Celebrate Dance in Film: Dallas Dance Film Festival Season 7! Congratulations to this Season's Winners: 2026 Best of Fest: Beast by Iwona Pasińska | $500 Prize | Watch the Trailer 2026 DDFF Creative: Love Unfolding by Peter Litwinowicz | $250 Prize | Watch the Trailer DALLAS DANCE FILM FESTIVAL JANUARY 31, 2026  BATH HOUSE CULTURAL CENTER, DALLAS Tickets Available at the Door:  DCNT Members $10 | General Admission $15 If you have questions, please email director@thedancecouncil.org CONGRATULATIONS TO THE SELECTED FILMS!  • BEAST | POLAND - Iwona Pasińska, Professional Filmmaker eeny meeny miny humpy, not your son nor your daughter, eeny meeny rumpy-pumpy, cling cling lamb for slaughter Which species is the biggest predator? Behind seven lakes, seven hills, seven forests, there is a seemingly idyllic land. And in it, as if by magic, an unexpected meeting happens not only once but three times. The first time, as if from a flying carpet, we see an animalistic figure in the thicket. The second time, we observe a frisky animal herd colliding with otherness. For the third and final meeting, the moment when a man enters the ordered world of nature. How does the relationship between animals differ from the relationship between humans and animals? – this is asked by the creators of the sixth choreographic film project by the Polish Dance Theatre Iwona Pasińska is a choreographer, movement dramatist, theatre theorist, artistic director of Movements Factory and co-founder of the Movements Factory Foundation. She graduated from the F. Parnell Ballet School in Łódź. In 1997 Pasińska became the principal dancer of the Polish Dance Theatre (PTT) – Poznań Ballet. Since 2010 she has been collaborating as choreographer or movement dramaturge with dramatic theatres, operas and alternative theatres. She holds a degree in theatre theory from the A.Mickiewicz University in Poznań, where she also did her PhD, focusing on the experience of the body in contemporary theatre from the perspective of dance theatre. In 2016 she has become the Director of the Polish Dance Theatre. • LOVE UNFOLDING | USA - Peter Litwinowicz, Professional Filmmaker A visual love letter in motion, this dance animation explores the joy, spontaneity, and head-spinning excitement of love’s first spark. Pete Litwinowicz has an extensive background in both choreography and filmmaking. As a visual effects software developer and artist in the film and video industries, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award®, an Emmy®, the Ars Electronica Golden Nica (Austria), and the Imagina Award (Monaco) for Best Visual Effects and Visual Innovation. In the dance world, Pete was co-artistic director of Dance Continuum SF from 2007 to 2012 and performed with Company Chaddick from 1996 to 2006. Since 2017, he has been the filmmaker for Lizz Roman and Dancers. • INDÒMITA | SPAIN - Tanit Graffelman, Emerging Filmmaker "How can we, as women, free ourselves from the constrictive beliefs we have inevitably inherited and that inhabit our bodies? Is there room for the existence of a freer body?" Tanit Graffelman is an interdisciplinary artist that engages in the merging of songwriting and contemporary dance creation. She studied Contemporary Dance and Music Theater at the Institut del Teatre and later specialized in choreographic creation processes at La Faktoria Choreographic Center. Using environmental sounds and a poetic imagery, her lyrics often invoke nature and express a profound longing for freedom. In her creative processes, music and dance converge into a single language. • BEHIND THE SUN | USA - Salma Kattass, Emerging Artist Behind the Sun is a dreamlike meditation on acceptance and becoming. Through shifting presences and quiet absences, the film reflects on past selves, unseen influences, and the weight they leave behind. What once feels fragmented gradually resolves into clarity. The film embraces the idea that every experience carries purpose, and that understanding emerges only when we allow ourselves to accept where we are. Salma Kattass is a multidisciplinary choreographer and visual artist based in New York City. Her work blends dance, cinematic storytelling, and experimental movement to explore identity, vulnerability, and human connection. Through choreographed films such as Behind the Sun, Bloom, and Venom, she investigates dance, space and visual metaphor to convey complex emotional landscapes. Salma’s work has been shared on digital platforms and is increasingly recognized for its poetic, immersive approach to dance films/visuals. • VENOM | USA - Salma Kattass, Emerging Artis Venom follows three figures bound by movement and proximity, offering comfort through constant togetherness. As their shared presence begins to corrode from within, one must confront a quiet choice: endure the poison of familiarity, or face the fear of being alone. The film reflects on how companionship—whether external or internal—can soothe, control, and ultimately consume.  Salma Kattass is a multidisciplinary choreographer and visual artist based in New York City. Her work blends dance, cinematic storytelling, and experimental movement to explore identity, vulnerability, and human connection. Through choreographed films such as Behind the Sun, Bloom, and Venom, she investigates dance, space and visual metaphor to convey complex emotional landscapes. Salma’s work has been shared on digital platforms and is increasingly recognized for its poetic, immersive approach to dance films/visuals. • GEMINI | USA - Ian Plouffe, Emerging Artist This screen-dance explores themes of becoming and making terms with oneself. A reflection of Haley Heynderickx’s song Gemini- a young woman travels through her own internal landscape to emerge embracing her shadow and unclouded by self doubt. Ian Plouffe has been making art since before he could remember. Whether it was building legos or telling stories of fantastical worlds to his family. Since 2021 he has worked at FSU’s School of dance and had the incredible opportunity to share space with the phenomenal student dancers and guest artists through the Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography. After seeping in such a powerful melting pot of creators for so long he has spent the last two years beginning a practice in Screen Dance. G E M I N I is the brain child of Ian Plouffe paired with wonderful choreography of Bailey Carson.  • THE _______ BETWEEN US | GERMANY - Maayan Reiter, Emerging Artist  Set beneath an open sky, The _____ Between Us tells a story about connection through dialogue, dance, and AI-generated imagery. It invites viewers to reflect on how we relate to others, to ourselves, and to the world around us. Through contact improvisation Technique and digital compositing, a narrative unfolds. Movements draw from physical principles such as responsiveness, weight-sharing, touch, and momentum. Digital transformations fluidly alternate between the dancers, continuously reshaping their visual identities. This shared dance with a partner shows how we perceive others through our own inner inner states of longing, fear, acceptance, resistance, curiosity and more. This poetic invitation encourages us to see the intention behind our actions, how we connect, how we interpret, and how we project ourselves onto others. More than dance on screen, it is a reminder that we are all natural-born dancers, capable of connection far deeper than we often allow. It calls us back to what is always present: our bodies, our awareness, and the _____ between us. Maayan Reiter is a filmmaker, dancer, motion designer, choreographer, and Contact Improvisation teacher. She explores physical communication to examine social dynamics and challenge habitual behavior. Having recently completed her studies in Integrated Design at KISD, she combines her background in contemporary dance (SEAD) with filmmaking and motion design to explore how technology and movement together can express intention, perception, and connection, beyond what is usually spoken or socially visible. • ARMS OF GRAVITY | USA - Charlotte Griffin, Professional Filmmaker A spiraling meditation on presence, repetition, and resilience, this screendance traces the fragile yet persistent bonds amongst us all—where the realness of being together resists collapse, even in the "Arms of Gravity." Featuring the brilliant improvisation of dance artist Corey Scott-Gilbert and the resonant narration of the late and beloved Gus Solomons jr (1938-2023), a leading figure in modern dance, "Arms of Gravity" transforms the weight of accumulated memories into enduring transcendence. Charlotte Griffin, originally from Durham, NC, is a contemporary choreographer, filmmaker, educator, and collaborator based in Southern California. As the Artistic Director of milkleaf, founded in 2020, she values interdisciplinary collaboration in the generation of works for the stage, screen, and multimedia installation looking closely at the enduring and transitory nature of the human experience. Her award-winning dance films, "All of Us" (2023), "Walls Running" (2022), "Nostalgia’s Window" (2022), "Perhaps I was T/Here?" (2018), "Barefoot Negotiations" (2009), and "Raven Study" (2007), influence her ongoing exploration of choreocinema. A dedicated educator, Charlotte builds bridges connecting students with opportunities to deepen their artistry, expand their knowledge ecosystem, and cultivate fulfilling careers in the arts and beyond. Charlotte holds a BFA in Dance from The Juilliard School, an MFA from UT Austin, and is grateful to serve as Dance faculty at The University of California, Irvine. • NO LONGER/NOT YET | FRANCE/USA - Jacquelyn Elder, Emerging Artist  No Longer / Not Yet is an intimate observational documentary focusing on the very few moments just before a performer steps on stage. In this interval of time and space leading up to a performer's first step on stage, we are "no longer" rehearsing, and "we are not quite yet" on stage. What happens in this liminal space? This part of a performer's job is not often seen or spoken of but without a doubt expected. In No Longer / Not Yet the camera lens makes visible this pre-acceleration removed from the performance itself and aims to expose the invisible labor that goes into taking that first step on stage. Jacquelyn Elder was a soloist with the Martha Graham Dance Company in New York from 2005 to 2012. Now holding an MFA from the University of the Arts / Bennington College, Jacquelyn is based in Paris, France, and performs in works by Liz Santoro and Pierre Godard titled Mutual Information, Maps, Noisy Channels, and Learning; Carrousel by Vincent Thomasset; Auguri and Tragédie by Olivier Dubois; A Hands Turn and Detours by Lenio Kaklea; 27 Perspectives by Maud Le Pladec; and XX Dancers for the XX Century by Boris Charmatz. Since 2021, she has been a choreographic assistant, collaborator, and rehearsal director for the Ballet National de Marseille under the direction of (LA)HORDE. As part of her collaboration with (LA)HORDE, she was invited to be part of the choreographic team for Madonna’s Celebration Tour 2023, as well as Ivo Van Hove’s I Want Absolute Beauty, set to music by P.J. Harvey and featuring Sandra Hüller. Over the years, Jacquelyn has had the privilege of working with artists such as Robert Wilson, Eleanor Bauer, Olivier Dubois, Maud Le Pladec, Boris Charmatz, Michael Helland, Aszure