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Dance On Screen: the Duo of Arts
by: Eveline Koberg
article appeared on 24th June 2021 on tanz.at
The Graz Dance Film Festival „Dance on Screen“ is the only one of its kind in Austria. It has been held annually since 2016 and attempts to introduce this relatively new, cross-disciplinary art form (it only began to gain a foothold in the 1950s) to a larger audience with its international, broadly diversified and high-quality programming in terms of both content and form.
To one that recognizes and appreciates the artistic added value of this creative interplay of moving bodies and moving images. Just like the increasingly enthusiastic about it worldwide or like Valentina Moar, who created this festival in Graz, directs it and has just been able to successfully catch up with the 5th edition, which was originally planned for last November: three days, during which 50 films were screened: invited special guest films as well as 35 selected from an open call, in which there had been nearly 350 submissions.
A dense, not to say demanding program: in addition to the discussions with the 3 jury members (Melanie Suchy, Katia Huemer, Alex Pachón) and those with the audience after the respective film block, there were two-hour screenings of twice 17 and once 16 short films (maximum length 25 minutes), of which nevertheless hardly a film minute was too much, of which one would hardly want to miss a film scene.
The diversity of these interdisciplinary cinematic dance-art works, shown without exception for the first time in Austria, is enormous; both in terms of the dance and performative as well as the cinematic artistic realization in this special form of Dance for Camera, Screendance or Dance Film – as the not yet standardized designations are. Each of them is only possible through the cooperation with the other medium; which art form sets the tone, in which area is more expressive, experimental, qualitatively more demanding – as a whole or in individual scenes – that diverges. In any case, a comprehensibly homogeneous overall concept of the interacting arts should not only be a recognizable prerequisite for cooperation, but also the basis for an assessment.
Among such, the dance film project „Body-Buildings“ by Moonway Films (Lisbon), which due to its length could only be subdivided and shown as a special guest, is to be mentioned as outstanding. The filmmaker Henrique Pina succeeds here with six choreographers at six selected locations, each a highly individual, memorable combination of architecture and dance, with the opening film „Beast“ in the choreography by Victor Hugo Pontes not only chronologically takes the top position.
For all the other films, i.e. for those that competed for the Dance On Screen Awards, it is true in advance that in their contrasts they provide an extremely perspective, rich insight into what this young art form constitutes and has to offer today. Valentina Moar’s selection testifies to artistic openness as well as openness in terms of content and, last but not least, openness in terms of time.
Furthermore, in the development of the last few years, a tendency towards increased attention, even caution, towards sensitivity for expression in detail can be observed – cinematically speaking: towards close-ups and long, steady camera shots; a larger number of films shot in black and white is also noticeable; another kind of reduction that is convincing. A new, different, a discovering looking and seeing seem to be developing. Wonderful examples of this are the extraordinary films „Swivel“ by Lois Norman (GB) and „Jontae“ by S. Obregon and K. Lyne (Canada), which differ in content on one hand, but are also similar due to the gender issues, they deal with. To put them aside as a remarkable and fascinating example of male role clichés carefully observed and thus to be questioned – unusually presented in „Le Bal“ by Tarek Ait Meddour (France).
„Come Rain or Shine“, that is expressivity, presented in the small, in the basically unspectacular, danced in high quality and unusually realized by and with Justyne Li (Hong Kong), counts to the closest circle of top productions. Just like the poetic-dramatic film „Navigation“ by Marlene Millar (Canada), wonderfully integrated into nature and embedded in choral music of a special kind. In some ways not dissimilar to the stirring film „Toporzel“ by Iwona Pasiska (Poland) interacting with the drama of nature and that of the (male) body.
„ID“ by Cass Mortimer Eipper (Australia) stands for a completely different film-technical expressiveness and dance content, which moves between the longing for individualization and the equalization and adaptation of the masses. Numerous other titles that touched and surprised, fascinated and showed something new could be mentioned.
Not necessarily those, and at least not in the first place, that were awarded – although each of these films undoubtedly has its own special quality that stands out from the average. But of course the award winners should be mentioned here: „Ben“ by T. Sala et al. (Italy) was awarded Best Film. The Jury Prize went to „A Rock“ by Shing Lee, Hong Kong, the Audience Award to „Dusk“ by Henrique Pina, Portugal. A Special Mention was awarded to the Danish film „Beyond“ by Simone Wierød and „Dancing is an old Friend“ by Marta Renzi from the USA.