Celebrate Dance in Film: Dallas Dance Film Festival Season 4! and the winners are... Unspoken | Best of Fest | $500 Prize The Escape | DDFF Creative | $250 Prize CONGRATULATIONS TO THE SELECTED FILMS!  Alezan A woman in a wedding dress finds herself in a stable. As her intimacy is being disturbed, she starts wondering about the possibility to choose her own destiny. A Butterfly Is Knocking on the Window Injuries do not always manifest themselves as visible scars. Doors Doors was created in collaboration with three choreographers who designed scenes of movement with three very different, unique doors. This piece explores moving in outdoor spaces where doors appear in both nature and as brick n mortar. The camera was a witness to what was revealed. Fear —A Dance Short Film Lucy finds herself struggling with fear. Fear has been with her all her life. It keeps her safe from disappointment and she finds comfort in it. However, It starts to engulf her and eventually she reaches a tipping point and breaks free from it. She realizes that she needs to live without her fears and truly live her life. Il costume di Valdrada Ours is a society of the image, everyone creates a deceptive alter ego of themselves through ultra advanced devices and means. Our true perception of ourselves and of reality is projected into something else. The vision of the video-work "Valdrada’s fancy dress" brings us back to an occult and deceptive reality that is reflected in our daily life, a world full of images that distorts the reality of things. Shared Canvas Dance and painting - two art forms meet in Shared Canvas. In a collaborative process dancer/choreographer Jonas Frey and painter/actor Cédric Pintarelli create a painting. Their common space transforms into an atelier and a dance studio in which the art forms merge together. While the movements of painting become visible as dance, the dance is captured in the paintings. The Escape The patient in an insane asylum is given an injection to calm her down. She is left alone lying on the bed in a straitjacket overwhelmed with her hallucinations and memories. In the ward, another girl unexpectedly appears trying to bring the first one to consciousness. The Late Bloomer A gardener discovers that it's never too late to pursue the heart's desire. With the help of an interactive podcaster, He'll be pushed to the limit and forced to face his fears. The music begins, and the stage is set for a fiery display of movement and humor. A narrative aimed at educating on the importance of staying on our own path, and the futility that's inherent with glancing at others' accomplishments. The late blooming flower doesn't know that it's late. It's just a flower and it continues to grow no matter what transpires around it. the occurrence of colours by night The dystopian gender-fluid fashion of textile artist Sophie Lenglachner focuses on the beauty of darkness and reflective shimmers of light. The choreography of contemporary dancer Jan Kollenbach plays with the dynamic of oscillating between shadow and brightness. The textile as a canvas leaves its state as an inanimate object to conquer a ruinous industrial landscape. Unspoken A film centered around world-class contemporary choreographer Paul Lightfoot (Artistic Director of the Netherlands Dance Theatre) losing his father during the pandemic. Not permitted into the hospital to say goodbye, he began working with a Danish dancer remotely to create a performance that processes the emotions he and many have shared worldwide. The result is a look behind the curtain into the process of a modern master interpreting loss into physical form - and a powerful beacon of hope to carry us through uncertain times. Zander’s Dream A Collage of Music, Movement and Colorful Characters DIRECTOR BIOGRAPHIES Alezan | France ~ Director Loïc Faquet practiced dancing from the age of 7 at Metz (France). Driven by his passion, he dreamed to become a professional dancer and got his State Graduation in Contemporary Dance at the Centre National de la Danse in Lyon 2007 he has been performing for lots of choreographers such as Gigi Caciuleanu or Ezio Schiavulli… and he has joined various professional dance companies both in France and abroad: Totum Cie, Karma Dance Project, Tapis Noir Cie, Dominique Brun Cie, Ethery Pagava Ballets, Hannah Ma Dance Company, Unit Control Cie in Notre Dame de Paris production, Christine Hassid Project Cie, Sarah Baltzinger Company, Georges Momboye Company... Loïc constantly questions the human condition in his choreographies and in 2021 he created the solo ALEZAN interpreted by Alizée Duvernois. This solo has been designed to be performed in a horse-riding ring. It is now becoming a short film thanks to Jérémy Tran for the video production and Adrien Graf for the original soundtrack A Butterfly Is Knocking at the Window | Islamic Republic of Iran ~ Mohammad Hasani is from Hamedan a Part of Iran in West, He can Speak Both Persian and Turkish, and also he can speak in English, too. He started His work from Tehran(Iran Capital) in Iranian Youth Cinema Society. After a year he has been accepted in Art university and studied in Cinema director course and participated in the workshops. 