March 21st: SLEEPWALK (Sara Driver, 1986)

A print shop worker in Manhattan takes a side job translating an ancient Chinese text, and its mysterious content begins to bleed into the reality of her personal life and the neighborhood around her.

Sara Driver received an MFA degree from New York University, in the program at the same time as Spike Lee, Jim Jarmusch, and Tom DiCillo. She became part of the underground, avant-garde culture prominent at the time in Lower Manhattan, its "No Wave" scene featuring filmmakers such as Jarmusch, Vincent Gallo, and Richard Kern. Her first short You Are Not I, based on a story by legendary writer Paul Bowles, received much critical attention.

She spent the first half of the decade producing Jarmusch's first films Permanent Vacation and Stranger Than Paradise, and also working to raise money for her own projects, including time spent at a copy shop with Sonic Youth founder Kim Gordon. This and other experiences in the exciting yet dangerous surrounding neighborhoods led to the writing of her debut feature Sleepwalk.

Cinematic nfluences mentioned by Driver include the work of French New Wave figure Jacques Rivette, Cat People director Jacques Tourneur, Japanese ghost story Kuroneko, and Russian iconoclast Andrei Tarkovsky. Driver wrote the script with Lorenzo Mans and Kathleen Brennan, longtime collaborator and partner of Tom Waits.

The film was shot on location in Manhattan, primarily in Soho, Chinatown, and Tribeca. Behind the camera was Jarmusch, acting as cinematographer alongside Frank Prinzi, a fellow NYU grad and mainstay on DiCillo's film. The visual palette leans heavily on blues and grays, giving extra punch to the appearances of warmer colors.

The cast includes Suzanne Fletcher (who had appeared in previous works by Driver and Jarmusch), performance artist Ann Magnuson (The Hunger, Desperately Seeking Susan), Tony Todd (Candyman, The Rock), and a young Steve Buscemi.

Sleepwalk appeared at the Mannheim Film Festival in Germany (Special Jury Prize winner), the Cannes Film Festival's International Critic's Week (Best First Film Prize winner), MOMA's New Directors New Films series, and the Sundance Film Festival. Driver only completed one more feature, and has taught at NYU and served on prominent festival juries.

Running time is approx. 80 minutes.