Dance Camera West Virtual Festival on OVID.tv

March 31 - May 1, 2021

7 day viewing pass $12 purchase here

The DCW 2021 Festival collection features five programs of dance films ranging from group dances in remote landscapes, urban spaces and studios around the world, to introspective solos that invite us to share space with dancers sheltering at home. Experience the energy, vitality and passion of dance in the context of cinema and the challenging times we are living in.

SEDIMENTED HERE

Director/Choreographer: Rachel Barker (United States, 6 min 40 sec)

This dance film shot in Moab, Utah explores the relationship between the moving body and outdoor environment, asking "what movement belongs here"? The dancers immerse themselves in the red rock, water, and sand as the perspective shifts from intimate close-ups to grandiose panoramas, bringing the viewer into this visceral desert world.

Rachel Barker is dance-maker, teacher, and performer from Salt Lake City, Utah. Sedimented Here is her first foray into the film world, and has received awards from the Red Rocks Film Festival and Mexico City Videodance Festival. Her choreography has been presented at the Breaking Ground Festival (AZ), Seattle International Dance Festival, the North Carolina Dance Festival, On Site/In Site Festival (NC), and venues throughout Utah, Washington, and Ohio. Rachel was selected as a choreographer for the Repertory Dance Theater (RDT) Regalia Competition in Salt Lake City, UT (2020). She is an Assistant Professor of Dance at Brigham Young University. She has performed the work of artists Bebe Miller, John Jasperse, Keith Johnson, Cyrus Khambatta, and Donna Uchizono, among others.

TRACES

Director/Choreographer: Alex Murrull (Spain, 8 min, 25 sec)

Two strangers share a room for hours in different shifts. Their loneliness is broken as they find each other’s objects. A relationship that inhabits a space between fantasy and reality soon emerges.

Alex Murrull graduated in cinema and photography and has participated in many types of audiovisual productions alternating between the directing and photography departments. In the field of photography he has also worked for fashion and car magazines. He currently combines his work in the film sector with teaching, and is the Head of Film Studies at The Plató de Cinema.

Director: Mariana Palacios, Choreographer: Adrián del Arroyo (Sweden, 11 min 47 sec)

4 is an experimental short film featuring music & dance that brings the audience to a research space to identify the source of balance and proportions in the combined art forms. Two pianists and two dancers travel together in a retro-futuristic quest for knowledge through pulse and rhythm, creating a progressive and hypnotic piece, and placing the piano as a common operating table for their interaction. The music features extended piano techniques in an intense, minimalist score.

In the past few years, Mariana Palacios has developed a very ambitious project in the form of a film trilogy, in which she aims to unify music and dance with the cinematographic language. She is the director, producer, performer, and composer of her films, collaborating with a wide range of international artists.

EARTH ODYSSEY– Asaf Avidan

Director: Adi Halfin, Choreographer: Dancers (Germany, 4 min 31 sec)

Earth Odyssey was made by dancers from different continents filming themselves in their confinement with their personal phones and computers. It was made in the first week of April 2020 while almost 2 billion people around the globe were unable to move freely due to the restrictions imposed in an attempt to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus.

Adi Halfin is an award-winning director and screenwriter. "HOME ALONE" which she directed for Batsheva Dance Company was a viral hit and has won ten international prizes, including Best Commercial and Best Inspirational at the LA Film Awards, and Best Short at the San Francisco Dance Film Festival. Her interpretation to Radiohead's "True Love Waits" featuring world-renowned dancer-choreographer Bobbi Jene Smith, has won seven awards, including Best Unofficial Music Video at the Los Angeles Music Video Festival, 2017. Adi’s enthralling work for Toyota’s Impossible Stories offers an arresting portrayal of athlete Dergin Tokmak, and was subsequently shortlisted at Cannes and won The One Club award for Best Documentary.

BEAST

Director: Henrique Pina, Choreographer: Victor Hugo Pontes (Portugal, 10 min 8 sec)

Beast portrays an encounter between the choreographer Victor Hugo Pontes and Braga Municipal Stadium, by the architect Eduardo Souto de Moura. Order and disorder. Men and beasts in flocks. Wild conquest among mute roars. Concrete and stone. Light and shadow. Color. Immensity and vertigo. Hooray! Hooray! Hooray! Chrysalis. The hatching of beasts.

Henrique Pina (b. 1987) studied Film & Screen Practice at the University of Roehampton, London, from 2005 to 2008. He returned to his hometown and worked for two years in Krypton Productions, a film production company based in Lisbon, Portugal. He had his directorial debut in 2011 with the short film "Tejo", which premiered at the New York International Film Festival and received an award at Prémios ZON - Creativity and Multimedia. He was one of four Portuguese young filmmakers invited to direct a film to be screened at the Lisbon and Estoril Film Festival, which gave birth to the short documentary "Passerby". His second fiction short film "The World Falls Apart (and still people fall in love)", won the award for Best National Fiction, in Oporto International Short Film Festival. Aires Mateus: Matter in Reverse (2017) was his first feature-length documentary, screened in more than 12 film festivals across three continents.

LIMINALITY

Director: Jennifer Akalina Petuch, Director/Choreographer: Annali Rose (United States. 7 min 45 sec)

Liminality is inspired by reimagining what Odette may have experienced upon plunging to her death in the lake from the classical ballet "Swan Lake". It is a moment of suspended reality and a story of disenchantment, self-discovery and transformation. In our modern world we know that “happily ever after” is a journey and we have the ability to exercise our own agency to create our experience. In our story, the heroine is exploring the space in between life and death. She is coming to terms with the end of her world as she knew it and finding the strength and courage to move into a new existence. We see this story as a metaphor for what many ballet dancers experience upon the imminent journey of their retirement from professional careers. On stage there is always a happy ending.

