Experiencing Interruptions?

Tired Light

Daniel, a brilliant but emotionally scarred physicist, spends his days unraveling the vast mysteries of the universe, yet his own existence feels directionless. When he meets Anna—someone at ease with life in a way he cannot grasp—her quiet confidence unsettles him. As their conversations drift between science and solitude, Daniel is forced to face the disconnect between his intellect and his emotions. Anna challenges Daniel's lost faith in humanity, suggesting that people are like light.
This idea of light as a metaphor for human connection resonates with Daniel, but he takes it to an extreme, gradually retreating further into his isolation. His obsession with light grows, and he starts conversing with a nightlight left on the street by the previous tenants, spiraling into a world where reality and imagination blur. Under the city’s fading glow, he begins to question whether meaning is something to be discovered—or something to be chosen.

  • Kati Jägel-Paal
    Director
  • Kati Jägel-Paal
    Writer
  • Kati Jägel-Paal
    Producer
  • Triin Siim
    Producer
  • Aivar Hannolainen
    Producer
  • Sander Rebane
    Key Cast
    "Daniel"
    Tenet, The Secret Society of Souptown, Detective von Fock
  • Henessi Schmidt
    Key Cast
    "Anna"
    Vikings: Valhalla, Melchior the Apothecary, Winter
  • Marten Kuningas
    Key Cast
    "Kristo"
    The Dissidents, Dark Paradise, Kormoranid ehk Nahkpükse ei pesta
  • Ragne Nikkel
    Camera operator
  • René Jõhve
    Gaffer
  • Isabel Napa
    Production Design
  • Piret Kaljuste
    Make-up artist
  • Sten Paal
    Production sound mixer & sound editor
  • Kristin Liias
    Costume design
  • Ailar Uffert
    Focus puller
  • Triin Siim
    1st Assistant Director
  • Rasmus Mölder
    1st Assistant camera
  • Marko Grinfeld
    Lighting technician
  • Hans Põlluste
    Second unit camera operator
  • Eerik Vija
    Second unit camera operator
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Väsinud Valgus
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 1 minute 20 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 1, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    33,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Estonia
  • Country of Filming:
    Estonia
  • Language:
    Estonian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:39:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Kati Jägel-Paal

Kati Jägel-Paal is an Estonian filmmaker and video artist with over 15 years of experience in the music and entertainment industry. After studying film in Manchester, she became a renowned video artist, shaping the visual language of major music-related TV shows and events in Estonia.

Her debut feature, Tired Light, is a deeply personal exploration of isolation, obsession, and the fragile beauty of human connection. With a distinct visual style influenced by an admiration for light as both a physical and symbolic force, Kati draws inspiration from auteurs like Terrence Malick, embracing poetic storytelling and dreamlike imagery.

Having built a career in the intersection of music, design, and moving images, Kati Jägel-Paal now brings her cinematic vision to the world of narrative filmmaking, capturing the fleeting, luminous moments that define what it means to be human.

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Director Statement

The idea for Tired Light was born from a conversation with a student of mine who summarized my own life philosophy in three words: "human is light." I instantly knew this was the core idea I wanted my films to explore—the way people illuminate our lives, making existence meaningful. That same night, I imagined continuing our conversation with a small nightlight, a simple lamp we had both admired. This surreal image stayed with me and became central to Tired Light, both visually and thematically.
Like Daniel in the film, I have struggled with isolation. After a painful breakup, I tried everything—therapy, even church, despite not being religious—but only love and human connection pulled me back to life. Raised by parents from a science background, I have always wrestled with the tension between rationality and emotion. Tired Light reflects that conflict. Daniel, a physicist, believes only in what can be measured. When his neighbor Anna tells him that people are like light, he takes it literally, replacing human warmth with physical light, descending into an obsession that isolates him completely.
Visually, light plays a crucial role in the film. I admire reflections, shadows, and the way light transforms the ordinary. If souls exist, I imagine they might be like light—beautiful, fleeting, and impossible to contain.
I love films that blend genres and embrace strangeness. Tired Light constantly teeters on the edge of the surreal. It is also a quiet homage to Terrence Malick, whose films have shaped my view of cinema. Daniel even owns a Malick collection, a small nod to the filmmaker who captures the beauty and fragility of life like no other.
With Tired Light, I want the audience to feel the vastness and fragility of life. I want them to question the meaning we assign to existence and whether we’re searching for truth in the right places. Because without human connection, we risk being swallowed by the void.