The Sound of Crickets at Night (Ainikien Jidjid ilo Boñ)

Описание: THE SOUND OF CRICKETS AT NIGHT (AINIKIEN JIDJID ILO BOÑ) (2012)

THE SOUND OF CRICKETS AT NIGHT skillfully balances deadly radiation with the supernatural, family dysfunction with innocence, and isolation with inner peace. The results are oddly charming yet shadowed by darkness so that it never becomes cloying. It recalls the restrained wonder of renowned Thai director Apichatpong Weerasthakul, as further tempered by the darkness of David Lynch. The fantastic, arty, and appeal is further carried out by a cast of local, nonprofessional actors playing themselves. A priest plays the priest, while city workers and council people take on similar roles... What really makes the movie work is kids acting like kids — a miracle even in films with big budgets...
THE SOUND OF CRICKETS AT NIGHT is rich with culture, heart, and intelligence.
-Martin Wong, Co-founder of Giant Robot Magazine, May 2013

From the award winning creators of the "Lijimu Trilogy" (Ña Noniep, Yokwe Bartowe and Lañinbwil's Gift) comes a film that explores the tribulations of a family of nuclear survivors from Bikini Atoll. This film won more international acclaim than any of our other films.

Ainikien Jidjid ilo Boñ (THE SOUND OF CRICKETS AT NIGHT is the story of a family displaced as a result of nuclear testing on Bikini Atoll and now living in exile on Ejit Island on Majuro Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Most of the actors in this film are Bikinian islanders. We filmed on Ejit island, a home of exile for the people of Bikini, and also we filmed on their beloved homeland, Bikini Atoll.

Kali, a darling-though-curious 10-year-old Bikinian girl, watches in dismay as her mother and father argue bitterly, then finally separate and leave the island.

Left alone to care for her elderly grandfather, Jebuki, who has been hiding a life-threatening illness, Kali deteriorates, refusing to eat, work or play. Fearing for his granddaughter’s wellbeing, Jebuki makes a desperate decision to summon Worejabato, an ancient deity from Bikini Atoll. Appearing in the form of an unshaven American stranger, Worejabato washes up on the beach on Ejit Island, and is discovered by Kali. The deity immediately begins to weave his way into Kali's life, but wishes from Worejabato do not come for free.

What will Jebuki promise to Worejabato to ensure Kali’s happiness?

International Awards::
*WINNER, GRAND HONU AWARD FOR BEST FAMILY FEATURE FILM at the 2013 Big Island Film Festival, Hawaii
*WINNER, GRAND JURY AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN ACTING (Salome Fakatou), at the 2012 Guam International Film Festival.
*WINNER, ATLANTIC AWARD FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE FEATURE FILMS at the Moondance International Film Festival in New York City in September of 2012.
*OFFICIAL SELECTION at the prestigious 2012 Hawaii International Film Festival in October of 2012.
*OFFICIAL SELECTION at the prestigious 2013 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival in May of 2013.
*OFFICIAL SELECTION, Pacific Festival of Art, May 2016

The THE SOUND OF CRICKETS AT NIGHT was the opening Night film for the 2013 Pasifika Film Fest in Sydney, Australia.

Declared as one of the "Top films of 2012" lists on the independent international film review website FILM THREAT.

In 2015 THE SOUND OF CRICKETS AT NIGHT was part of the Concordia College of NY film series.

THE SOUND OF CRICKETS AT NIGHT was included among only 13 Pacific films in the University of Washington's Pacific Islander Literature and Film anthropology class in 2015.

In 2019 THE SOUND OF CRICKETS AT NIGHT was shown at the Queensland Art Gallery of Modern Art for the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, which featured all the works of Microwave Films.