Jennifer A. Petuch is currently Adjunct Faculty and Staff at Florida State University's School of Dance. She trained for fourteen years at the Academy of Ballet Florida and performed with Ballet Florida. She also became certified by Balanced Body, Inc. as a Pilates Mat instructor in 2017. Her MFA thesis resulted in a two-year collaboration with the FSU Computer Science faculty and students creating an original interactive software for the stage called ViFlow. She creates screen dances, projections, and uses new technology to enhance the performance experience.

WHERE THE SPIDERS LIVE

Director: Holger Mohaupt, Choreographer: Felix Watts (United Kingdom, 2 min 43 sec)

Holger Mohaupt is a German artist and filmmaker, based in Scotland. He studied visual communication and anthropology at the Art Academy in Hamburg and completed his studies in Scotland with a postgraduate diploma in Electronic Imaging and a practice-led PhD doctorate in Digital Mediation at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design in Dundee.

His distinct lens-based work has been exhibited internationally at festivals and in galleries and broadcast on TV. Holger’s research practice is focused on landscape, memory and immersive technologies. Since 2017 he is visiting lecturer in documentary film at Napier University in Edinburgh.

ESCAPE

Director/Choreographer: Heidi Duckler; Felipe Díaz Galarce (United States, 13 min 30 sec)

In November 2019 Heidi Duckler Dance performed as part of the international programming in Concepción, Chile. The company arrived at a time of mass protests fueled by the increased cost of living and prevalent inequality in Chile. Despite the rising fear of violence and feelings of trauma coming back from the days of the dictatorship, the festivals moved forward with their programming. Duckler, impacted by the protests, decided to create a film titled, ESCAPE, that reveals the correlation between the Chilean and American experiences. The team traveled and filmed in Valdivia, Concepción, and Los Ángeles, Chile, listening to the stories of local residents, using dance as a tool of expression and resistance. Now as we confront police brutality in America and face a global crisis, the themes of fear, increasing inequality, and unstable leadership feel more relevant than ever and are explored through this cinematic experience.

Heidi Duckler is the Artistic Director and founder of Heidi Duckler Dance in Los Angeles, California and Heidi Duckler Dance/Northwest in Portland, Oregon. Titled the “reigning queen of site-specific performance” by the LA Times, Duckler has created more than 300 dance pieces all over the world.

Program B:

DUSK

Director: Henrique Pina, Choreographer: Olga Roriz (Portugal. 7 min 52 sec)

Dusk portrays an encounter between the choreographer Olga Roriz and the Mudas – Contemporary Art Museum, on Madeira Island, by the architect Paulo David. Horizon. Sea. Sky. Rock over the sea. A spiraling run from an interior to an exterior. A body thrown into the space. The quest’s anxiety.

Henrique Pina studied Film & Screen Practice at the University of Roehampton, London, from 2005 to 2008. He returned to his hometown and worked for two years in Krypton Productions, a film production company based in Lisbon, Portugal. He had his directorial debut in 2011 with the short film "Tejo", which premiered at the New York International Film Festival and received an award at Prémios ZON - Creativity and Multimedia. He was one of four Portuguese young filmmakers invited to direct a film to be screened at the Lisbon and Estoril Film Festival, which gave birth to the short documentary "Passerby". His second fiction short film "The World Falls Apart (and still people fall in love)", won the award for Best National Fiction, in Oporto International Short Film Festival. Aires Mateus: Matter in Reverse (2017) was his first feature-length documentary, screened in more than 12 film festivals across three continents.

Director/Choreographer: Cass Mortimer Eipper (Australia, 5 min 58 sec)

ID follows six dancers in communion, each driven by their own instinctive impulses which manifest fast and slow. Propelled like machines through dispositions and space, oscillations of awareness illuminate shared conflicts — within the self, the couple and the tribe.

Cass Mortimer Eipper is an award-winning director/choreographer/dancer. Creating for both stage and film, he has presented work throughout Australia, Europe, Canada and the U.S.A. Awards include: Global Short Film Awards Cannes: Best Dance Film - for ‘Brute’; The Helpmann Award: Most Outstanding Male Dancer for his performance in William Forsythe’s ‘Quintett’; Rome International Choreography Competition: Most Outstanding Performance for his work ‘Solo 1.5’; Stuttgart International Dance Festival: 3rd prize for his performance in Emma Sandall’s ‘BodySong’; West Australian Dance Awards: Most Outstanding Choreography for his collaboration with Emma Sandall on their work ‘Fleck & Flecker’.

In addition to performing with Sydney Dance Company and West Australian Ballet, he has worked with and performed works by Gideon Obarzanek, Alexander Ekman, Melanie Lane, Jacopo Godani, Francis Rings, Lightfoot Leon, Andonis Foniadakis, Rafael Bonachela, Gabrielle Nankivell, Natalie Weir and William Forsythe.

FOREST FLOOR

Director/Choreographer: Robbie Synge (United Kingdom, 4 min 47 sec)

Shot in Abernethy Forest in The Cairngorms, “Forest Floor” considers different bodies and physical access challenges in a rural location. Close friends Julie and Robbie sit quietly together on the ground, a simple idea requiring a novel approach.

Robbie Synge (Cairngorms) and Julie Cleves (London) are performance artists. Their work together playfully investigates cooperative, embodied solutions to access problems, often Involving simple DIY-made objects.