36th Fajr International film festival Talent Campus, Tehran international film festival, 11th Cinema verite. He directed his first professional film “Stencil” when he was 25 years old at the university which was accepted in several international and national Film festivals, And that was the beginning of his Career as a Filmmaker. Doors | USA ~ Alisa Rasera (she/her) began a dance career in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1996. Throughout the last two and a half decades she has collected many diverse experiences as a dance artist, educator, choreographer, arts administrator and now filmmaker. For 8 years she was a Dancer and the Education Director for Oakland based AXIS Dance Company. She was a teaching artist with Luna Dance Institute for 7 years leading inquiry-based learning on making dance more accessible and inclusive. Alisa produces her own repertory of choreography including her latest dance film “Doors.” Her early inspirations for collaboration come from her training roots at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, Ca. where she received a BFA in dance. She furthered her dance making passions in graduate school in the mid 90's at New York University. Alisa is a trained Audio Describer with Gravity Access in San Francisco for live & recorded performances. Alisa is a Professor of Practice in the dance department at Mills College in Oakland, Ca and believes that dance belongs to everyone and tries to convey that through her work on stage and on screen. Fear - A Dance Short Film | USA ~ Director Naveen Tan is an independent filmmaker based out of Houston, TX. Born and raised in Malaysia, and went to college of Engineering in West Virginia. Moved to Houston in 2013 after being assigned to Siberia, Russia for 3 years and has been based there since. Professionally, Naveen has been in the oil and gas industry for more than 18 years and has no prior training in filmmaking. With a passion for filmmaking, Naveen has learned the arts on his own. Without any formal or informal training in filmmaking, everything has been self taught with help from the local community. It has definitely been a great journey especially coming from a non-filmmaking background. Co-Director Gemini Davis is a Cinematographer/Camera Operator and Designer from Vietnam with a passion for creative storytelling and production design based in Los Angeles and Houston. She is currently participating in a film internship with the Houston Media Source Filmmaker's Program and collaborating with HMS staff and various independent filmmakers from the diverse metropolitan Houston community. Since starting the program, she has had the opportunity to work on four indie short film projects (Urban Trade, Sanitized, Noble Gentleman, & Men in Cars) in various crew positions spanning from camera operator, 1st AC, 2nd AC, and director of photography. Although many workshops and classes were cancelled or postponed during the worst of the pandemic prior to the availability of COVID-19 vaccinations, she was able to take an Intro to Cinematography Techniques & Aesthetics course and a Field Lighting Techniques and Aesthetics course taught virtually on Zoom by Cinematographer and Professor Angel Granados, MFA, MA, which was organized by the Austin Film Society. Prior to studying cinematography and camera operating, Gemini was taking interior design courses and developing conceptual design skills. At the end of 2021, she transitioned from a student membership to becoming an associate member of the Society of Camera Operators. She plans to continue to develop her skills as a filmmaker and cinematographer by pursuing educational workshops and classes as well as build on set experience working in the camera department on commercial, industrial, & indie film projects. In 2022, she had the exciting opportunity to collaborate and produce two creative short projects: Muses and Fear. It has been a challenging and rewarding adventure to pursue a career in the film and TV industry as a BIPOC cinematographer and filmmaker. Il costume di Valdrada (Valdrada's fancy dress) | Italy ~ Silvia Autorino. Coreografa, performer e insegnante di danza, la sua ricerca si fonda sulla connessione tra l’arte coreutica e l’arte grafica, nonché su un lavoro di continua collaborazione con musicisti dal vivo ricercando una connessione tra gli elementi e spaziando su tematiche coreografiche che non siano descrittive ma evocative. Si forma come danzatrice a Portici (NA) nella scuola Accademia dello Spettacolo diretta da Irma Cardano e Virginia Vincenti. Durante la sua formazione ha studiato con prestigiosi Maestri tra cui Lia Calizza, Pedro de la Cruz, Bill Hastings e Chet Walker. Vince numerosi Concorsi di fama Internazionale e borse di studio tra cui quella che le ha permesso nel 2010 di seguire la Summer Intensive della Princeton Ballet School diretta da Mery Pat Robertson. Partecipa ai corsi estivi di prestigiose scuole tra cui l’Academie Princesse Grace diretta da Marika Besobrasova e l’Ecole Supèrieure de dence de Cannes Rosella Haigtawer diretta da Monique Loudieres. Laureata in Graphic Design presso l’Accademia di Belle Arti di Napoli (2014), in Coreografia presso l’Accademia Nazionale di Danza (2018), ultima i suoi studi con il massimo dei voti conseguendo il Master Cantiere Infinito in tecniche di improvvisazione coreutico-musicale in collaborazione con la Fondazione MAXXI, Conservatorio di S. Cecilia e l’Accademia Nazionale di Danza (2019) , seguendo seminari con coreografi di fama tra cui A. Certini, V. Sieni, G. Rossi. Nel 2017 insieme a Giulia Bean coreografa una nuova versione di “Le Sacre du printemps” per due pianoforti di Igor Stravinskij in occasione del 42° Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte di