Nights and Weekends

Mattie and James are passionately in love but living separate lives in separate cities: she’s in New York and he’s in Chicago. The title Nights and Weekends refers to the time of day when a cell-phone user has unlimited free talk time. We don’t know who Mattie and James really are, or how they met. We just see them caught in the moment experiencing both the pleasures and anxieties of a long-distance relationship.

Joe Swanberg presents a lo-fi love story that ignores the usual first dates, anniversaries and break-ups in favor of everyday snapshots. Improvised acting adds intensity to scenes that are quick glances, rather than grand romantic words with big dramatic gestures.

The script was written and co-directed together with leading actress Greta Gerwig, who also starred in Swanbergs seminal mumblecore movie Hannah Takes the Stairs (2007). This time, Swanberg himself joins her on-screen, continuing this DIY-movement’s tradition of erasing all boundaries between the different tasks of filmmaking.

Premiere Status
Nordic Premiere: Cast
Joe Swanberg, Greta Gerwig: Producer
Joe Swanberg, Greta Gerwig: Script
Joe Swanberg, Greta Gerwig: Cinematography
Matthias Grunsky, Benjamin Kasulke: Spoken language
English