PROHAIRESIS, 13min., USA
Directed by Rebecca Arends
A 13 minute dance film featuring four female dancers filmed in four international locations and an all-female string quartet filmed in Chicago. The dance is based on Stoic philosopher Epictetus’s concepts surrounding the faculty of choice, moral character and volition.

http://prohairesisfilm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/rrhstrings/
https://www.instagram.com/noraruthwilliams/

Get to know the filmmakers:
Rebecca Arends: Director/ Choreographer/ Producer
Nora Williams: Executive Producer

Rebecca:

I was facing a crossroads in my career and personal life and have always sought my faith, my father’s wisdom, or philosophy to guide me. Prohairesis, the film, is a response to stoic philosopher, Epictetus’s concept of the same name, which is translated to will, volition, moral character and exercising one’s faculty of choice. I wanted the challenge of using this concept in a dance film.

Nora:

The pandemic doldrums motivated us to take artistic risks and try something different. Becca and I had wanted to do another project together and when two grants came in in close proximity in 2021, we knew we had a green light. For me personally, the death of my husband Shawn Quaid in July 2021 put in stark relief that the time is now to really live life to the fullest and pursue different opportunities that present themselves. It was an opportunity to communicate the sheer joy of the beauty of life through the lens of dance and string quartet.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

• Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

RE:BIRTH, 8min., Taiwan
Directed by Laticia Fan
A lost soul traumatized by her past and trapped in the confines of her own imagination. Unable to move forward with life until she was led to begin her journey of recovery and discovery by a sound healer, ultimately conquering her darkest memories, fears, and desires, and transcending the perpetual tug-of-war between attachment and letting go.

https://www.laticiafan.com/
https://instagram.com/sheng.shortfilm

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

• Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

I SAID, NO, 5min,. USA
Directed by Gabriella Wiltz
A young woman and her friends teach a man to respect her “no”.

https://www.instagram.com/isaidnofilm

Get to know writer/actor Angela Townsend:

I grew up performing as a salsa dancer and have attended many social dancing events where I did not always feel comfortable saying “no”. Salsa dancing is an intimate social dance that is all communicated through non-verbal cues and body language, and sometimes the communication can be unclear, people can be forceful with their movements, or just plain creeps. This film is about a person out there who has the confidence to say no and stand her ground.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

• Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

MEMORIES OF FUTURE PAST, 9min., USA

Directed by Dale Andree, Claudio Marcotulli

Giving voice to the Everglades through the generational presence of past, present, and future.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

• Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

DANCING MAN, 23min., USA
Directed by Robert Steven Mack, Clarisse Gamblin
David, a young and quixotic dancer, is confronted with the decision of whether to stay at a Midwestern ballet company with his new love interest Gabrielle or follow a promising choreographer to New York to chase his pipe dream of dancing in Golden Age musicals. Featuring vibrant cinematography, an elegant score by Yi-Chen Chiang, and toe-tapping choreography by Chris Lingner, Dancing Man showcases dancers from IU Ballet Theatre and Indianapolis Ballet in this colorful and bittersweet dramedy about conflicting passions.

https://www.robertstevenmack.com/dancing-man.html
https://instagram.com/dancingmanfilm

Get to know filmmaker Robert Steven Mack:

This film takes an audience inside the ballet world, pays homage to the classic Hollywood musicals we love, yet tells a very personal story about chasing greener pastures and the anxiety we face making life-altering decisions that are ultimately for the better. I have been making dance films since I was a freshman in college. And all my previous works have been leading up to this one.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

• Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

BLUE BURROW, 14min., USA
Directed by Leah O’Donnell
Blue Burrow is a short movement based film fully immersed in the sun, sand, and water of Lake Huron. The shore is the meeting place for characters of different species, while the world underwater comes to represent the subconscious. Perspectives shift from fish to human to sun, and metaphors about our relationship to the natural world emerge.

https://www.leahfayeodonnell.com/
https://www.instagram.com/_leahfaye/

Get to know the filmmaker:

Growing up in Michigan, the Great Lakes were a prominent element of my childhood memories. They are the largest fresh water source in the world, with waves and views that could easily be mistaken for the ocean. Several years ago, I became interested in site-specific dance and began dreaming up images of a live performance on Lake Huron, where I have swam many times with my family. The idea to make it a film came once COVID hit. Live performances were being rapidly shut down and I realized that not only would a film be safer for the performers, but we would be able to share the work with more people. Because the camera became the audience’s eye, we were able to more deeply immerse ourselves into the water, showing more intimate perspectives of the landscape and the choreography.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

• Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

JUST SHORT OF REALITY, 37min., Canada
Directed by Matt Alfano, Chad McFadden
Just Short of Reality is a series of shorts that are told through the genres of surrealism, silent film and dance. Co-existing in one neighbourhood, seven individuals are presented with adversity and choice in this allegorical tale.

https://www.stratfordfestival.ca/AtHome

Get to know the filmmakers:

The Golden Era, vaudeville, silent film and movement-based storytelling have always inspired both of us from when we were aspiring artists and continues to throughout our professional careers. Dance is a universal language that can be shared by everyone.

