Private Project

GOODNIGHT IRENE

“Goodnight Irene” depicts a turbulent love life blending melancholy, weaknesses, dark thoughts, and documentary elements that connect the songwriter to his work. It's a tribute to the composer and performer Huddie William Ledbetter—Leadbelly. The short film combines animation in seamlessly interaction with stylized or recreated testimonial footage fragments. It happens to be an iconic and powerful song of heartbreak, guilt, and nostalgia that is fitting to evoke the artist.
Leadbelly's is one of the many cases of African American musicians that became famous through others who still perform his compositions.

ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Mixed techniques, stop motion animation and digital animation. Materials: fabric, lace and ribbons. Low quality documentary footage and photographs from interviews and articles.

  • Irene Blei
    Director
    The Tree has been PLanted, A Letter from Leticia, Horacio Quiroga Storyteller, On Everyone's Lips, I Spy
  • GABRIELA FERNANDEZ
    DIGITAL COMPOSITION
    OM, I Spy, In Everyone's Lips
  • DALIA EDELSTEIN
    SOUND
    LITTLE GIANTS series
  • Irene Blei
    Producer
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Buenas noches Irene
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Documentary, Experimental, Music Video, Short
  • Runtime:
    7 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    June 1, 2026
  • Country of Origin:
    Argentina
  • Country of Filming:
    Argentina
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Irene Blei

Independent filmmaker, mostly of artistic animated short films, although she has also directed a community-produced educational feature film.
Teacher and researcher, specialized in doing animation and in teaching filmmaking and audiovisual techniques to children and youths.
Author of texts and articles about animation, teaching and creation. Member and founder of organizations and collectives oriented to Culture, Child Art and Women’s Participation.
Founder of the first public school devoted to kids' audiovisual creation, "El Mate" Cinema Workshop (Taller de Cine "El Mate") and its director until 2015. Formerly Professor at University of Buenos Aires and other teaching centres. Director of VIVA EL CINE educational project.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I have previously made films for children, where actions took place in my country with a regional focus, dealing with human themes or with fantasy. This short film is completely different, it brings about an adult and controversial content, inspired by an intense English song performed on stage and commented on live, which amplifies its dramatic impact.
Leadbelly’s work and figure deeply move me. His rich musical universe, the admiration of so many colleagues for him, his genius and his mad, violent years do not diminish the artist. The song "Goodnight Irene" contains lines of profound sadness that lead to self-destruction. Delving into the performer, and being this a song that identifies him, I thought an imaginary parallel with him could be drawn. This short film aims to renew the visibility of the musician, his origins in Louisiana, his African American roots, the extreme poverty of his context for people living in the Southern United States, and the discrimination of his time, also indirectly raising a protest against the social inequality he experienced.