SECOND SEED

Director/Choreographer: Baye & Asa (United States, 15 min 24 sec)

Second Seed is a dance horror film responding to D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation. Griffith's film is a veneration of the KKK, painting the Klan as saviors of a white race in danger as American culture and politics begin to shift after the American Civil War. It highlights a fundamental White supremacist delusion that continues to plague this country: that White people are inherently superior, and that they are politically and culturally under attack. Second Seed grapples with this White delusion.

Baye & Asa is a company creating movement art projects, directed by Amadi 'Baye' Washington & Sam 'Asa' Pratt. They've premiered multiple live dance works in New York City performance venues and given lectures and teaching workshops at The Dalton School, Hotchkiss boarding school, and Bard College. Currently, Amadi performs in Punchdrunk's Sleep No More in NYC, and Sam is a member of Akram Khan Company in London.

LOST HORSE – Asaf Avidan

Director: Adi Halfin, Choreographers: Bobbi Jene Smith, Or Schraiber, (Germany, 3 min)

Armed with their own camera, modern dance power-couple Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber set about documenting their intimate daily lives in a new genre of “Musical” style documentary. Mixing improvised choreography driven by their immediate emotions with the relentless, never-stopping rolling of the camera, the two created an abundance of scenes reflecting the many aspects of a relationship full of multitudes. A life full of beginnings and endings coexisting in us all. Following the video for "Earth Odyssey", Director/Editor Adi Halfin’s vision for this video was another creative solution for a period where it is virtually impossible to create international collaborations due to the restrictions as a result of the global pandemic. After many ideas for the video were put down due to the inability to bring dancers and film crew together. She decided to go with the flow and have the dancers film themselves. Mixing their dance into a documentation of their personal life. In the end - this actually proved to be an advantage and allowed a more intimate and close-up view of the couple’s lives.

Adi Halfin is an award-winning director and screenwriter. “HOME ALONE" which she directed for Batsheva Dance Company was a viral hit and has won ten international prizes, including Best Commercial and Best Inspirational at the LA Film Awards, and Best Short at the San Francisco Dance Film Festival. Her interpretation to Radiohead's "True Love Waits" featuring world-renowned dancer-choreographer Bobbi Jene Smith, has won seven awards, including Best Unofficial Music Video at the Los Angeles Music Video Festival, 2017. Adi’s enthralling work for Toyota’s Impossible Stories offers an arresting portrayal of athlete Dergin Tokmak, and was subsequently shortlisted at Cannes and won The One Club award for Best Documentary.

THE KING

Director/Choreographer: Jonathan Redavid (United States, 4 min 21 sec)

Jonathan Redavid is a choreographer for SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, DWTS Live 2020, FLIRTY DANCING, THE MASKED SINGER, PREMIOS JUVENTUD – MARC ANTHONY, MALUMA, WISIN, J BALVIN, OZUNA. Associate Choreographer for PHARRELL WILLIAMS in the KARL LAGERFELD – CHANEL film The Reincarnation, for GWEN STEFANI, MATTHEW MORRISON and The HUMAN NATURE Live. Redavid‘s Choreography can also be seen in “Spiegelworld” ABSINTHE at Caesars Palace Las Vegas, LAURA PAUSINI – Simili World Tour, AMICI , SUPERFRUIT MV Worth it, RAF – Sono io Tour, ELISA – Heart Tour, L.O.L SURPRISE, GARNIER, NESTLE’ and PUPA. He has worked with JENNIFER LOPEZ, CHRISTINA AGUILERA, SELENA GOMEZ, KATY PERRY , NICKI MINAJ, JASON DERULO , RICKY MARTIN, NE-YO, MARIAH CAREY, P!NK, KELLY CLARKSON, ELLIE GOULDING, FERGIE, JUSTIN BIEBER, JESSIE J , WILL BUTLER, CAPITAL CITIES, EMMA STONE. He played the role of the Three Legged Man “Frank Lentini” in the 20th Century Fox Musical Drama Film THE GREATEST SHOWMAN Starring HUGH JACKMAN and ZAC EFRON. He has been The Choreographer for 8th Seasons of X FACTOR Italy and Assoc. Choreographer for the Film THE TOURIST Starring (Angelina Jolie & Johnny Depp). He also has been the Artistic Director and Choreographer for HUGO BOSS, TRIUMPH, SLOGGI, JEAN LOUIS DAVID and WELLA. Jonathan Redavid started dancing at the age of 5 , Ballroom and Swing in his hometown near Milan Italy. He has worked in the show business since the age of 2 years old, dividing his time between Cinema, Tv, Fashion and Print.

BEING

Director: Pablo Destito and Agustina Videla, Choreographer: Agustina Videla, (Argentina, 7 min 14 sec)

Being captures the restorative power that draws the dancer to the dance. Away from a life of sidewalks and cellphones, where beauty is unnoticed, time stops so it may start again. The dance restores the self, and the senses reconnect with the world, like a flower bouncing back from destruction.

THE CIRCADIAN CYCLE

Director/Choreographer: Garry Stewart (Australia, 16:11, short)

The Circadian Cycle is a short film conceived and directed by Garry Stewart, with cinematography from renowned director and film maker Cordelia Beresford. Filmed within the stunning South Australian landscape, The Circadian Cycle draws upon choreography from Australian Dance Theatre’s award winning mainstage work The Beginning of Nature. Using the dancing body as a metaphor, The Circadian Cycle examines morphology, biological rhythm and animal behavior. The film charts a day from sunrise to evening, moving through cycles of nature, from nascence and awakening to predation and death.

