The Night Garden

Winner of more than 20 awards in over 40 film festivals worldwide

About The Night Garden

Experimental Short Mobile Film (2022)

The Night Garden is an experimental, movement-based short film, shot entirely on smart phones.

Through a cartography of associations, imagery, and poetry, its surrealist episodes offer a harvest of ideas, images, and meditations for the dream feast.

The series of seven vignettes rendered from dreams and the unconscious conjures an array of characters and scenarios including: Chekhov in an existential crisis with Picasso’s Lover of Absinthe; a film noir that follows the dreams and waking trances of a man, a woman, and a herd of tiny cattle; a kaleidoscopic vision of a woman’s interactions with an imaginary friend and a ghost; a caterpillar woman’s transformation and foray into a garden of fountains and marble statues; three mythological creatures who unleash the contents of a jewel box; and a family confronting their heritage and communing with each other throughout the city and forest.

Now Streaming

The full 28-minute short film, plus bonus interview with directors, is available at Vimeo On-demand for rental/streaming at $2.99 for 48 hours or for purchase at $9.99 for streaming/download.

$2.99 RENTAL

$9.99 DOWNLOAD

Through a cartography of associations, imagery, and poetry, The Night Garden offers a harvest of ideas, images, and meditations for the dream feast.

Co-created by Daria Karpova, Anastasia Nesterova, Marissa Nielsen-Pincus, Tom Pearson, and Renata Zhigulina, the episodes interweave characters, objects, and imagery that thread together a short film which follows a nightly dream sequence.

The work is built through a practice of dream-sharing and associations. Filmed on location in St. Petersburg, Russia, The Night Garden is shot exclusively on smart phones (primarily iPhone 6).

Sponsored by CEC ArtsLink’s Back Apartment Residency and the Art Prospect Festival, with support from the Trust for Mutual Understanding, this project was organized as an intimate collaboration between U.S. and Russian-based artists in 2018 as a project of cultural listening and exchange. For one month, the group met, lived, and worked together to ideate, storyboard, film, and share directing and editing responsibilities while also acting and filming with and for one another to create the interwoven vignettes. As the work emerged, so did a shared vocabulary and ethos.

The Night Garden demonstrates and models an artist-led work of compassion, cooperation, and creativity, which we hope will nurture the viewer as much as it did us in its development. This film is intended as a beacon of potentiality—something we, as collaborators from nations with historically complicated relations, wish to share as a model for right relationship between us—together sharing, creating, and caring for one another. ” – Tom Pearson, Co-creator

The Night Garden on IMDb

The Night Garden is a project of the Global Performance Studio + Exchange (GPS), an international program for cultural listening + exchange. GPS cultivates opportunities for artists from different cultural backgrounds to demonstrate diplomacy through shared practice, dialogue, and community building–all within a framework of cultural listening and peer-to-peer artist exchange. Scroll down for the full list of credits and attributions.

Screenings

Screenings, Events, and Awards

Now Available for Rental and Purchase at Vimeo On-Demand

Collaborators

  • Daria Karpova

    Russia

  • Marta Luné

    United Kingdom/Italy

  • Maxim Mityashin

    Russia

  • Anastasia Nesterova

    Russia

  • Marissa Nielsen-Pincus

    United States

  • Tom Pearson

    United States

  • Renata Zhigulina

    Russia/United States

  • Sean Hagerty

    United States

Bios

Credits

A Global Performance Studio Film

THE NIGHT
GARDEN

WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY 
Daria Karpova
Anastasia Nesterova
Marissa Nielsen-Pincus
Tom Pearson
Renata Zhigulina

AND FEATURING 
Marta Luné
Maxim Mityashin

PHOTOGRAPHY & EDITING 
Daria Karpova
Tom Pearson

PRODUCER 
Tom Pearson

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER 
Peter Trevisani

CAST
In order of appearance 

Maxim Mityashin – Russia
(Anton Chekhov, Dreaming Man)

Renata Zhigulina – Russia
(Lover of Absinthe, Dreaming Woman, Baba Yaga, Royal Family Member #1)

Marissa Nielsen-Pincus – USA
(Ghost, Royal Family Member #2)

Tom Pearson – USA
(Imaginary Friend, Royal Family Member #3)

Marta Luné – UK
(Butterfly/Caterpillar Woman)

Anastasia Nesterova – Russia
(Meditating Woman with Antlers)

Daria Karpova – Russia
(Grand Duchess)

COLORIST
Kal Toth

SOUND DESIGNER 
Sean Hagerty

MUSIC 
“Tango Magnolia”
Written by Alexander Vertinsky
Performed by Justin Lynch and Rob Cookman 

“Your Fingers Smell of Incense”
Written by Alexander Vertinsky
Performed by Justin Lynch 

“Concerto No. 2 in C Minor for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 18 – II. Adagio Sostenuto”
Written by Sergei Rachmaninoff
Performed by Justin Lynch 

“Undercurrent”
Written by Sean Hagerty
Performed by Sean Hagerty 

“Norma”
Written by Emilio Teubal
Performed by Emilio Teubal Trio
Courtesy of Not Yet Records 

“Meditation No. 2”
Written by Sean Hagerty
Performed by Sean Hagerty 

“I Am Alive”
Written by Isaiah Singer
Performed by Isaiah Singer, Sean Hagerty, Mike Lunoe 

“The Numbers on the Door”
Written by Isaiah Singer
Performed by Isaiah Singer, Sean Hagerty, Mike Lunoe 

“Capriccio in B-Flat Major – V. Aria di postiglione
Adagio Poco”
Written by J.S. Bach
Performed by Justin Lynch

Musicians:
Piano — Justin Lynch
Accordion, Keyboard — Rob Cookman
Guitar, Bass, Vocals — Isaiah Singer
Drums — Mike Lunoe
Electric Violin, Vocals, Music Sequencing — Sean Hagerty

Shot on location in Saint Petersburg, Russia in 2018, exclusively on iPhone 6.