Physical narrative is a genre that we intend to modernize and reintroduce. It’s such an effective, unique and beautiful way to create. We were trusted with the opportunity to develop our series of shorts for the new digital department at the Stratford Festival,

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

• Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

VIVIDREAM, 10min., Denmark, Dance
Directed by Matteo Di Loreto
Between dream and reality a girl finds herself in the audience of a theatre (Royal Danish Theatre) to find out there are other people there with her. While events between the dancers unfold, a voice guides them on a journey of surreality where the relation between the audience and the stage is connected by a subtle veil.

Get to know the filmmaker:

The motivation for creating “VIVIDREAM” came during the pandemic, which was a time were dancers were not performing live so I had the idea of making something digital like a short film.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

• Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

HOME, 13min., USA, Dance
Directed by Shari Coleman
When her parent’s domestic violent relationship comes to a head, Harley must choose between protecting her family and keeping her sanity.

Get to know the filmmaker:

Growing up, I unfortunately witnessed the terror that is a domestic violent relationship. Though it did get me thinking about how the scope of what domestic violence is and who it affects is very spotlighted on the couple but how about the children? What does it do to them?

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

ELEMENTS: BEAUTIFUL UNTRUE THINGS, 8min., Sweden
Directed by Amelia Finngåård
Elements is a solo choreography that is the intersection of nature, fashion, Venusian imagery, and movement. Elements is an exploration of dance/movement and the elements of nature, earth, sun, water and air. The natural influences and sounds of these elements merge with the art form of punking/whacking and fashion in the background of Västra Götaland’s scenic nature.

https://vimeo.com/768220860
https://instagram.com/beautiful_untrue_tingz

Get to know producer/star Alyssa Briteramos:
I wanted to begin to explore dance on film as another medium to express my ideas and archive my work. It was also a way to reconnect the specific style of dance I represent back to the medium that its inspired from, film.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

ROGUE REFLECTION, 5min., USA, Experimental
Directed by Juliet McMains
A tap dancer, discovering that her reflection refuses to mirror her movements, engages in a playful battle with herself.

Get to know the filmmaker:

This film started as a live performance in which the dancer, Rachel Zuraek, performed a duet with a video projection of herself. We were so pleased with the audience response to the live show that I wanted to translate the piece to film. In order to create a similar effect of one dancer engaging with her own avatar, I came up with the idea of dancing with her own reflection. I started researching mirror shots in films and discovered such a rich history and some excellent how-to-videos.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

REVERIE, 9min., USA, Dance
Directed by Brian Bowers
The past can be an unreliable narrator, and the future is simply a shifting reflection of where we are right now. Driven by choreographed movement, original music and sound, REVERIE is an experimental visual narrative that seeks to question and explore. An ensemble dance casts guides us through the delicately narrated introspective, inner dialogue that an emerging artist is having with time itself. Is it true, what they say, that life is but a dream?

http://reverie.nabircreative.co/
https://www.facebook.com/nabircreative
https://www.instagram.com/nabircreative

From Brian Bowers:

Without sounding too cliché, it was like a dream state. I didn’t really set out on pursuing this as my first film project, so it was an accident. I was in the middle of developing a production kit for a film based on classical animation, and it became just a massive undertaking. I shelved the project. And by the end of that week, the idea came to me. What it started off as, and what it turned into, are very different.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

WALLS BENEATH OUR FEET, 5min., Finland, Experimental
Directed by Antti Suniala
Circus short film exploring urban life from unexpected angles. Inspired by the Pasila Street Art District in Helsinki. Collaboration between Race Horse Company, music producer RRKK and the Helsinki Urban Art.

https://www.racehorsecompany.fi/shows/walls-beneath-our-feet
https://www.facebook.com/RaceHorseCompany
https://instagram.com/racehorsecompany

From filmmaker Antti Suniala:

I think beneath it all the main motivation was the beauty of circus and how circus skills can be used to express something out of the ordinary. I have been inspired by certain theater shows that included circus artists and while they didn’t perform circus in it’s traditional or even contemporary sense, they still had that quality of physicality where you could tell yeah only a circus artist could do this. I guess I wanted to approach that same area and also create something that could fit some of the amazing world of dance films without it being circus artists trying to actually dance. I mainly work in management and non-artistic production for our contemporary circus group Race Horse Company, but this was a production where I was the artistic director and looked for ways to expand our creative force into film, while still remaining true to our common vision.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

“Roots above Ground” is a 50 minute physically integrated performance is a personal work that explores the multiple meanings of home. Using his own journey as an immigrant, disabled gay man and dancer as a base from which to work, Marc Brew intends to peel back the layers to get at this universal human need to belong.

http://www.axisdance.org/

https://www.twitter.com/AXISDanceCo

https://www.instagram.com/axisdanceco

Director Statement

"As a world traveller and someone who has never laid down roots in pursuit of my career goals," says Brew, "I have always questioned where my home is and by extension of that, where I belong. Through this work the company is delving deep into personal journeys and reflective worlds to find home as well as the community where we belong and feel at home. I am very excited to also be embedding access into the devising of my new work by collaborating with Deaf/ASL Consultants Antoine Hunter and Zahna Simon and Audio Description with Jess Curtis from Gravity Access Services."

