DOCUTAH screens “Into the Night: Portraits of Life & Death”
By Della Lowe
DOCUTAH will host a screening of critically acclaimed documentary “Into the Night: Portraits of Life and Death,” produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker Helen Whitney and narrated by Oscar-nominated actress Sharon Stone. The screening will take place Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. in the Eccles Center Main Stage at DSU.
This two-hour documentary features fascinating, unexpected voices from various walks of life: old and young, believers and nonbelievers, the dying and the healthy, well known and obscure. What are the stories we tell ourselves? Whether shaped by religion, science, art, the natural world, the power of love, do these narratives sustain us or do they fall away when we suddenly find ourselves with skin in the game?
“Death is the one experience that comes to us all,” Whitney said. “It is the roar underneath everything. Yet very few of us are comfortable talking about it, even thinking about it. With ‘Into the Night,’ I wanted to explore my own feelings about death and ask the questions that preoccupy each one of us — especially at 3 a.m. There is great solace — and less fear — in confronting these questions together. We feel less alone.”
Emmy and Peabody award-winning, film producer, director and writer Helen Whitney has been a prolific creator of documentaries and feature films. Her compelling subject matter has included topics such as youth gangs, presidential candidates, the McCarthy era, mental illness, Pope John Paul II, Great Britain’s class structure, homosexuality and photographer Richard Avedon. Among the actors she has worked with: Lindsay Crouse, Austin Pendleton, David Strathairn, Brenda Fricker, Teresa Wright, Estelle Parsons.
Throughout her career, she has maintained a deep interest in spiritual journeys, which she first explored with her documentary “The Monastery,” a 90-minute ABC special about the oldest Trappist community in the Americas. Whitney followed this film with a three-hour Frontline documentary for PBS, “John Paul II: The Millennial Pope.”
“We are honored to have Helen back at DOCUTAH,” said Phil Tuckett, professor of digital film at DSU and executive director of DOCUTAH. “She is a towering talent in the documentary field and participated in the first DOCUTAH. This film helps us address a subject, often taboo, with dignity and a surprisingly upbeat look at life. It shows us how to get through some of the toughest times with hope and even a joyous outlook on how to live our lives in the face of our mortality.”
Tickets are $10. Students with ID are admitted free. Reserve tickets at docutah.com/intothenight.
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