Sleepless Nights Stories (2011)

During the 1960s, '70s, and '80s, avant-garde director Jonas Mekas pioneered the "video diary" form of nonfiction filmmaking, which involved the impromptu, fly-on-the-wall documentation of various experiences in his life. This mode of observation was particularly interesting for audiences given Mekas' constant immersion in celebrity circles: It provided the opportunity to see icons such as John Lennon and Yoko Ono outside of the limelight. Mekas returns to the form at age 88 with this outing; presented as a series of sketch-filled chapters, it may strike many viewers as more accessible than the director's prior work. It constitutes a sequel to A Letter from Greenpoint and picks up where that opus left off: Mekas has just moved into a new Brooklyn apartment and suffers from chronic insomnia. Soon, however, he grows restless and undertakes a series of adventures at home and abroad, often accompanied by famous friends. These escapades include visits with Harmony Korine just before and after his son Lefty is born, a jam session with composer Pip Chodorov in Luxembourg, an encounter with French heartthrob Louis Garrel in Paris, and a ride to the airport with Bjork.