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

DANCE. DANCE. DANCE., 2min., USA, Dance
Directed by Karen Mueller Bryson
A collage film about the joy of dance made with images in public domain.

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

ONE SHILLING, 6min., UK, Dance
Directed by Monica Nicolaides
One Shilling. A contemporary dance film where four strangers from different backgrounds escape everyday life for one night, drinking and dancing in one of London’s underground bars during the Blitz.

Director Statement

'One Shilling' is a short dance film, inspired by true encounters of people in WWII; where 4 strangers from different backgrounds came together to enjoy a night out, in one of the underground places in London during the Blitz. At a time of constant danger, where under-represented communities and being different was not welcomed by society. One shilling gave access to underground safe havens, where strangers escaped everyday life, social conformity and daily bombings; and became friends.

‘One Shilling’ celebrates the formation of community and unity, by embracing ones individuality. When the community does not look at class, race or sexuality. Everyone comes together to celebrate being alive; to forget the danger and casualties surrounding them in their everyday lives. At this bar, we see the temporary deconstruction of social class, race and sexuality for one night only. It is a story of the places where people from all walks of life find refuge, and a community that welcomes their differences even for a moment in time.

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

With “Temporary Contemporary”, filmmaker Oliver Brand impressively stages this transience by turning it into a stage for contemporary dancers. In doing so, he creates a moving testimony to the ephemeral nature of places that are in precisely that state only on the day the film is shot.

Project Links

• Website

• Instagram

Director Statement

Dance has always been a great avocation passion of mine. Which is why the idea and the concept of showing contemporary dance in places that are hardly accessible to the ordinary mortal, or are in a great state of flux, has been around for a long time. I had a clear idea of the locations. They should not just be abandoned, run-down mystical places as you know them. I wanted to show clear lines in the architecture, which radiate a certain aesthetic and tranquility. I wanted to fill these places with humanity and life in the form of dance.

At the beginning of the film you hear an offvoice that philosophically sums up the essence of the concept of the film. The screen is completely black. The viewer should be able to fully engage with the content of the text and the wonderful voice. Nothing distracts visually. No logos. No credits. I wanted to draw the audience into the world of „Temporary Contemporary“ right at the beginning for the nearly 14 minutes film.
I continue to pull this concept of "kidnapping" into the world of "dance, music and architecture" when the first images appear. I establish all locations in rotating (vortex) slow motion shots. The viewer should lose the sense of up and down, ask himself, where are we? ...what is this?
The vortex shots are later also used as a transition between locations. There however in different speed, in order to catapult the spectator from one into the new location.
With each location, however, the transitions become shorter, since only the ones that are still in the queue are shown. I break this pattern after the fourth location.

What was very special, especially for a dance film, is that the music was not created until the end.
The dancers performed on location to completely different music.
I wanted to break out of the usual approaches a bit for myself and for this film.
What happens when a performer lets you dance and then changes the music?
The composer also found the challenge extremely exciting. Hours of exchanges about mood and atmosphere went into the final product. Each location had to have its own mood, each part its own highlight, and yet everything had to come together as one.

It was an incredibly exciting project and I am extremely happy with the final result.

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

GHOSTLY LABOR: A DANCE FILM was the winner of BEST FILM at the WILDsound Film Festival.

“Ghostly Labor: A Dance Film” explores the history of labor in the US–Mexico borderlands through Tap Dance, Mexican Zapateado, Son Jarocho, Afro Caribbean movement, and live music. This work brings together polyrhythmic movement and an original score to look at the (ongoing) years of systemic exploitation of labor while highlighting the power and joy of collective resistance.

Based on farmworker interviews in California, this excerpt honors the sacred hands that feed us and was filmed on a farm with support from Ayudando Latinos a Soñar (ALAS), a non-profit advocacy organization for farmworkers in Half Moon Bay, CA. A full-length dance theater production of Ghostly Labor will premiere in 2023.

Project Links

• Website

• Facebook

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

“Contemplation” is a multidisciplinary concept video merging the arts of music, dance, videography and fashion .

The winner of BEST MUSIC FILM at the March 2022 Film Festival.

https://www.instagram.com/strutzkovia/

Conversation with filmmaker Lena Strützke on the making of the film.

Film also showing on the WILDsound TV app. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

In "Crimson’s Cabaret," desire drives two performers through a whimsical show of music, dance, and theatre. Between reality and fantasy, two sisters try to maintain their relationship, while finding their way to stardom. Winner of BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY at the December 2021 DANCE Film Festival.

Conversation with co-directors Oliver Sandino and Kevin Zambrano on the making of this uniquely creative film. How two childhood friends decided to make a film and amazing things happened because of it.

Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook