A film by Loira Limbal
THROUGH THE NIGHT is a cinema verité portrait of three working NY mothers whose lives intersect at a 24-hour daycare center: a mother working the overnight shift as an essential worker at a hospital; another holding down three jobs to support her family; and a woman who for over two decades has cared for the children of parents with nowhere else to turn.
THROUGH THE NIGHT is an intimate cinema verité portrait of three working mothers whose lives all intersect at a 24-hour daycare center: a mother working the overnight shift as an essential worker at a hospital; another holding down three jobs just to support her family; and a woman who for over two decades has cared for the children of parents with nowhere else to turn.
A tender portrait of titanic strength, love, and selflessness, THROUGH THE NIGHT showcases the multiplicity of “women’s work” -- paid, underpaid, and unpaid; emotional and physical; domestic and career-oriented -- all while negotiating the terms of a dignified existence under the three arrows of racism, sexism, and capitalism in America.
Directed and produced by Loira Limbal, a Sundance Institute Fellow and a former Ford Foundation JustFilms/Rockwood Fellow.
Loira Limbal is an award-winning Afro-Dominican filmmaker and DJ interested in the creation of art that is nuanced and revelatory for communities of color. Limbal’s current film, THROUGH THE NIGHT, is a feature documentary about a 24 hour daycare center. THROUGH THE NIGHT is a duPont Award winner, New York Times Critics’ Pick, was selected for a world premiere at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, and aired on PBS' POV series in May 2021. Her first film, ESTILO HIP HOP, was a co-production of ITVS and aired on PBS in 2009. She is an Open Society Foundations Soros Equality Fellow, United States Artists Fellow, Sundance Institute Fellow, NAACP Image Award nominee, a DOC NYC Documentary New Leader, Chicken & Egg Award recipient, and a former Ford Foundation JustFilms/Rockwood Fellow. She is the former Senior Vice President of Programs at Firelight Media. Additionally, she co-produces and helms the popular Brooklyn monthly #APartyCalledRosiePerez. Limbal received a B.A. in History from Brown University and is a graduate of the Third World Newsreel's Film and Video Production Training Program. She lives in Puerto Rico with her two children.
Co-founders and primary care providers at Dee’s Tots Daycare in New Rochelle, NY. Deloris and Patrick, affectionately known as “Nunu” and “Pop Pop” to the hundreds of children they’ve cared for over the years, continue to provide the safety net needed by so many working parents.
Marisol is a working mother whose children have grown up at Dee’s Tots. Marisol’s story is marked by the search for one reliable job in order to spend more time with her children. Her children are now ten and fourteen years old. Marisol is currently working six days a week for a supermarket supply company.
Shanona is a pediatric ER nurse whose children have grown up at Dee’s Tots. She is currently juggling the responsibilities of remote learning for her 2nd and 4th graders while working on the frontlines of the pandemic.
Dee's Tots never closed its doors throughout the pandemic. They stood in the gap to provide childcare and a myriad of support to essential working families. As the nation speeds toward reopening, subsidies and other temporary provisions for essential workers are expiring forcing parents to make hard decisions in order to keep their kids in child care.
This is why we have launched this fundraiser to help the Dee's Tots community. Released during the pandemic, the film has been able to raise awareness and support for child care providers and essential workers. We screened for New York State legislators and New York has since passed the most consequential budget for New York's children in recent memory.
The new 2022 budget allocates $2.4 billion in federal funding to expand access to child care across New York State. While we are very proud of this accomplishment and the work of our partners, there are IMMEDIATE NEEDS not being met. There is still no plan on how or when the monies will be disbursed. In the spirit of mutual aid, we invite you to support essential workers and caregivers who have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic.
