A Night of Knowing Nothing

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A Night of Knowing Nothing

2021

1h 37m

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

96%

Tomatometer

27 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

L, a university student in India, writes letters to her estranged lover, while he is away. Through these letters, we get a glimpse into the drastic changes taking place around her. Merging reality with fiction, dreams, memories, fantasies and anxieties, an amorphous narrative unfolds.

Critics Consensus

Through letters between lovers, A Night of Knowing Nothing poetically explores the political and historical events unfolding in the background.

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Jessica Kiang

Variety

There is a disconnect between the woozy mood and the sharp, still-raw events to which it refers, and this gives the film its peculiar power.

Apr 4, 2022

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Marina Ashioti

Little White Lies

An intoxicating love letter to the cinema of resistance.

Rated: 5/5

Apr 4, 2022

Full Review

Phuong Le

Guardian

Love for the moving image – and love for artistic creativity – marches hand in hand with the fight for political freedom.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 28, 2022

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Carlota Mosegui

Cinemanía (Spain)

A noble essay film about revolutionary disenchantment. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 3/5

Jun 5, 2025

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Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

Dealing in a more personal, poetic fashion with the same Indian political trends...

Oct 25, 2023

Full Review

Carlos Bonfil

La Jornada

... A hybrid documentary that lies between political signaling and fortuitous subjectivity, that, even if not thematically, delivers a great display of artistic inventiveness in its form. [Full review in Spanish]

Jul 12, 2023

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Audience Member

I am not an ardent follower of documentaries but had the good fortune of watching ‘A night of knowing nothing’ on big-screen. Thought-provoking & poetic; a sadness permeates the whole narrative which won’t leave you long after the credits roll. A beautiful film, giving an early glimpse of the artist to-be. However, the editing in the last quarter could have been better to avoid the repetitive feel of the scenes of unrest on streets.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/09/24

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Payal Kapadia

Director

Bhumisuta Das

Narrator

Payal Kapadia

Writer

Himanshu Prajapati

Writer

Ranabir Das

Producer

Julien Graff

Producer

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Synopsis

L, a university student in India, writes letters to her estranged lover, while he is away. Through these letters, we get a glimpse into the drastic changes taking place around her. Merging reality with fiction, dreams, memories, fantasies and anxieties, an amorphous narrative unfolds.

Director: Payal Kapadia
Producer: Ranabir Das, Julien Graff, Thomas Hakim
Screenwriter: Payal Kapadia, Himanshu Prajapati, Payal Kapadia, Himanshu Prajapati
Production Co: Another Birth, Petit Chaos
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: Hindi
Runtime: 1h 37m

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