Wide Awake

A film that balances the precision of a Swiss watch with the messiness of a restless mind, WIDE AWAKE is Alan Berliner's uniquely personal tour through his life-long obsession with insomnia. Berliner uses both metaphor and candid first-person observations to illuminate how an obsessive mind that won't shut down at night leaves him feeling "jet lagged in his own time zone."

By focusing on the effects of insomnia on Berliner's creative process, WIDE AWAKE also becomes a film about the art of filmmaking. We see footage documenting the process of the film being made, a raucously caffeinated tour of his studio, and revelations about Berliner's secret life as a night owl. With the birth of his son Eli, Berliner becomes torn between his love of the night and the emotional pulls of love and responsibility that he feels for his family.

A sophisticated blend of the hilarious and the deeply personal, WIDE AWAKE is a cinematically innovative film that pushes at the borders of documentary storytelling; a heartfelt portrait of the artist as insomniac.