For a Film About Moths, Michael Gitlin Knew He Had to Return to MacDowell.

“When I started working on a project about moths, I immediately thought about MacDowell,” said filmmaker and MacDowell Fellow Michael Gitlin (06, 16) about a new documentary/essay film on moths, The Night Visitors, the he began in 2015. “I spent my 2016 residency in Adams, a studio deep in the woods, where I knew I could set up my equipment and work through the night, filming and contemplating these strange creatures.”

One of those creatures, the elusive luna moth, was a species Gitlin never saw anywhere but at MacDowell, and it features prominently in The Night Visitors, which premiered in October 2023 at the New York Film Festival. The film investigates aesthetic, theoretical, and social questions about moths—a creature crucial to our planet’s biodiversity. Beyond imagery of moths throughout metamorphosis, the film dives into morality, limitations of knowledge, and the transitory nature of all things on Earth. “Rather than taking a strictly entomological approach, Gitlin acknowledges the moth as marvel, both in terms of its aesthetic beauty—their velvety fur and bright colors captured in microscopic detail—and its placement within the firmament of organic life on earth.” – NYFF. In addition to luna moths, Gitlin filmed a variety of species during his residency.

“My routine at MacDowell was something like this: work all night filming, then wake up in time to have a bit of coffee just before the arrival of the much-anticipated lunch basket; spend the afternoon sorting through the footage from the previous night; spend the early evening catching up with fellow artists-in-residence at dinner, and after dinner, learning from them and finding inspiration in their projects. MacDowell provided the exact mix of solitude and community that made the early stages of this project possible. For that, I am deeply grateful.”

Read about other new works supported by MacDowell Fellowships.

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