ME LAUGH MANY TIMES AND THAT IS NOT EASY- THE DRAWERS OF SOUNDS MADE ME LAUGH MOST- AND KUDOS TO YOUR ABILITY TO TEAR NEWSPAPER STRAIGHT AND TEAR A WHOLE PAGE- THAT IMPRESSED ME- I NEED SCISSIORS AND THAT RIP RIP RIP SOUND ITSELF WAS ENOUGH TO PRODUCE SOME Z Z Z’S – THE BANG BANG SOUND THEY CLAIM IS YOUR CAROTID ARTERIES IS IN THEORY JUST AS BAD AS TINITIS- IN ORDER TO RID YOURSELF OF THAT SOUND- YOU NEED A NEW SOUND- SOMETHING FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD- IF YOU LIVED IN A RURAL AREA- PERHAPS SLOW CAR SOUNDS DRIVING BY WILL WORK- I MOVED FROM A RURAL TOWN TO A FOREST AREA AND IT TOOK ME A LONG TIME TO GET USED TO THE SILENT ROADS- I AS A LIFE LONG NIGHT OWL HAD TO REPLACE IT AND I DID.
CONSIDER SOUNDS THAT ARE CALMING TO YOU- IT COULD BE YOUR CHILDREN LAUGHING- OR YOUR MOTHER SPEAKING. EVERY MAN I EVER MET CAN BE LULLED TO SLEEP BY A TALKITIVE SPOUSE. GET SHERRY YOUR MOM AND SISTER TO MAKE A TAPE OF THEM TALKING TO YOU- THAT MIGHT JUST PUT YOU TO SLEEP SANS NEGATIVE COMMENTS. YOUR MOVIE WAS WONDERFUL AND A TRIBUTE TO THE NIGHT WORLD THAT IS NOT SPOKEN OF- GRAVEYARD SHIFT WORKERS ARE EXPECTED TO CONFORM. THINGS ARE OPEN IN THE DAY TIME. EVERY PLACE SHOULD BE OPEN 24 HOURS A DAY. THE DAY PEOPLES CONTROL THE WORLD WE LIVE IN AND WORK IN AND THAT LEAVES ME WITH WELL WHAT ABOUT US? I DON’T WANT TO GET UP AT 9 AM TO SEE A DOCTOR – I WANT THE ONE WHO HAS A 2 AM APPOINTMENT SLOT- HAVE YET TO FIND MUCH AFTER MIDNIGHT.
GREAT MOVIE- DO MORE DESPITE FAMILY FEAR OF OBSESSION- OBSESSION AND PASSION RUN THE SAME LINE- BEST WISHES TO ALL THE NIGHT OWLS. WHO WHO WHOOT!
Comment by GAIL MURRAY — June 5, 2007 @ 4:30 am