Death is one of those things we all have in common. After all, it’s inevitable, and most of us ponder it to greater or lesser degrees, especially in the face of a Pandemic wherein we are consciously doing everything we can to avoid it on a daily basis. Life goes on, but sometimes the struggle to find hope and meaning looms large, and the only thing one can do in the face of it is to, well… just dance.
Enter They Saw The Sun First, a lovely and quietly profound film by Stefan Hunt that I had the good fortune to happen upon while in search of something else — as is often the case. Featuring voiceover interviews with older and wiser New Yorkers about life, death, and everything in between, it offers a fresh POV on living, and the unstoppable passage of time — through the lens of dance and age. Shot in seemingly pre-Covid New York, familiar and ordinary locations are revealed by the camera with a technicolor like flair, along with some moments of magical realism.
While I’m not usually a fan of voiceover, here it works perfectly with the beautiful and dreamy cinematography by Cole Graham, and movement by Vanessa Marian providing content, context, and perspective all at once. The score by FKJ struck me at first as being overly sentimental, but by the end I realized how perfectly it fits and how lovely it really is.
With a running time of eight minutes and change, They Saw The Sun First is not a short short, but well worth the time. A small masterpiece it is intelligent, moving, extremely well done, and offers up a glimpse of hope and humanity in these challenging times.
Life is a dance, so let’s keep dancing.
Enjoy.
