To make ends meet, people in the U.S. are working longer hours across multiple jobs. This modern reality of non-stop work has resulted in an unexpected phenomenon: the flourishing of 24-hour daycare centers. Through the Night is a verité documentary that explores the personal cost of our modern economy through the stories of two working mothers and a childcare provider—whose lives intersect at a 24-hour daycare center.
The film follows a mother who works the overnight shift at a hospital; another holding down three jobs to support her family; and a woman who for two decades has cared for children of parents with nowhere else to turn. Over the span of two years, across working holidays, seven-day work weeks, and around-the-clock shifts, the film reveals the personal cost of rising wealth inequality in the U.S and the close bonds forged between parents, children, and caregivers.
The many dimensions of care work intersect in Loira Limbal’s film, an inspiring window into the world of working mothers. Using a mix of observation and personal narrative, Through the Night drops us smack into the centre of the US child-care crisis, immersing us in the goings-on of one 24-hour daycare and the work of its extraordinary proprietor, Delores “Nunu” Hogan. With the help of her husband Patrick (“Pop Pop”), Nunu has spent over two decades caring for the children of working parents—and often caring for the parents themselves. Producer/director Loira Limbal’s patient and multi-layered film not only confirms what it looks like to give kids the solid foundation they need to grow and thrive, but deftly outlines the ways in which harsh economic and labour policies are currently hindering, not helping, working class mothers. -TA
This screening is also associated with a special Industry event, Directing Documentaries: Stanley Nelson in Conversation with Loira Limbal. For more info, click here.