How to enjoy a blackout | Blackout

‘The most ordinary things became kind of extraordinary.’
This brief, animated oral history captures otherworldly and exuberant stories from a historic 2003 blackout in Toronto, where a sense of shared vulnerability brought people together. In doing so, the portrait seems to hint that, if society were to collapse, it might not result in the hellscape that post-apocalyptic fiction so often imagines - or, at the very least, there might be live music and a few days’ worth of free beer.
Director: Sharron Mirsky (www.sharronmirsky.com/)
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In the most widespread power outage in the history of North America, the Northeast blackout of 2003 left some 50 million people without power over two days. Combining several distinct animation styles, this short documentary chronicles several stories of those who experienced the blackout in Toronto. Through her brief oral history, the Canadian animator Sharron Mirsky reveals the powerless city to have been an otherworldly and exuberant place, where a sense of shared vulnerability brought people together. In doing so, her portrait seems to hint that, if society were to collapse, it might not result in the hellscape that post-apocalyptic fiction so often imagines - or, at the very least, there might be live music and a few days’ worth of free beer.

[@ConnorGhostHeart]

As an Ontatrian, this is such a beautiful short showcasing a unique moment in our city's history. Thank you for this.

[@DevoteeOfAergia]

Sounds quite a nice experience to have, something I wouldn't have expected to hear out of a blackout.

[@koii55]

Oh, thought this was gonna be about alcohol.