TWO GATES OF SLEEP
Two Gates of Sleep
Alistair Banks Griffith, 2011
Catalog No.: FTF-017
Length: 78 minutes
Somewhere on the Mississippi-Louisiana border, brothers Jack and Louis prepare for their mother’s imminent death. Their communication limited to glances, they hunt a gorgeous animal, cook a special meal and share last moments of quiet intimacy with the woman who bore them. Once she succumbs, they ignore society’s expectations and undertake an arduous journey to bury her along the riverbank. Ants swarm in the dirt, trees form a green cathedral and the brothers step deeper into the muddy river. This visual meditation on nature, death and tradition paints a shattering portrait of a family overcoming extraordinary circumstances to honor a final request.
Written & Directed by Alistair Banks Griffin
Produced by Josh Mond & Andrew F. Renzi
Executive Producers Sean Durkin & Antonio Campos
Associate Producers Zach Stuart-Pontier & Dustin Bowlin
Starring Brady Corset, David Call, and Karen Young
Photographed by Jody Lee Lipes
Production Design by Kris Morgan
Art Direction by William Logan
Music by Saunder Jurriaans and Daniel Bensi
Sound Design by Daniel Flosdorf
Festivals: Cannes Director’s Fortnight (Nominated for Camera D’ Or), Deauville Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival, Tokyo Film Festival, Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival, Sao Paulo Film Festival, AFI Fest (Official Selection), Copenhagen Film Festival (CPH:PIX)
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PRESS
“A luscious widescreen meditation on nature, death and Southern discomfort.”
– Jordan Mintzer, Variety
"A sublime film debut.”
– Eric Lavallee, IonCinema
“Manages the incredible task of calling to mind the work of both David Lynch and Terrence Malick, whose styles you'd think might be mutually exclusive.”
– Damon Wise, Empire Magazine
"Stark and bold, defiantly an art film."
– Jamie Graham, Total Film
“A beautifully shot mood piece.”
– David Gritten, The Daily Telegraph (UK)
“Aside from Gus Van Sant, there are few filmmakers in America making cinema like this today."
– Jonathan Crocker, Love Film
“The handiest comparison—or maybe it’s just a crutch—for describing Alistair Banks Griffin’s spare brotherly drama ‘Two Gates of Sleep’ is to mention its similarities to the work of Terrence Malick. It certainly looks about as beautiful: The Mississippi-set account of two siblings hauling their mother’s coffin through the wilderness to her final resting place owes plenty to expressive visuals that few first-time filmmakers dare to create. (…) There’s an animalistic element of danger lurking beneath those angry eyes, and it meshes well with the movie’s spectacular appearance. Each frame magnifies the isolated quality of Griffin’s tale.”
– Eric Kohn, IndieWIRE