Fellowships for Tom Pearson and Marissa Nielsen-Pincus in Saint Petersburg, Russia were made possible by CEC ArtsLink Back Apartment Residency Program. The Night Garden was originally presented as a virtual art exhibition and performance by CEC ArtsLink in the Art Prospect Festival, 2018. Rehearsal studio space was made possible in Russia by  Show Consulting School and generously provided by the New Stage Aleksandrinsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg.

The Night Garden is also made possible by the generous support of Peter Trevisani and by Third Rail Projects through individual donors.

Special thanks to Jane Lombard, Susan Katz, Yana Pitenko, Dimitri Konovalov, Judy & Steven Gluckstern, Kyle Fisher, and Stephanie & Ronald Kramer.

The Night Garden is a project of the Global Performance Studio (Tom Pearson, Director), an international program for cultural listening and exchange and a co-production of Third Rail Projects, the Global Performance Studio, Ransom Poet Publishers, and Peter Trevisani.

НОЧНОЙ
САД

СЦЕНАРИЙ И РЕЖИССУРА
Дарья Карпова
Анастасия Нестерова
Марисса Нильсен-Пинкус
Том Пирсон
Рената Жигулина

ПРИ УЧАСТИИ
Марта Лунэ
Максим Митяшин

СЪЕМКА И МОНТАЖ
Дарья Карпова 
Том Пирсон

ПРОДЮСЕР
Том Пирсон

СОПРОДЮСЕР
Питера Тревисани

В РОЛЯХ
в порядке появления на экране

Максим Митяшин – Россия
(Антон Чехов, Мечтатель)

Рената Жигулина – Россия
(Любительница абсента, Мечтательница, Баба Яга, член королевской семьи #1

Марисса Нильсен-Пинкус – США
(Призрак, член королевской семьи #2)

Том Пирсон – США
(Воображаемый друг, член Королевской семьи #3)

Марта Лунэ – Великобритания
(Женщина Бабочка / Гусеница)

Анастасия Нестерова – Россия
(Женщина с рогами в медитации)

Дарья Карпова – Россия
(Королевская дочь)

ЦВЕТОКОРРЕКЦИЯ
Кал Тот

ЗВУКОРЕЖИССЕР
Шон Хагерти

МУЗЫКА
“Танго Магнолия”
Песня Александра Вертинского
в исполнении Джастина Линча и Роба Кукмана

 “Ваши пальцы пахнут ладаном”
Песня Александра Вертинского
в исполнении Джастина Линча

 “Второй концерт для фортепиано с оркестром до минор, op. 18”
написанный Сергеем Рахманиновым 
в исполнении Джастина Линча

 “Подводное течение”
Автор Шон Хаггерти 
в исполнении Шона Хаггерти

“Норма”
Музыка Эмилиано Тойбал
в исполнении Емилио Тойбал Трио
в релизе Not Yet Records

 “Медитация No. 2”
Автор  Шон Хаггерти
в исполнении Шона Хаггерти

“Я живой”
Автор Исайя Сингер
В исполнении Исайя Сингер, Шон Хаггерти, Майк Луно

“Цифры на двери”
Автор Исайя Сингер
В исполнении Исайя Сингер, Шон Хаггерти, Майк Луно

 “Каприччио на отъезд любимого брата си-бемоль мажор” 
Иоганнa Себастьянa Баха
В исполнении Джастина Линча


Музыканты:

Фортепиано – Джастин Линч
Аккордеон, клавиши – Роб Кукман
Гитара, Бас, Вокал – Исайя Сингер
Ударные – Майк Линой
Электроскрипа, Вокал, секвенсор – Шон Хаггерти

Снято в Санкт-Петербурге (Россия) в 2018 году исключительно на iPhone 6


Участие Тома Пирсона и Мариссы Нильсен-Пинкус в Санкт-Петербурге (Россия) стало возможно благодаря программе CEC ArtsLink Back Apartment Residency.  Ночной Сад это уникальная виртуально-перформативная арт экспозиция от CEC ArtsLink’s в рамках фестиваля Арт Проспект в 2018. Репетиционное пространство в России щедро предоставлено Школой Шоу Консалтинг и Новой Сценой Александринского Театра (Санкт-Петербург)

Реализация проекта “Ночной сад” стала возможна благодаря щедрой поддержке Питера Тревисани и Third Rail Projects через частные  пожертвования.

Отдельная благодарность Джейн Ломбард, Сюзан Катц, Яне Питенко, Дмитрию Коновалову, Джуди и Стивену Глюкстрернам, Кайл Фишер, Стефани и Рон Крамерам..

Ночной Сад проект Global Performance Studio (режиссера Тома Пирсона) интернациональной программы культурного обмена, совместно с компанией Third Rail Projects, а также издательством Global Performance Studio, Ransom Poet Publishers и Питером Тревизани.