2023 International Dance Film Shorts

Impossible image-by Karen Pearlman &Richard James Allen (Australia)

A product of France and Germany's International Screendance Production Residency initiative, Karen Pearlman's 'Impossible Image' remixes the anarchy and gender play of women of the 1920s, with the fury, irony, and sly humour of dancing women in the 2020s. Cutting together contemporary action and archival footage creates a montage of rage, hilarity and feminist protest echoing across 100 years. Inspired by the vibrant energy of the silent film era comediennes, and their rampaging disregard for order and expectations, this project combines archival footage and contemporary dance sequences to draw parallels between subversive forms of protest from our great-grandmothers to ourselves. The past and the present coming together to challenge gender performance and shake down the patriarchy, while dancing in the streets.

What’s bred in the blood and bone- by Robin M. Gee (USA)

Inspired by the work of Ida Bell Wells, whose writing documented the episodic period of lynching’s in the 1890’s, What’s Bred in the Blood and Bone is a study of space and place, girded by the collective experiences of brown bodies. “Blood” explores “blood memory” as body memory and the ways in which our collective experiences bind and fortify us as African

Palindrome- By Amanda Hoover (USa)

Entranced with the idea of stories told forwards and in reverse, our team created this dance narrative. Directed, choreographed and edited by Amanda Hoover

Circle- by Phillip Kaminiak (USa)

“Circle" is an analogy between the modern human being, living in mass cities, and the phenomenon of the circle of death - observed in nature with ants who are separated from the main foraging party and lose the pheromone track.They begin to follow one another, forming a continuously rotating circle, commonly known as a "death spiral" because the ants might eventually die of exhaustion.Shot in Mexico City by director Phillip Kaminiak, this vibrant and impressive city is a protagonist, symbolizing a life in endless high speed movement and the humans who are dedicating their lives to endless movement, self-exhaustion in a modern capitalistic-based world

Shelf life- by PeteLitwinowicz (USA)

Inspired by the whimsical fruit and vegetable portraits of Arcimboldo, Shelf Life is a magical look at what might be dancing in the corners of our homes.

She weathers the change- by liv lorent (United Kingdom)

She Weathers the Change is an exploration and celebration of the strength and beauty of women as they age, endure and transform. The menopause should not signify the end of femininity or erase female performers and dancers from the stage or screen.

Isolation -by Andrew Margetson (United Kingdom)

Shay Latukolan performs a solo dance constrained in a white box, expressing the theme of 'isolation'.

Dance goodbye- Nuclear Radio -by Alexis Mourtzanos

The city is empty and desolate. Nothing works apart from the nuclear radio. The last remaining are a man and a woman. Each one alone. One ignores the existence of the other, but they dance to say goodbye to each other

Bronx Magic -by Marta Renzi (Usa)

The everyday magic of dance is everywhere in a Bronx neighborhood. Near the ice cream truck, under the elevated train, and at the subway station, everybody becomes part of the daily dance.

Picture This by- Peter Sparling (USa)

Animation celebrates the human imagination and its capacity to etch simulations of reality while leaving space for the mind to fill in the gaps and take a leap of faith. Danced movement embodies this same leap of faith as it carves out and evokes worlds via gesture, focus and the dance of time, space and force. “Picture This” reminds us of the power of mental imagery to envision settings as the body generates its own moving pictures.

Aura- Chenglong Tang (China)

To see. To sense. To feel. To live. And finally, to be.

Still by- AKira Uchida (Usa)

To translate the mood of the Abstract Expressionists into movement draws parallels with contemporary dance, a theme explored by director and choreographer Akira Uchida in dance short, STILL. Shot across the nine galleries of the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver’s Golden Triangle Creative District, STILL channels expressive forms through dance, against the backdrop of one of the world’s most intact public collections of any major artist.

MAtan- By Roni Uzan (Israel)

A video dance that is bound to be beyond words and definitions.The wonder of creation grows inside us. Two parts are connected as one, experiencing a lifelong apart eagerly waiting for the wondrous encounter.A celebration of the body and empowerment of the soul mixed with overwhelming emotions.A video telling my story about the gift I received named MATAN 

The noise my leaves make -By Tia- monique uzor (United Kingdom)

The film follows three dark-skinned Black women as they utilise their Africanist and Contemporary dance vocabulary to engage with the Leicestershire environment. As Black British women, this space has typically been denied to them as a place of belonging. Through their movement, these three women claim the countryside as their own finding sisterhood, connection, and joy.