as the night
In this silent one-minute poem film about selective mutism, an apparition, regret, and hope, a man imagines living a much different life.
Text of poem (embedded in film - no English-language closed caption/subtitle files needed):
black sky girl
one tooth turns in
maybe I could taste those lips
first I’d have to whisper “hi”
she would have to whisper back
we’d spin a web past drunken swim boys
ABCs and 1-2-3s
build ourselves a never-known
lie together
as if free
like birds, like birds, above it all
speech as easy
as the night
Copyright 2023 by Adam E. Stone
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Adam E. StoneDirector
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Adam E. StoneWriter
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Adam E. StoneProducer
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Adam E. StoneCinematographer
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Adam E. StoneEditor
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Joti LockerAdditional Cinematographer
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Project Type:Experimental, Short, Other
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Genres:Poem film, Poetry film, Silent film, Microshort, Short film, One-minute film, Experimental film, Selective Mutism, Videopoetry, Hope, Regret, Apparition, Unpeopled film
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Runtime:1 minute
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Completion Date:January 3, 2023
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Production Budget:0 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:No
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Student Project:No
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Cinema at CitygardenSt. Louis, Missouri
United States
May 26, 2023
World Premiere
Official Selection -
Bloomsday Film FestivalDublin, Ireland
Ireland
June 13, 2023
Ireland Premiere
Official Selection -
MISTER VORKYRuma, Serbia
Serbia
June 24, 2023
Serbian Premiere
Official Selection -
TRANÅS AT THE FRINGETRANÅS, Sweden
Sweden
July 1, 2023
Sweden Premiere
Official Selection -
Walthamstow International Film FestivalLondon, England
United Kingdom
June 4, 2023
European Premiere
Official Selection -
Life Screenings One Minute Film FestivalClermont, Florida
United States
May 27, 2023
Florida Premiere
Official Selection -
KinoDromeCleveland, Ohio
United States
September 24, 2023
Ohio Premiere
Official Selection -
FilmArte FestivalBerlin, Germany
Germany
Semi-Finalist -
Nooga Underground Film FestChattanooga, Tennessee
United States
October 14, 2023
Tennessee Premiere
Official Selection -
180' Berlin FilmfestBerlin, Germany
Germany
Semi-Finalist -
Hastings Rocks International Film Festival - Online EditionHastings, England (online, limited access)
United Kingdom
April 10, 2024
Official Selection and Honorable Mention -
DELETE TVVienna, Austria
Austria
July 17, 2024
Austrian Premiere
Official Selection
Adam E. Stone's latest feature film is the poetic essay film "Atmospheric Marginalia" (2022). His films have been featured at over 225 prominent, well-curated festivals worldwide, and have won numerous awards. Short films (poem, essay, or nonverbal) include "The Idealist" (2025), "Dream Sequence: Stasis" (2025), "Bridge" (2024), "form" (2024), "as the night" (2023), "Tyranny of the Unafflicted" (2023), "If Any" (2021), "Awake" (2021), "Specks and Flashes" (2020), "Elegy for Unfinished Lives" (2020), "an entombing(dis)entombing" (2020), "Declarations" (2019), and "Gods Die Too" (2018). Previous short dance films include "Do Not Forget the Lost" (2019), "Summer Friend: A Ballet Film" (2016), "Resting Places: A Ballet Film" (2015), and "Janet: A Silent Ballet Film" (2014). He also is the writer, producer, and co-director of the feature-length fictional essay film "Abstractly You Loved Me" (2013), and is one of the co-producers of, and conducted many of the interviews for, two feature-length documentaries: "Miss Fury and the Lost Legacy of Tarpé Mills" (2024), and "Black Hawk Down: The Untold Story" (DVD 2019). In 2012, Stone wrote and produced the spoken-word ballet "A Life Unhappening," which is about the impact of one woman's Alzheimer's disease on three generations of her family. In 2010, he wrote, directed, and produced the DVD novel "Cache Girl Saves the World: A Novel in Visions." He is also the author of three conventional print novels: "Xamon Song" (2006), "Kingston Fugue" (2007), and "The New Harmonies" (2009).