THE CITY UNSEEN

Unfolding across Los Angeles, Sackheim’s work in The City Unseen revitalizes the enigmatic nature of one of the most immortalized urban landscapes in cinema, and the birthplace of film noir. Sackheim’s signature approach to street photography through light and shadow not only creates a cinematic sensibility informed by his background as a television and film director, but also dramatizes everyday patterns and behavior with mysterious intent. Much like film noir’s distinct visual style and obsession with moral ambiguity, Sackheim turns what could have been familiar scenes into inexplicable encounters with the unknown. In The City Unseen, Sackheim ultimately reveals a latent aura of disquiet and anonymity that still inhabits the hidden corners and overlooked atmospheres of our contemporary lives and the cities we live in. 

“Using a heavy palette to extend the sense of unease, I try to satisfy my obsessive curiosity, rooted in secrets that lay hidden just beneath the surface. To excavate the past, to stare into the faces of ghosts long forgotten.” – Daniel Sackheim

The City Unseen also features an original essay from author and film historian Foster Hirsch reflecting on Sackheim’s work and its resonance within the broader history of film noir.