2020 – Urban Audiovisual Festival

City and Night

What happens when the sun falls?

Night has been one of those invisible borders throughout history. For many it represents the opposite of the day, for others its continuity, for others the origin of the whole. It is undoubtedly a moment full of controversy, imagination, the unknown, but also opportunities, work and needs.

When we think about the night and the city, it’s almost impossible not to imagine the neons and exterior panels of Las Vegas or Hong Kong or any other urban center. Electric light revolutionized the night space, expelling the darkness of the streets and with it many characters of the night. The illuminated city has improved the “after hours” circulation of people, cars and goods, reducing risks and accidents, but at the same time creating new shadows, and places for those who should not be seen during the day.

The 24-hour city does not sleep, it is a constant activity, a continuous flow of services and people. Health professionals, such as doctors and nurses, are on watch to take care of a world exposed to constant accidents, illness and emergencies; firefighters and police are always on guard to help in case of unforeseen events … there are many nighttime heroes.

There are many professions that are developed during bedtime, such as garbage collectors, hotel receptionists, hauliers, bakers … there are many who live upside down so that we can have our streets clean, our bills ready, the our mail in the mailbox or our bread for breakfast. But like these professions, there are others who work in the shadows created between lampposts, some well-liked, such as food delivery people for the homeless; others, stigmatized, such as sex workers. Night is still the other side of a society of contrasts.

Night is likewise the realm of brown cats, those who seek anonymity to live their fantasies, or to commit atrocious crimes. The night is a disconnected moment that harnesses the dream of many to create action, entertainment or escape scenarios, while singing in a karaoke, wearing platform shoes and make-up, or frozen with the emptiness sound of a shot.

We must not forget all those who play with others’ suffering, addictions, helplessness, and pain. The night seems to cover and unmask at the same time those who live on the margins of our society. The Grimm brothers’ monsters continue today, but with other faces.

On the other hand, the night is also a festive moment of encounter and socialization. Whether it’s a bar, nightclub, party or art festival, people take to the streets to meet in a different environment, build memories, meet new people or even love.

The night is a space of possibilities, of silence and forgetfulness. What happens at night does not have to continue after dawn. We talk about moments of continuity and discontinuity in the contemporary city, and your portraits are especially welcome.

We invite the submission of works that approach the night in any of its multiple faces, that portrays what happens when we sleep, that gives voice to those we do not see when we live at another time, … works that put the night in the center of our eyes.