INTERNATIONAL DANCE: LOS ANGELES

Virtual Screenings presented by Theater Raymond Kabbaz

Tickets are $10 for each night of the festival or $25 for all three nights (18 movies total), and can be purchased here: https://trkdcwlaidf.eventive.org/welcome

3 Nights, 8:00 pm
Thur, Jan 7
Fri, Jan. 8
Sat, Jan 9

Dance Camera West and Theatre Raymond Kabbaz have rolled out an exclusive set of international dance films that allow you to travel abroad without, well, traveling anywhere. Enjoy new work from filmmakers and choreographers from France, Australia, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Ireland, and more, all wrapped in an artistically minded 3-day festival. International Dance: Los Angles is scheduled to run online from January 7-9, 2021 with a total of 18 international short dance films, along with exclusive interviews on the stage of Theatre Raymond Kabbaz with filmmakers, producers, dancers, choreographers and festival directors.

UNIQUE STORIES

CHEN

Director: Orit Novak Choreographers: David McAllister, Marius Petipa, Arthur Saint Leon; Cast: Chengwu Guo, Ako Kondo, David McAllister, Li Cunxin, Dale Baker, Jiahong Wong, Carol Guo (Australia, 21 min, Documentary; Chinese, English)

‘CHEN’ tells the story of Chinese Australian dancer Chengwu Guo (Chen), who at the age of 10 was thrown into the strict and rigorous training world of the Beijing Dance Academy. Whilst enduring long periods of time away from his family and being subjected to harsh training methods, Chen was molded into a highly talented and daring artist. After winning a prestigious competition he migrated to Australia at the age of 16, quickly rising through the ranks to become one of Australia’s most highly acclaimed principal dancers. Now after meeting his partner Ako (also principal dancer of the Australian Ballet) and riding a continual wave of success he must face one of his greatest challenges yet: A career threatening injury that could force him to quit performing forever. Will this injury stop Chen, one of Australia’s best dancers, from reaching his physical and artistic peak?

This is Orit Novak’s debut documentary. She is a passionate storyteller and filmmaker and has worked tirelessly on this project for the past two years. Throughout the process she has been inspired by films such as ‘Dancer’, ‘Polina’ and ‘Mao’s Last Dancer’ and drew on these films frequently for inspiration. Apart from her love of documentary filmmaking she has also directed, edited and produced music videos and narrative short films. She enjoys all stages of the filmmaking process especially post-production where she really feels the story comes together. Orit continues to seek out new and innovative ways of telling stories. With her unique passion for visual effects and keen eye for rhythm and editing she continues to improve her skills in all areas of filmmaking.

ALL IT GIVES

Director: Talia Woodland; Cast: Kosi Eze, Caroline "Lady C" Fraser, Marcelino "FrostFlow" DaCosta, Mariano "Glizzi" Abarca (Canada, 15 min, Documentary)

Showcasing one of Toronto’s best up and coming Hiphop dancing stars, All It Gives follows the story of Kosi Eze, a Nigerian immigrant who moved to Canada when she was 14. Her transition to the country brought immense culture shock, loneliness and loss of identity. She was immediately hooked by the vibrant HipHop scene in Toronto and Mississauga. After meeting key members of the dance community Marcelino “FrostFlow” DaCosta, Mariano “Glizzi” Abarca and Caroline “Lady C” Fraser, she was able to meet even more new people, share perspectives, and excel as a dancer in the Toronto community and beyond. From dancing in the hallways at her high school, to winning battles across the globe, Kosi’s story of growth is a glowing example of how the power of Hiphop can inspire, uplift and support anyone who needs it and wants to discover it.

A professional dancer and filmmaker, Talia Woodland is a multi-media artist from Whitehorse, Yukon. Wearing many creative hats, she feels adept both in front of and behind the camera. A graduate of Humber College’s renowned Film & Television Production program, her foray into documentary filmmaking began with her as picture editor on the critically acclaimed short, “Stripped.” From there, she worked as a camera operator on several short film projects, which led to her role as cinematographer on the short musical drama, “Lola Jones.” Talia is excited to be releasing her directorial debut, a hip-hop dance documentary entitled “All It Gives.” Her strong connection to the dance community comes from the work she has done with Borealis Soul, a multimedia dance and theatre company from Whitehorse Yukon. Her hard work at Humber earned her the 2019 Women in Film Award. A recent graduate, Talia is interning with celebrated Canadian filmmaker Liz Marshall and continuing her dance work with Borealis Soul. Talia is excited to continue working on diverse multimedia projects in Toronto, Whitehorse and beyond.

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L’AMOUR! AND MORE…

WINTER GREW COLD

Directors: Cati Jean and Desi Jevon; Choreographers: Desi Jevon, Cati Jean; Cinematographer: Vinny Randazzo; Cast: Hunter Krikac, Mark Morante, Haley Jessup (USA, 6 min 6 secs, Short film)

A reminisce of a man's true love that got away before taking his last breath.

Desi "Babalu" Jévon is a 3-time World Choreography Award nominee, his work can be seen on tv, film, and live theatre. Some of his choreography credits include The Imagen Awards televised on PBS, Mi Sueño es Bailar (Spanish Dancing with the Stars), VH-1's Dating Naked (assoc), USA's The Moment, Van Halen for both The Jimmy Kimmel Show and The Ellen Show, CBS's Celebrity Big Brother, Celebrity Cruises (Turner Classic Movies), NBC's First Look with the Bachelor's Ben Higgins, and is the assistant choreographer on Showtime's new tv series Penny Dreadful: City of Angeles. He has directed several music videos, commercials, and live theatre shows including the 1940s immersive show, an East Side Story, which ran in Los Angeles for a year. This is the first time that he and Cati Jean have collaborated as filmmakers, but after this wonderful experience, there will be many more to come.

