What Day Is It?
What Day Is It? offers my very human, mother's perspective on the ever-shifting emotional and mental states of living in NYC during Phase 1 of lockdown.
Is it also, very much so, a love letter to New York City.
I was called to create a preservation of record both for what transpired so quickly and how my family reacted to and felt about it. The 18-minute documentary compiles personal journal entries and home movie footage to capture the reality of the moment and its effects on both my family, myself and the city I call home. Science has proven that our brains misremember things to fill in blanks or help with the trauma. It’s now been a year since the pandemic began and so many people are already forgetting. Our collective memory is glossing over the realities, already reworking New York’s survival story, already misremembering the details.
This is my personal witness statement.
My live journal of an ordinary family in unordinary times.
I don’t want to forget. The details are everything.
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Jess Elefante DavisDirector
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Jess Elefante DavisWriter
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Jess Elefante DavisProducer
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Dan StanglEditor
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Brooke PathakisDesigner & Animator
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Jess Elefante DavisCinematography
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Ilie MitaruCinematography
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Project Type:Animation, Documentary, Experimental, Short
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Runtime:19 minutes 8 seconds
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Completion Date:March 11, 2021
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Production Budget:5,000 USD
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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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Rhode Island International Film Festival 2021
North American Premier
Semi-Finalist -
New York Shorts International Film Festival 2021
New York Premier
Official Selection -
Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival 2022
Honorable Mention -
Beverly Hills Film Festival 2022Beverly Hills
United States
June 1, 2022
West Coast Premier
Official Selection
Jessica Elefante is a writer and bullshit artist who has spent the last few decades examining what it means to be human in our modern world.
She is the author of forthcoming creative nonfiction book, Raising Hell, Living Well: Freedom from Influence in a World Where Everyone Wants Something from You (Ballantine, 2023). Jessica’s writing works to open peoples eyes on the topics of technology, capitalism, influence, and motherhood and has appeared in The Guardian, Huffington Post, Bustle, Simplify Magazine, the Dispatch, Whalebone Magazine and more. As the founder of acclaimed Folk Rebellion and a critic of today's culture, Elefante’s award-winning works shine a light on the untenability of our times and have been featured by Vogue, Inc., Los Angeles Times, The Observer, Paper Mag, Wired, and elsewhere. Her short documentary “What Day Is It?” was awarded semi-finalist of Flickers RIIFF and an Official Selection of Beverly Hills Film Festival and New York Shorts Film Festival, for it’s portrayal of a mother's perspective on the ever-shifting emotional and mental states of lockdown. In her previous life as a brand strategist, she was recognized on Brand Innovators “40 under 40” list for winning her clients industry recognition including Webby, Edison, and AdAge awards. Jess has proudly been a guest lecturer at Columbia Business School and New York University sharing her expertise in entrepreneurship and branding. She's influenced by the social, cultural, and technological circumstances of her life, but mostly, of her desire to lead a colorful one. Raised in upstate New York, she now lives in Brooklyn with her family. She is no longer bullshitting.