Shining Night: A Portrait of Composer Morten Lauridsen
"a man, an island, and music that moves the world"
'Shining Night' is a tribute to a living legend, celebrating the life and music of the artist whom musicologist Nick Strimple called 'the only American composer in history who can be called a mystic'. National Medal of Arts recipient and most frequently performed American choral composer, Morten Lauridsen spends summers on a remote island in the Pacific Northwest.
Featuring intimate interviews in California, Scotland and Waldron Island, Washington, interwoven with performances of his masterworks and commentaries by music contemporaries. Revealed through the lens of his passion for nature and music, Lauridsen expresses a presence of unwavering dedication to the craft of composition. First episode in the film series, 'In Search of The Great Song'.
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Michael StillwaterDirector
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Michael StillwaterProducer
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Doris Laesser StillwaterProducer
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Morten LauridsenKey Cast
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Dana GioiaKey Cast
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Paul MealorKey Cast
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Robert GearyKey Cast
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Alex ShapiroKey Cast
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Project Type:Documentary
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Genres:documentary, music biography
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Runtime:1 hour 13 minutes 30 seconds
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Completion Date:February 7, 2012
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:United States
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:No
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American Documentary Film FestivalPalm Springs, CA
February 7, 2012
World Premiere -
LA Movie AwardsLos Angeles, CA
April 9, 2014
Honorable Mention -
DCIFFWashington, DC
February 29, 2012
Washington, DC Premiere
Best Documentary -
Thin Line Film FestivalDenton, TX
February 18, 2012
Texas Premiere -
Outside the Box Film FestivalCarbondale, IL
April 9, 2012
Illionis Premiere -
Cincinnati Film FestivalCincinnati, OH
July 10, 2012
Nominated, Best Documentary -
Eugene International Film FestivalEugene, OR
August 20, 2012
Oregon Premiere
Best Documentary, International Category -
Reframe Film FestivalPeterborough, Ontario, Canada
January 27, 2013
Canadian Premiere -
Danish Film FestivalCopenhagen, Denmark
March 9, 2013
Scandinavian Premiere -
Albuquerque Film and Media ExperienceAlbuquerque, NM
June 9, 2013
New Mexico Premiere -
Big Green Film FestivalBristol, Wales, UK
June 16, 2013 -
Friday Harbor Film FestivalFriday Harbor, San Juan Island, WA
October 11, 2013
Washington State Premiere
Audience Choice Award -
Waimea Ocean Film FestivalBig Island, HI
January 3, 2014
Hawaii Premiere -
Salt Spring Film FestivalSalt Spring Island, BC, Canada
March 1, 2014 -
Reel Music FestivalPortland, OR
October 20, 2012 -
Oregon Film AwardsPortland, OR
November 7, 2012
Bronze -
Carmel Art & Film FestivalCarmel, CA
October 14, 2012
Distribution Information
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Hal Leonard Corporation
Michael Stillwater is an educator, illustrator, award-winning songwriter, recording artist, filmmaker and photographer.
Founder of Song Without Borders, focused on personal and societal transformation through song, he is also artist/founder of Inner Harmony. He is the creator of SongCare, a personalized intuitive therapeutic artistry serving individuals, couples and organizations since 1982, and SongSourcing, a unique method helping reconnect people with their inner songmaker.
From his experience with terminally ill patients and their families, the book and audio recording, Graceful Passages: A Companion For Living and Dying, co-created with film composer Gary Malkin, has become a leading audio resource in hospice for reducing anxiety around dying. A sequential work, Care for the Journey, addresses sustainability and wellness for healthcare practitioners.
Stillwater is a pioneer in the fields of American folk chant and intuitive song, facilitating collaborative artistic expression in schools, churches, and communities in Europe and America.
The documentary film series, In Search of The Great Song, produced together with his wife, Swiss contemplative psychologist Doris Laesser Stillwater, addresses the underlying music inside everyone. Their first feature-length documentary, Shining Night (2012), called ‘a heartening rarity’ by Wall Street Journal, was an Official Selection of twenty film festivals, recipient of four Best Documentary Awards, and aired on public broadcasting in Southern California.
Their second film, In Search of the Great Song (2016), received two Best Documentary awards.
Their third film, Beyond the Fear of Singing, is in post-production (2018).
Born in the USA, he lived in Switzerland for over ten years before moving to Helsinki with his wife and family in 2017.
My joy is to discover and reveal the hidden light within people and nature, and unlock the songs that wish to be sung.