Mann’s Sparks

Ryland Walker Knight’s Mann’s Sparks is a hypnotic essay film that stitches together footage from Michael Mann’s iconic filmography with Beach House’s 2015 album Depression Cherry into an editorial masterstroke. As much as the film stands as a testament to Knight’s craft as editor, it also acts as a thematic dialogue between the dream pop band’s music and the images by one of cinema’s greatest auteurs, spanning Mann’s work from Thief (1981) to Blackhat (2015). It’s a mesmeric work, both visually and sonically, acting also as a document of Knight’s own development as an editor after suffering an injury and using Mann’s footage and the band’s album to relearn how to edit. Mann’s Sparks is a spellbinding celebration of cinematic language and how it can be reused, relearned, and reimagined into new possibilities. Ryland Walker Knight is a filmmaker and photographer, and once upon a time he was called a film critic. He is a partner at Capsaicinco and, in 2024, he was selected as a Sundance Institute Native Lab Fellow to develop his feature film The Lip of the World. An avid basketball and audiobook enthusiast, Ryland lives and works in Los Angeles, California. Available in-person only. Film viewing availability during the online Festival (June 9-15, 2025): EYES TWIRL ROUNDS (available worldwide)