Cati Jean was born in Versailles and raised in Grasse, France. She studied ballet and became a professional dancer and teacher at 17 years old. She worked in Paris, Tokyo then moved to Los Angeles to work on live tours, theatre, television and films, alongside teaching master classes in Scandinavia, Canada, South Korea, Mexico and Italy. She has worked with the most sacred artists, such as Tina Turner, Robin Williams, Isaac Hayes and Prince, performing/choreographing at the Academy Awards, The American Music Awards, Kylie Minogue and Jane’s Addiction’s World Tours, commercials, films “Powder Blue”, “Kiss Kiss-Bang Bang.” She developed an interest in directing and choreographing and created “L' effleur des Sens—which ran for 6 years in Hollywood, opening for Le Cirque du Soleil, and featured in the Bravo TV show “Step it up and Dance”—and the 1920’s immersive Cafe Theatre “Nuit Blanche.” Her work has always been cinematic so it was natural to start creating and directing for film. She studied Screendance under Award winning director Katrina McPherson in Scotland and directed in that same year two shorts. Collaborating with her longtime friend, Desi Jevon on “Winter Grew Cold “ has been a soothing and profound journey.

ON THE MATTER OF FLOWERS (La question des fleurs)

Director: Ismaël Mouaraki; Choreographers: Andrea Peña, Christophe Garcia, Dominique Porte, Ismaël Mouaraki; Cast: Daphnée Laurendeau, Danny Morissette; Photos: Bobby León (Canada, 14 min 50 sec, Short film)

An initiative of Agence Mickaël Spinnhirny, co-produced with the companies Andrea Peña & Artists, Destins Croisés, la [parenthèse] / Christophe Garcia and Système D/Dominique Porte.

On the Matter of Flowers brings together six dance artists, choreographers and performers which merge together six creative universes at once different and complementary, to create a unique, collective work while apart. It brings together the imagination and visions of these creative minds in a choreographic work reflecting the love of dance that unites them. Stifled in their artistic pursuits, four choreographers have come together to find a substitute for the lack of human contact: a duet created from afar with a pair of virtuosi performers. Four creative choreographers, four artistic spirits and accomplices, who come together to explore, question and deepen their understanding of the notions of touch, intimacy and human contact. These dance composers come together in the physicality and excellence of their choreographic works, which they each express in their own unique way: Andrea Peña’s raw, rigorous, and visceral energy, Christophe Garcia’s intimate, sensitive, and vibrant choreographic writing, Ismaël Mouaraki’s physical, organic, and urban intensity, and Dominique Porte’s lyrical, whimsical, and intuitive signature.

On the Matter of Flowers is a tribute to dance performers so abruptly cut off from what sustains and thrills them. Daphnée Laurendeau and Danny Morissette, both artists and dancers, and also a couple in life, agreed to embark on the journey of this most unusual creative process. It is so rare to see two performers assimilating, in a single work, four distinct choreographic languages. It will be the first time the choreographers will be working with a couple, an incredible source of inspiration for them. On the Matter of Flowers explores the relationship of intimacy, love, human contact, and touch, a taboo in these troubled and troubling times, to release the senses and embrace freedom.

French-Moroccan-Canadian choreographer and self-taught dancer Ismaël Mouaraki discovered urban dances at the age of 12. He was introduced to contemporary dance with the choreographer Xavier Lot during his residence at the Centre culturel André Malraux. It was the beginning of a three-year collaboration, and the start of a career for Ismaël. Curious and determined, he worked with different choreographers and companies in France and Canada, including Compagnie Accrorap, Philippe Découflé and Hélène Blackburn, allowing him to share his talent and his artistic expertise with a varied audience.

DUET ALANDA

Company: Marcat Dance; Choreography: Mario Bermudez Gil; Assistant Choreographer: Catherine Coury; Dancers: Mario Bermudez Gil & Catherine Coury; Lighting Designer: Mario Bermudez Gil; Music: La Rosa Enflorese (Spain, 10 min 14 sec, Short film)

Duet Alanda connects and contrasts vital pathways of past and present while intersecting lines of lineage with movement memories of cultural beauty and traditional lore. Wherever its origin, the dance evokes life, ancient and new. Matched in strength and fluidity, the couple seeks to balance tension and tenderness, chaos and calm.

HORS

Directors: Amélie Gagnon, Julia-Maude Cloutier; Choreographers: Amélie Gagnon, Julia-Maude Cloutier; Cast: Amélie Gagnon, Julia-Maude Cloutier; Cinematographer: Stéphane Thériault; Editor: Stéphane Thériault, Elias Djemil-Matassov; Sound: Mathieu Grégoire, Alexandre Laberge; Sound Mix: Synchro Postproduction Audio; Sound Editor: Alexandre Côté. (Canada, 5 min 51 sec, Narrative Short)

Hors is a dance film on the border of surrealism. It is carried by a reflection on the interior and exterior places. Two women-landscapes merge into one another and transpose themselves into distinct places, from winter landscapes to squeaky uninhabited places, in a quest towards their place of belonging, if there is one. Dissonance between calm and discomfort, the images tell a story that goes on under the flesh, in the intervening space of the Self and the Other and proposes the sensitive connection to nature as a space for rooting. "From childhood I suspected that another reality existed. "- Julio Cortázar

Julia-Maude Cloutier is a contemporary dance artist based in Quebec who specializes in multidisciplinary collaborations and in-situ performances. In recent years, she has been influenced by the eye of the camera which transforms her vision of dance by opening up new creative possibilities both on stage and on the big screen. She directed her first dance film Rust (in collaboration with Josiane Roberge) in 2019. She is co-founder of the collective CRue with Amélie Gagnon.