Barton, Rachid Ouramdane, Larry Keigwin, Kate Weare, Vincent Thomasset, (LA)HORDE, Ivo Van Hove, and visual artist Fabrice Samyn. Jacquelyn has led workshops and master classes at NYU Tisch School of the Arts (New York), Hellerau (Dresden, Germany), DansenHus (Oslo, Norway), Ballet du Nord/CCN (Lille, France), Le Gymnase (Roubaix, France), the Martha Graham School (New York), Alvin Ailey/Fordham University (New York), The Joffrey Ballet School (New York), Oxbridge Academy (Palm Beach, Florida), as well as at the Biennale de la Danse (Lyon, France) and the Ballet National de Marseille (France). Alongside her career as a performer, Jacquelyn recently directed a short observational documentary titled No Longer / Not Yet, which focuses on the moments just before a performer enters the stage. In this liminal time and space, we are “no longer” rehearsing and “not yet quite” on stage. No Longer / Not Yet makes visible this pre-acceleration removed from the performance itself and seeks to reveal the dancer’s work as something more than the simple physical or expressive act of “dancing.” Jacquelyn is a dancer who makes films, offering an alternative version and perspective on the world of dance and performance. • THE BROKEN CYCLE | HONG KONG - Andreas Guzman, Professional Filmmaker An endless cycle. A dance of stagnation. A relationship's rhythm, caught in a relentless tide, is about to break. Holder of a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Filmmaking from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Andreas is a director, actor, editor, screenwriter, and camera operator. His work includes short films in various genres—drama, comedy, musicals—as well as documentaries, music videos, commercials, and live video projections for ballet and contemporary dance shows. His work has been shown in various film and dance festivals such as the Cucalorus Film Festival, San Francisco Dance Film Festival, Inspired Dance Film Festival, Mexico City VideoDance Festival, and he is the recipient of the Jury Prize Award from the Director’s Guild of America for his short film, “Rémy” (2013). Regarding documentary work, Andreas has made a series of short documentaries for Theater Basel celebrating the 15-year anniversary of its artistic director, Richard Wherlock, a short portrait of a principal dancer, Kayoko Everhart, from Compañía Nacional de Danza in Madrid, a short album electronic press kit for folk/americana musician, Jake Shane, and is currently developing a series of short dancer portraits for Hong Kong Ballet. Most recently, Andreas directed and a short documentary about American Ballet Theatre Studio Company's tour to Hong Kong in 2023. The film is currently on the festival circuit. With his international mindset, Andreas’ fascination lies with exploring the human condition. He constantly seeks to broaden his understanding of the film medium and how to combine it with dance. Currently based in Hong Kong, Andreas was born in France, speaks English, French, Spanish, German, and has family ties in Austria, Ecuador, Germany, and the U.S. Andreas has been the Creative Video & Media Director of the Hong Kong Ballet since 2022. • PORCELAIN | BRAZIL - Paula Gelly, Professional Filmmaker Porcelain talks about the loss of innocence through life cycles. When we brake like porcelain and it is impossible to put our pieces together as they were once. Broken and beautiful. Born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil, Paula’s larger-than-life passion for dance took her from São Paulo to Los Angeles at just 18 years old. After auditioning for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York, she received a scholarship and went on to become a professional dancer. A self-taught musician, she also plays guitar and sings. Her Broadway credits include Fosse—a massive influence—and Sweet Charity. Through Ford Models, she expanded into commercials and photo editorials. Returning to Los Angeles, Paula pursued formal acting training with Arthur Mendoza, a protégé of Stella Adler, and has since worked in over 27 plays and films. In 2016, she adapted her fable The Story of the Little Girl Who Loved Butterflies into a short film, which she produced, directed, and starred in. The film won Best Film in five countries and was selected for 18 international festivals. She is currently developing two books, two feature film scripts (one a documentary), and a musical. Back in Brazil, she created Porcelain, an experimental short film uniting the talents of Brazilian artists she has long admired. Recognizing the need for more digital dance exposure, Dallas Dance Film Festival was created in 2018 to promote and support local and international emerging and professional dance filmmakers to provide an affordable platform for them to share their work. The festival also offers the community at large a new way to observe and experience dance. SPONSORED BY Dance Council of North Texas | Oak Cliff Society of Fine Arts Turner House |  FILM SUBMISSIONS Submissions will be evaluated based on demonstrated use of the camera and/or mobile devices that highlight dance differently from live performance, such that the dance cannot be viewed in the same way outside of the film. Selected works will also demonstrate inventiveness and originality, cohesiveness and clarity of artistic intention, quality of choreography, performance, cinematography, and editing in relationship to the stated artistic intent. Artists are responsible for holding copyright permission for any elements used in the film that require permission such as music, text, images. The following resource may be of assistance for information on music copyright: opensourcemusic.com.

