The Sleepless - Michael DiBiasio (Writer and Director)

The Sleepless is Michael’s second feature film. His first, The Videoblogs, screened nationally in 2016 and is currently available on VOD in multiple countries. His best friends are his wife, his dog and whatever film he is working on at the time -- which he believes is an entirely normal, healthy, and appropriate way to live. Michael is a graduate of Columbia University.

THE QUICK GIST…
Chronic insomniacs Zach and Sophia wander the pre-dawn streets of New York City on an impromptu first date.

THE LONGER STORY
Sophia can’t sleep. Neither can Zach. Both have gotten far too used to it.

When the pair meet each other randomly at 3AM, in the only spot in their New York neighborhood open for coffee, sparks don’t necessarily fly. But with a gentle nudge from bodega owner Samir, and with nothing better to do that they aren’t already bored with, Zach and Sophia decide to amble together through the pre-dawn hours for a while, until she has to leave for her breakfast shift.

Sophia is guarded, Zach appears weary - and yet each seems to instantly connect to the other, as their wandering conversation touches upon on such resonant topics as mental health, addiction, gender dynamics, and the nonsense choices people make when bringing items to a desert island

Will there be another date, or will their respective hangups sink the possibility for romance?

The morning will have its say.

THE COMPLETE HISTORY
“I couldn’t sleep for a year. Insomnia had always been a problem for me,

but never one that lasted more than a couple of days at once.

This time, I had to seek help. Now, I sleep.

Most of the time.

And yet I often wake up very early, having slept five or six hours.

It’s peaceful, most of the time. It can also feel lonely. Alienating.

One day I was up before 4AM and needed coffee and didn’t have any. I sought out the closest place where I could find some. Just that week, I had also been studying low-light digital photography, and what was now capable with some ingenuity and willingness.

Then I emerged into the morning for that caffeine, and felt my neighborhood slowly -- very slowly -- stirring around me, and the idea came to me.

What if two people met under these circumstances? The predawn hours can be so raw, and yet so simple. What if...such a pair also took a chance on each other? And what if I chose a low-light camera and some fine actors and took a chance on this idea?

What came of all this is The Sleepless, a meditative, funny exploration of one of those odd spaces in life, inhabited as such by our two insomniacs, Zach and Sophia. We’re assembling an amazing team to make this film, and I’m so excited to bring it to life.”

— Michael (Writer and Director)

The Sleepless
https://www.thesleeplessfilm.com

If you liked this podcast, shoot me an e-mail at filmmakingconversations@mail.com

Also, you can check out my documentary The People of Brixton, on Kwelitv here: www.kweli.tv/programs/the-peopl…xton?autoplay=true

Damien Swaby Social Media Links:

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