Cutting the Darkness

No greater love has any man than to lay down his life for his friends.
Inspired by a true story from WW2, five Russian officers are stripped naked and thrown into an underground silo - no water, no food, no light, no warmth, only each other in the darkness. Two months later two men are found alive, one completely lucid and the other completely mad. From this report, Jonathan Pienaar and Paulo Areal, created A Moment in Time when cannibalism becomes the ultimate human sacrifice .
five cameras,
one take, one actor and one director

  • Paulo Areal
    Director
  • Jonathan Pienaar
    Writer
  • Paulo Areal
    Producer
  • Jonathan Pienaar
    Key Cast
    "n/a"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    psychological drama
  • Runtime:
    29 minutes 40 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 16, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    20 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    South Africa
  • Country of Filming:
    South Africa
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    HD
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Global nonviolent, Vegas film festival
    Covid streaming
    Canada
    September 24, 2020
    Global film festival
    Best actor, best short film
Distribution Information
  • I am Global online streaming
    Distributor
    Rights: All Rights
  • Globalcinema@globalfilmstudio.com. Global online streaming
    Distributor
    Country: Canada
    Rights: All Rights
Director - Paulo Areal
Director Statement


Sometimes in one's life as a filmmaker, if you are lucky you experience a rare occurance of truth, a moment where actor, director, cameras and lights all become one. Without knowing what was going to happen next a story unfolded, a story so gripping and human that we are privileged, both Jonathan and I, to have been a part of what I as a director strive for and Jonathan Pienaar lives for, a film of true cinematic magic._____________________________________________________________

After completing Cutting the Darkness, I experienced a robbery in my studio and everything was stolen. For almost ten years this footage was lost, until last year, I miraculously found a copy. This is it, a moment in time