Director's Statement

At the outset of this project, I thought I was going to be making a film about the power of community in the face of adversity, the sun coming up after the storm, and rebirth. I wanted to throw a sensorial party for the audience, invite them to, just like our characters, find beauty in the darkest of times. But this film, by design, was a leap of faith, a deep dive into the unknown, and in the making of it, we drew both conscious and unconscious inspiration from the world around us. Consequently, we ended up making an anthem of love, tolerance and hope; a ray of light amidst social turmoil and political divisiveness in America.

I am amazed by the fact that as we approach the release, the movie has once again re-signified itself in the context of a global pandemic, which has kept us isolated from one another, desperately longing for connection and human interaction. As it turns out, "The Blackout" is here to remind us all what it feels like to be in a room full of people, perhaps so that we never take it for granted again.

- Daniela De Carlo