Night Is Not Eternal

Night Is Not Eternal is a 2024 documentary film directed and produced by Nanfu Wang. It follows Cuban activist Rosa María Payá Acevedo over the course of several years.

Night Is Not Eternal
Official poster
Directed by	Nanfu Wang
Written by	Nanfu Wang Michael Shade
Produced by	Nanfu Wang Lori Cheatle
Cinematography	Javier Labrador Deulofeu
Edited by	Michael Shade
Music by	Chad Cannon San Miguel Perez
Production companies	HBO Documentary Films Little Horse Crossing the River Hard Working Movies Secret Sauce Media Nika Media
Distributed by	HBO
Release dates	October 20, 2024 (2024-10-20) (Montclair) November 15, 2024 (2024-11-15)
Running time	92 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

It had its world premiere at the Montclair Film Festival on October 20, 2024, and a limited release on November 15, 2024, prior to a broadcast on HBO on November 19, 2024. The documentary won a 2024 Peabody Award.^[1]

Premise

The film follows Cuban activist Rosa María Payá Acevedo over seven years and the growth of her political career and advocacy for democratic reform in Cuba. It compares Payá's activism with Wang's own experiences growing up in China under an authoritarian government.^[2][3] The film also documents Payá's partial support for U.S. presidential nominee and then president Donald Trump, and Wang's discomfort with it.^[4]

Production and release

Nanfu Wang met Rosa María Payá Acevedo at a film festival, with Wang wanting to make a film revolving around those living under authoritarianism wanting to make change.^[5]

It had its world premiere at the Montclair Film Festival on October 20, 2024,^[6][7] and was scheduled to be released in a limited release on November 15, 2024,^[8] prior to a broadcast on HBO on November 19, 2024.^[9]

The documentary is named after a book by Payá's father Oswaldo Payá, also an activist.^[2]

Reception

Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 87 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".^[10]

Mayra E. Gates of RogerEbert.com gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, writing: "The result is a striking look at the sacrifices—and concessions—people make in the fight for freedom and a chilling portrait of how the propaganda of those with power can make this very fight seem impossible to win."^[11] Christian Zilko of IndieWire gave the film a B, writing: "Wang leaves audiences with the sense that, for good or for ill, the individuality of humans will never be fully stamped out."^[12] Carlos Aguilar, writing for Variety, overall praised the documentary while wanting more "hard-hitting, confrontational exchanges" about Payá's support for Donald Trump.^[2]