Directed by Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan | 83 mins | 2024
Filmed in the lush, remote forests of the Eastern Himalayas at the India-Bhutan border, Dutta and Srinivasan’s exquisitely crafted documentary immerses the viewer in the hidden nocturnal life of a little-seen corner of the globe, observing—with a scrupulous attention to process that casts a serene spell over the viewer—a scientist and her Indigenous assistant in their nightly study of native hawk moths and their patterns. Fixing its focus on the minute details of these small creatures and their brief lives, "Nocturnes" poses some very big questions concerning our impact on the environment and the unexpected affinities between insects and humans, all the while offering a ravishing, symphonic celebration of the natural world.