Us and the Night

Ten years in the making and shot on transcendent 16mm, this is an unconventional love story for every book-loving introvert.

Umi and Xiao work in their university’s library. Their paths cross night after night through the stacks of books – the perfect setting for this film’s own tale of curiosity and adventure. Interacting entirely within the one location, these two characters share wordplay, tour the globe and make music. But where will all of this take them, and why is it so hard to say the things that the books do so easily? Much like the novels and fictions that occupy every frame of Us and the Night, which premiered at New York's experimental documentary and avant-garde film festival Prismatic Ground, director Audrey Lam plays with language, soundscapes and imagery.

As its protagonists explore and discover the hidden worlds of the library, Lam finds rhythm and poetry in the fluorescent lights, the surprising architectural patterns of the building and the shelves lined with accounts of humanity’s history. Expanding on the mystique of her acclaimed short films Faraways (MIFF 2013), Magic Miles (MIFF 2014) and A River Twice (MIFF 2017), this is a beguiling debut feature that is an entirely unique take on what an Australian film can be.

“The love story which builds over the course of the 60 minutes plays out with all the mystery and magic of any Rivette film … A revelation both intimate and metaphysical.” – In Review