Nocturnes

media release: India | 2024 | DCP | 83 min. | Hindi with English subtitles

Director: Anirban Dutta, Anupama Srinivasan

In the dead of night in the Himalayas, a pair of scientists are studying moths in the wild. Standing before an illuminated sheet teeming with hundreds of specimens, their job is to make sense of an awe-inspiring array of sizes and colorings. Their lifespans may be less than a week, but moths have existed for millennia, and this documentary is a humbling reminder of humanity’s comparatively small place—yet large impact—in our planet’s history. Its subjects may fit in the palm of your hand, but the astonishing natural beauty and immersive soundscape of tiny fluttering wings make Nocturnes a definite big-screen experience.

The Premieres series returns with more early and exclusive looks at the very best in current arthouse cinema! This fall kicks off with Sebastian Stan in A Different Man, one of the best films from this year’s Sundance Film Festival, screening at the Cinematheque nearly a month before it hits theaters. For a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience, don’t miss Eno, a documentary portrait about the iconic musician which is digitally reconfigured every time it screens—the version you’ll see here on October 10 will never be shown again. Plus: wild new entertainments by boundary-pushing favorites Don Hertzfeldt, Harmony Korine, and Quentin Dupieux; equally adventurous and riveting nonfiction works by Mati Diop and Johan Grimonprez, and much more! This series was made possible by a generous donation from an anonymous cinephile.