Hatch – Filmmaker: Jeff Schick
Synopsis: HATCH is a short film that features experimental dance as a metaphor to the awakening of the self. The film is a creative partnership with the Alan Watts Organization, featuring the spoken word of the late British-American philosopher. With its sci-fi undertones, the film features Italian-American movement artist Lavinia Vago as she explores her newly hatched, human body upon emerging from her chrysalis. Set to a symbolic backdrop of a womb, HATCH showcases visuals of a human’s transformation from birth to becoming a fully-functioning, fully-aware organism.

Bio: Jeff Schick is a Seattle-based writer, director and filmmaker whose work explores the intersectionality of technology and its utilization by humanity.

With two decades of experience working alongside The Fortune 100, Schick served in branding, digital, social and content production capacities for Apple, adidas, AT&T, T-Mobile and others. Schick began producing and directing films in 2012, ultimately creating film production company, Audio Video Room, where he currently serves as a creative director. His recent work includes HALO, SWIPE and HATCH is Schick’s dance-directorial debut.


BOAT – Director: Stephanie Nugent (Artistic Direction/Choreography), Charles Borowicz (Cinematography/Editing/Sound Design)
Synopsis: BOAT (screen-dance), Directed by Stephanie Nugent, with Cinematography, Sound Design and Editing by Charles Borowicz, and collaborating performance by Nugent and Savannah Cox, explores a mother’s timely and timeless relationship with her tween daughter, kinesthetically drawing viewers in to experience an unique bond charged by love, burden, support, empathy, and a shared passion for independence.
Bio: Stephanie Nugent, lives in Indianapolis, IN, USA where she creates dance theater, teaches, improvises, and generally does her best at becoming a good human. She holds a BFA in Modern Dance from North Carolina School of the Arts and an MFA in Choreography and Performance from California State University, Long Beach. Ms. Nugent has had the good fortune to collaborate, perform, and tour internationally with esteemed dance artists such as Victoria Marks, Keith Johnson, Kim Epifano, Della Davidson, The Ririe Woodbury Dance Company, Malashock Dance and Company, and Nugent Dance, presenting works in theaters, black-boxes, museums, sidewalks, a pier, a tent, a creek, and an old military base. In her most recent project BOAT, a screen-dance exploring a mother’s timely and timeless relationship with her tween daughter, Nugent and Savannah Cox offer a kinesthetic and metaphoric vision into their unique bond, charged by love, burden, support, empathy, and a shared passion for independence.