Amélie Gagnon is a performer, choreographer and artistic advisor. Before her studies in contemporary dance, she studied literature and philosophy. She collaborates with multidisciplinary artists in favor of an open creative process. Moved by her desire to perceive the intangible, she was initiated into directing with Isabel Rocamora, who was a decisive encounter. Hors is her first step into cinema.

DIGNITY

Director: Alayna Jennings; Choreographer: Alayna Jennings; Cast: Jillian Teskey, Sadie Posey, Kristy Dai, Pauler Lam, Alayna Jennings, Keenan Reed, Taylor Shultz, Cameron Wille (USA, 2 min 57 sec, Narrative Short)

Domestic Violence has an extensive and painful impact. Nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States alone. On any given day there are more than 20,000 phone calls placed to domestic violence hotlines nationwide. We hope through sharing this work we can emphasize the power in survivors. We hope we can remind everyone of their Dignity.

Independent filmmaker and spoken word artist Alayna Jennings is a Salt Lake City native. She has worked in the entertainment industry since 2010. Her work combines the artistry of poetry, choreography, and film. Alayna's passions radiate in her work, addressing critical social issues with a focus on affecting authentic change. Her directorial debut Unremedied attacks the dangers of indifference and ignorance towards a relevant societal epidemic, sexual harassment. Alayna's up-and-coming second film Dignity focuses on the effects of domestic violence while striving to raise awareness and generate empowerment for survivors.Her written works have been performed live throughout the country, and include topics such as equality, female empowerment, child abandonment, and embracing the power of activism.

AVOIDANCE

Director: Matthew McKee; Choreographer: Ben Needham-Wood; Cast: James Gilmer, Jennifer Stahl; Director of Photography: Matthew Piniol, Matthew McKee; Designer: Susan Roemer; Music: Hae Voces; Makeup: Sarah Coy; Editor/Colorist: Matthew McKee; Sound Design: Sasha Michkovsky; Audio Mix/Master: Elad Marish; Set Design (USA, 6 min 30 sec, Narrative Short)

A short dance film inspired by themes of loss and conflict.

SWIVEL

Director: Lois Norman; Choreographer: Iron&Sparks; Director of Photography: Teryl Brouillette; Sound Design: Jemma Cholawo; Editing: Lois Norman & Teryl Brouillette; Score: Helen Mountfort; Cast: Iron&Sparks (United Kingdom, 6 min 39 sec, Narrative Short)

What if, you can be all of who you are and still allow another? That just for one night, judgement no longer exists? What if, an intimacy of touch, a truth of want, swivels around your doubt and trusts? What if, love is not a gender, it is a swivel of the heart? Swivel is a short gender fluid dance story by award-winning director Lois Norman, starring the trailblazing Iron&Sparks, Swivel is a brave leap of faith, that moves to express the courage it takes to explore sexuality and self with true equality, acceptance and compassion. Swivel had its World Premiere at Queer North Canada 2019 and has since won 12 outright Winner Awards and many more Award Nominations!

Lois Norman is a British/Australian Creative Artist, whose work focuses on the bravery and diversity of the human condition. Primarily, using the ‘Female’ word and image as a lens, she explores and questions the truth of who we are and the strength it takes to be all of who we can dare to be. With a career in theatre, spoken word and a love of art and the visual, Lois is currently enjoying film and writing collaborations with a diverse range of artists from all disciplines, always moving to explore new ways of seeing and feeling. Her short documentary Drawing on Speech which was created in collaboration with Tate Curator and Artist Michele Fuirer, was screened at both at Tate Britain and Tate Modern 2014/2015. Her award-winning documentary She Is Juiced, a first feature for Lois, which she filmed entirely solo, celebrates the work and lives of Four LGBTQIA+ Female Identifying Artists, had its World Premiere at Tate Britain in 2017, both as part of Tate’s ground Breaking Exhibition, Queer Britain and to launch London Pride 2017. The film has also won Best Art Film at NRFF Amsterdam 2018, Best Documentary at Brighton Rocks 2018, was a BAFTA Cymru Finalist at Carmarthen Bay Film Festival 2018 and Lois has won ‘Most Innovative Film Maker’ at Wales International Film Festival 2018.

Swivel, Lois’ gender fluid dance film starring the trailblazing Iron&Sparks was made in 2019 and is currently screening/has been screened in many world film festivals, including the prestigious BAFTA accredited Aesthetica & BAFTA Cymru accredited Carmarthen Bay Film Festival in the UK. Swivel has won 11 awards so far including Best Experimental, Best LGBTQ, Best Score, Best International Short, Best Art House Short and Most Pioneering Work!

LAZARUS

Director: Tuixén Benet; Choreographer: Tuixén Benet; Cast: Àngela Boix (Spain, 8 min 34 sec, Narrative Short)

Through a dialogue between movement and landscape, Lazarus reflects on the objectification of the woman body in film. The famous quote by Edgar Allan Poe "the death of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world" triggers a succession of falls and recoveries that escape the poetic by trying too hard to find it.

