Dark Days

The remarkable story of a community living in the underground train tunnels beneath New York City during the 1990s.

For years, a community of homeless people took root in the train tunnels, braving dangerous conditions and perpetual night. Exploring this surprisingly domestic subterranean world, Dark Days unearths a way of life unimaginable to those above. Through stories simultaneously heartbreaking, hilarious, intimate, and off the cuff, the individuals reveal their reasons for taking refuge and their struggle to survive underground.

Filmed in striking black and white with a crew comprised of the tunnel’s inhabitants and scored by legendary turntablist DJ Shadow, this creative collaboration remains a soulful and enduring document of life on the fringe.

Awarded the Freedom of Expression Award, Cinematography Award and Audience Award at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, it remains the only documentary to receive that many accolades.

This rarely-screened emotionally impactful documentary will be followed by a panel discussion with Laura Mahoney from Launch Housing, Nicole Bartholomeusz from CoHealth, and Brea Dorsett from Homie, bringing this film into a modern setting through discussions of the housing crisis in Melbourne today.

Awards

2001 Independent Spirit Awards – Best Documentary, 2000
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards – Best Documentary, 2000
Sundance Film Festival – Documentary Audience Award, Documentary, Cinematography Award and Freedom of Express Award, 2000
SXSW Film Festival – SXSW Competition Award (Honourable Mention), Senior Programmers’ Pick

About the Director

Marc Singer is an English documentary filmmaker. He was born and raised in London, England and moved to Florida when he was 16. After graduating high school, he moved to New York City.

Singer's first film Dark Days, about a homeless community living in the tunnels underneath New York, was awarded the Freedom of Expression Award, The Cinematography Award and The Audience Award at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, it remains the only documentary to receive that many accolades. Dark Days was also awarded Best Documentary/Non-Fiction film of 2000 by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary from the IFP. Glowing reviews called the documentary “an extraordinarily powerful film,” “intimate, engrossing and at moments, even surprisingly funny” and was placed on many reviewers’ Best Films of 2000 lists.