Interview with SLEEP director NATALIE JOHNS by reporter James Nelson moments before the curtain goes up at Sundance Film Festival 2020.

"My personal lullaby for a frenetic world. A manifesto for a slower pace of existence” -Max Richter

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This film follows Max Richter as he consolidates the most ambitious performance of his critically acclaimed 8-hour opus, Sleep. Centring around the open-air concert in Los Angeles, as well as footage from Berlin, New York and Paris, we are plunged deep into the artist’s life and process,transcending the work to explore his legacy. Directed by Emmy-nominated and award-winning South African filmmaker Natalie Johns, this ground-breaking visual portrait echoes the contemplative essence of Richter’s work, offering a poetic depiction of the ‘liminal state’audiences experience.Performances of Sleep require unprecedented endurance from musicians. Experiencing Sleep requires an open vulnerability from audiences; strangers drifting in and out of consciousness amongst hundreds of others. This story is a rare expression of a global community, unified. A film for these frenetic times; a meditative respite from the rush and chaos of the modern world, studying the universal experience of sleep that unites us all.

Natalie Johns

Directed by Emmy-nominated and award-winning South African filmmaker Natalie Johns, this ground-breaking visual portrait echoes the contemplative essence of Richter’s work, offering a poetic depiction of the ‘liminal state’ audiences experience. Performances of Sleep require unprecedented endurance from musicians. Experiencing Sleep requires an open vulnerability from audiences; strangers drifting in and out of consciousness amongst hundreds of others.