Tuixén Benet Cosculluela is a choreographer and filmmaker based out of Barcelona and Los Angeles. Awarded for her Exceptional Input for Dance Cinema at Choreoscope, Barcelona 2020. She has choreographed for feature films, advertising campaigns and music videos all over the world, collaborating with production companies such as CANADA, O, Blink, Doomsday and Control Films, and with artists such as Tame Impala, Polo & Pan, Justice, El Guincho, Juanes and Javiera Mena among others. Her choreographies have been nominated many times at the UK Music Video Awards and she won the Le Club des Directeurs Artistiques 2018. She co-created the dance company Les filles Föllen in Barcelona, awarded best New Talent 2011 by the Dance Association of Catalonia. Besides creating her own work for the stage and performing in festivals around Europe and America with the company, she directed and edited her own music videos and short dance films. She’s recently finished her first medium-length choreographic film Aloma i Mila and is in post-production on her next film. She is also the guitar player of the Catalan band Les Sueques with which she released three records and has toured across Spain and the UK. Tuixén Benet graduated in Choreography and Interpretation Techniques at the Institut del Teatre de Barcelona and earned an MFA in Film Directing at the California Institute of the Arts.

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NEW INSPIRATION

FLOOR FALLS

Directors: Jennifer Paterson, Lewis Gourlay, Abby Warrilow; Cast: Freya Jeffs; Director of Photography: Andrew Begg Focus Puller: Sefa Ucbas; Aerial Performance Rigger: Imogen Michel; Editor and VFX Artist: Lewis Gourlay; Hair & Make Up: Karen Shields; Lighting Assistant: Stuart Anderson Production Coordinator: Suzanne Heffron (United Kingdom, 2 min 56 sec, Experimental Short)

A woman stands, takes a breath, and moves. Arching back extending further than seems possible, she steps forward, rising up onto the tip of her toe and over the threshold. We see blackness then she appears. Rotating and twisting, the camera and her dance around each other. She suspends, or has the floor fallen? We focus in on her as she walks in air, gravity free, not knowing where we are, what is up and what is down. Spinning through the space, gradually we see her disappearing, focus fading and she is gone. Floor Falls is a collaboration between award-winning filmmakers Lewis Gourlay and Abby Warrilow of Cagoule and aerial dance choreographer Jennifer Paterson of All or Nothing Aerial Dance Theatre, featuring dancer Freya Jeffs. This short dance for screen brings together aerial harness techniques with dance for camera.

Jennifer Paterson is Artistic Director of All or Nothing Aerial Dance Theatre, Scotland’s leading aerial dance company. Her first experience in dance for screen was as a performer in Katrina McPherson’s Moment. She has since forged a career as an aerial and dance performer, choreographer and director, helping to build the aerial scene in Scotland. Choreographer and dance-film maker, Abby Warrilow works internationally on the sets of feature films, commercials, stage and music videos. Her client list has an impressive read and includes the likes of Paramount Pictures, Universal, EMI, BBC and Scottish Opera. Lewis Gourlay has a reputation both as respected and creative editor, and a talented video graphic artist, enabling him to work in each separate discipline or, as is increasingly required, in both simultaneously. Cagoule’s previous dance film, Etch, has won several awards and is still being shown in festivals across the world.

NAVIGATION

Directors: Marlene Millar; Choreographer: Sandy Silva; Cast: Andrew Bathory, Sonia Clarke, David Cronkite, Dominic Desrochers, Afia Douglas, Isaac Endo, Hélène Lemay, Kimberly Robin, Sandy Silva, Bobby Thompson, Kate Daly and the Lismorahaun Singers; Editor: Jules de Niverville; Composers: Jean Fréchette, Sandy Silva; Sound Editor: Félix Boisvert; (Canada, 13 min 30 sec, Experimental Short)

Set in the spectacular Burren region on the West coast of Ireland, Navigation explores the current humanitarian crisis of displacement and dislocation that is experienced both individually and collectively. Using the land itself to explore how we navigate through unknown terrain, themes of survival and perseverance, departure and renewal emerge in a nuanced and layered interpretation of the migration experience. The rhythms, movement, vocals and landscape define and embody this exploration, featuring the performances of 10 dancers, singers and a choir of 40 participants. Awards for Navigation: BEST GROUP PERFORMANCE AWARD - InShadow - Lisbon’s Screendance Festival, Portugal; BEST FILM AWARD - Moving Body Film Festival, Bulgaria; BEST FILM AWARD - Bucharest International Dance Film Festival;BEST FILM and AUDIENCE AWARDS - Stories We Dance - Festival internazionale di danza e videodanza, Italy; JURY SPECIAL MENTION - Screen.dance, Scotland’s Festival of Dance on Screen; Screendance Award Finalist - Leeds International Film Festival, UK; Award Finalist - Rollout Dance Film Festival, Macao

Filmmaker Marlene Millar has created dance, documentary and experimental media productions since 1989. She earned her BFA in Film Production at Concordia University in Montreal, pursued graduate filmmaking studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and received a Pew Dance Media Fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles. Marlene co-founded the production company Mouvement Perpétuel with Philip Szporer in 2001, co-creating internationally acclaimed arts documentaries, dance films and installations. Marlene has directed and co-produced 6 short films, including Navigation, in the Migration Dance Film Project (MDFP) series, winner of over twenty-five international awards and prizes. MDFP was established by choreographer, composer and producer Sandy Silva and Millar in 2014. Marlene's 30 years of media arts practice was recently recognizing in a 5-month solo exhibition at Threshold artspace (Perth, UK). Marlene is committed to supporting the creative practice of independent filmmaking, mentoring emerging artists and teaching workshops across Canada and internationally.

A HARD DAY’S NIGHT

Directors: Benjamin Hoffman, Mathieu Mondoulet; Choreographer: Thibaut Eiferman; Cast: Thibaut Eiferman; Producer: Asterias Productions (France, 4 min 25 sec, Experimental Short)

This film is a two-way street between architecture and modern dance. It was shot in the very famous Jean Daladier abandoned houses in Burgundy, France with the wonderful dancer and choreographer Thibaut Eiferman, former member of the Batsheva ensemble in Tel Aviv and directed by Ohad Naharin. This piece is about containment, it is a story of isolation, the temptation to live in this condition and the strong will to extract from it. This is an introspection story through dancing that leads to a luminous ending.