With more than 25 years working in the field of dance, Stephanie has received critical acclaim in publications including The Los Angeles Times, NY Times, exploredance.com and Dance Magazine, for whom she was also recently interviewed in Get Into Contact: Demystifying the basics of contact improvisation. Nugent’s academic/teaching posts have included earning the rank of Tenured Associate Professor at University of California Santa Barbara, Full-Time Faculty in the Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance at CalArts, Visiting Full-Time Faculty at The Ohio State University, Director of Dance at the North Carolina Governors School, Director of the Indiana University High School Summer Dance Intensive, Teaching Team Coordinator for the Great Lakes Area Contact Improv Enthusiasts Retreat, and workshops/residencies throughout the US and in Italy.

Etch – Filmmaker: Abby Warrilow & Lewis Gourlay

Synopsis: A girl hikes across remote moorland. On a hill in the distance, stands a lone building, which she discovers is a long abandoned school hall. A little sun penetrates the dirty glass. An upright piano sits in the far corner.

She takes off her muddy boots and with confidence in her gait, strides across to the piano and pulls it by one corner. The rusted wheels are jammed and it pivots, creating an arc. A line is carved in layers of compacted dust and the ancient wooden floor splinters with the weight of the instrument.

In the centre of the room, hinged on one foot, she extends her leg and rotates swiftly and with graceful power. Her feet trace, etch and carve in circular movements, creating marks in the layers of dirt. Her body contorts. She throws herself in controlled but frenetic choreography. The movements increase in size and vigour as a pattern emerges. Finally she stands back to witness the impression her dance has etched on the floor.
Bio: Abby Warrilow and Lewis Gourlay have been an international co-directing team ‘ Cagoule’ since 2001, making screen dance, cinematic TV commercials, edgy music videos and exclusive online content. Their combined skills merge live action, movement and motion graphics to create fresh, quirky and imaginative films.

Title: Laws of Motion Filmmaker: Jeppe Lange City, Country of Residence: Copenhagen, Denmark

Synopsis: Two girls have created a world beyond time and space, dancing through the eery halls of an abandoned monastery.

Bio: Jeppe Lange is a filmmaker studying at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.His work covers the field between documentary and experimental film; reality seen through a conceptual lens.
During the last four years he’s had several films on festivals in Denmark, USA, Germany, Italy, Croatia etc. Jeppe Lange was born 1987. He lives and works in Copenhagen.


Title: 9241 Filmmaker: Marta Romero Coll City, Country of Residence: Barcelona, Spain

Synopsis: The figure of the indigenous and the conqueror are reunited in an island of the future to change history through the recognition of the other and the value of joint creation.

Bio: Barcelona hold a degree in Audiovisual Communication from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. It is linked to the image and its surroundings with projects related to the processes.
She has always liked the documentary genre and video dance, and he feels comfortable working in both genres.

Title: Digital Afterlives Filmmakers: Richard James Allen + Karen Pearlman, The Physical TV Company City, Country of Residence: Sydney, Australia

Synopsis: A man in white-winged angel shoes awakes in infinite black to the strains of Liszt’s “Dance of the Dead”.

Bio: Richard James Allen and Karen Pearlman are the directors of the critically acclaimed Physical TV Company (www.physicaltv.com.au), based in Sydney, Australia, where they create award-winning dancefilms, dramas,
and documentaries. Their work has screened at hundreds of film festivals around the world, including most of the leading dance film festivals, been broadcast on television and collected by major international film archives.

SPONSORED BY

Dance Council of North Texas + The Dallas Public Library