PAS DE QUOI

Directors: Paulo Filipe Monteiro; Choreographer: Amélia Bentes; Cast: Amélia Bentes, Fran Martinez, Diego Buceta; Music: Nuno Veiga; Editing: Rúben Gonçalves; Cinematography: Filipe Dores; Sound: Toninho Neto (Portugal, 10 min 53 sec, Experimental Short)

A ferryboat. A meeting between two souls. Hurdles and shadows keep being overcome until the end. Bodies always striving to breathe along the way.

Paulo Filipe Monteiro wrote and directed Amor Cego/Three to Tango, 2010, 25’. Prize of the Jury at Festival Córtex, November 2010. He wrote and directed Zeus, 2017, 117’. Sinde Filipe won the Best Actor Prize at the 4th Indian Film Festival in 2016 in Mumbai. 4 Prizes in the Official Selection of the XXII Caminhos Film Festival At the 14th Festival Cinéma et Migrations Agadir Zeus won: Áquila Prize for Best Director 2018 (Paulo Filipe Monteiro) Special Mention at Festival du Film Méditerraneen d’Alexandrie, Oct. 2018. He’s directed 16 theatre plays. He is a full professor of cinema and of performing arts at Universidade Nova de Lisboa. He has published extensively on cinema, performing arts and fiction.

LA MÉCANIQUE DES ANGES

Director: Bertrand Guerry; Producer: MITIKI; Screenplay: Bertrand Guerry, Thomas Guerry, Cédric Marchal; Cast: Cédric Marchal, Thomas Guerry , Camille Rocailleux, Romie Esteves, Nicolas Martel, Aline Braz Da Silva, Caroline Rose, Thierry Morlet, Nadège Giguet, Elsa Joubert, Camille Rocailleux (France, 13 min 13 sec, Experimental Short)

A testing journey, with no return, without other luggage than oneself, for a very particular destination, governed by very particular rules to which certain individuals will have to submit themselves. The big ball of the lost souls can then begin.

WATERS INTO WILDERNESS

Director: Quinn Wharton; Choreographer: Lauren Edson; Cast: Brett Perry; Music: Andrew Stensaas (USA, 4 min 42 sec, Experimental Short)

A short dance film looking at the impact of community space when its not filled with the community. Featuring LED, choreographed by Lauren Edson, Danced by Brett Perry, and music by Andrew Stensaas.

Quinn Wharton is a director and choreographer with a specialty in human movement. He was born in Seattle and raised in a yurt in Hawaii. He danced for the San Francisco Ballet and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Quinn has choreographed and directed for such companies as the The Joffrey Ballet, Rolex, Airbnb, The Pacific Northwest Ballet and the San Francisco Ballet. He has lectured at Stanford and the University of Chicago.

Director: Cass Mortimer Eipper; Choreographer: Cass Mortimer Eipper; Producers: Paul Malek, Chris Curran (Australia, 5 min 58 sec, Experimental Short)

HOFESH SHECHTER’S CLOWNS

Director: Hofesh Shechter; Choreographer: Hofesh Shechter; Composer: Hofesh Shechter; Producers: John Wyver, Henny Finch; Cast: Chien-Ming Chang, Frédéric Despierre, Rachel Fallon, Mickaël Frappat, Yeji Kim, Kim Kohlmann, Erion Kruja, Merel Lammers, Attila Ronai, Diogo Sousa (United Kingdom, 28 min 21 sec, Experimental Short)

Hofesh Shechter's Clowns is a dance film that plays out a macabre comedy of murder and desire, asking how far we will go in the name of entertainment. Directed, choreographed and composed by Hofesh Shechter, it combines bold, exhilarating and tribal movement by ten dancers with a percussive, cinematic score.

Choreographer Hofesh Shechter OBE is recognized as one of the most exciting artists making stage work today, renowned for composing atmospheric musical scores to compliment the unique physicality of his movement. He is Artistic Director of the UK-based Hofesh Shechter Company, formed in 2008. The company are resident at Brighton Dome and Shechter is an Associate Artist of Sadler’s Wells. Hofesh Shechter’s repertoire for the company includes Uprising (2006), In your rooms (2007), The Art of Not Looking Back (2009), Political Mother (2010), Political Mother: The Choreographer’s Cut (2011), Sun (2013), barbarians (2015), Grand Finale (2017) and SHOW (2018) with his apprentice company, Shechter II. Shechter has also staged and choreographed works on leading international dance companies including the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Batsheva Ensemble, Candoco Dance Company, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater 1, Paris Opera Ballet, Royal Ballet and Royal Ballet Flanders. He has choreographed for theatre, television and opera, notably at the Metropolitan Opera (New York) for Nico Mulhy’s Two Boys, the Royal Court on Motortown and The Arsonists, the National Theatre on Saint Joan and for the Channel 4 series Skins. As part of #HOFEST, a 4-week festival celebrating Shechter’s work across 4 iconic London venues, he co-directed Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice with John Fulljames at the Royal Opera House. In 2016 he received a Tony Award nomination for his choreography for the Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof. Grand Finale is the latest full-length work in his canon, which premiered at La Villette with Théâtre de la Ville in Paris on June 14th, 2017 and was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production. In 2018 Hofesh Shechter was awarded an honorary OBE for Services to Dance and the company's first dance film, Hofesh Shechter’s Clowns, was broadcast by the BBC in September to great acclaim.

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