Montepulciano. Nel 2018 si candida tra i sei finalisti del Premio Roma coreografi con la coreografia “Esperimento grafico”, e con la stessa vince il Premio Nazionale delle Arti 2018 del Ministero dell’Istruzione dell’Università e della Ricerca per la sezione coreografia. Nel 2020 vince il bando “Le Notti dell’Opera” per produrre e presentare un assolo impegnata come protagonista e coreografa per Macerata Opera Festival 2020 con musiche dal vivo di Daniele Gherrino e Alberto Cari. Nel 2021 Vince il Premio Roma nella categoria Published Dance Movie con il video “Il costume di Valdrada”. Attualmente insegna danza contemporanea e classica in varie scuole campane, approfondisce gli studi sulla metodologia della danza contemporanea e sulla coreografia, fa parte del Kollettivo Kairos (1,7) come danzatrice e coreografa partecipando a Festival e spettacoli Nazionali, collabora con il magazine Live Performing&Arts per la sezione danza, con l’Ensemble ParoleCheDanzano diretto da Sandra Fuciarelli e con la Compagnia Ivir Danza diretta da Irma Cardano. Shared Canvas | Germany ~ Aleksej Nutz is a videographer & filmmaker based in Stuttgart, Germany. He finds his inspiration for films in literature, art and of course, other films. Influenced by Hermann Hesse, Erich Fromm, Hannah Arendt, Andrei Tarkovsky and many more, his main subject is all about humanity and the question of how to be connected with oneself, with other people and nature. In his work he asks about self perception and personal development. The things we want and what we actually need. After graduating from the University of Education in Ludwigsburg, Aleksej worked as a Videojournalist for a local TV-Station. Then he went abroad to organize educational camps for children and young people in Romania. Returning to Germany after two years, Aleksej has focused on his work as a freelancer and Educational Consultant.  Together with Johannes Frick (actor, singer and performance artist) he shot a short video, called „ I WANT“ in 2016. It´s an adaptation of a monologue, written by Falk Richter for the play „Citta Del Vaticano“, which premiered at the Schauspielhaus Wien. He made his film debut with his first poetic shortfilm "INTERIOR" in 2020 at the Cadence Video Poetry Film Festival in Seattle. The Escape | Russian Federation ~ Liudmila Komrakova was born in 1962 in Russia. At the age of 52 she visited Argentina and fell in love with tango argentina. Even though she does not have film or dance education Liudmila being a creative person with strong leadership and organizing skills she decided to promote tango argentina as a mean of communication accessible for everyone and as a developing modern art (not something retrograde with red rose between the teeth). Thus she found a team ready to create series of short films where dance plays the most important role. In order to attract people with no dance knowledge she creates films with a strong narrative line were the dance helps to move the story. Liudmila believes that the quality of choreography and performance are the key to the understanding and developing of dance. Thus she works closely with choreographers and dancers and explains what kind of movements she wants to see at each moment of the music. She works with different choreofraphers from Argentina and Russia. The Late Bloomer | Israel ~ Amnon Sivan. I'm a creative professional based in Tel-Aviv - Israel. Although my interests span across a broad spectrum, my one true heart’s desire is to direct a choreographed fantasy-themed live musical, think of it as “lord of the rings” meets “la la land." Unfortunately, due to professional limitations, I’m currently forced to work on anything besides that. It’ll take some time but I’m in it for the long haul. the occurrence of colours by night | Germany ~ The Austrian textile designer, art filmmaker stage- and costume designer Sophie Lenglachner lives and works in Vienna and Magdeburg, investing herself in international productions with works of various media. Her main occupation is as a stage and costume designer for theatre and film. She also organizes and scenographs queer events and is part of various art collectives that do multimedia art installations and performances, examining concepts of dynamic/moveable spaces and their relation to light and sound. Unspoken | Botswana ~ William Armstrong is a film director born in Botswana and based in Copenhagen Denmark. With a body of work crossing advertising, music video and short form narrative, his combinations of memorable imagery and emotive storytelling has earned him Emerging Director Award at the One Screen Film Festival, gold craft awards at Ciclope, Best New Director at the Kinsale Shark Awards, and a Young Director Award at the Cannes Lions, as well as selection at some of the leading film festivals in Europe and North America. Zander's Dream | USA ~ Leslie Lashinsky, Director/Choreographer. What does a professional orchestral bassoonist do during a pandemic? “Zoom” choreography, of course! While unable to play in concert halls, ballet orchestra pits, or for film soundtracks, musician/teacher/multi-media artist Leslie Lashinsky used the pandemic period for pet projects like Synapse Contemporary Dance Theater. Leslie has long been involved in music and dance improvisation, performance art, and experimental arts collaborations. She’s performed at Jacob’s Pillow, Dance Theater Workshop NYC and Lincoln Center’s “Serious Fun Festival.” Her “Muscle Tones” piece (utilizing the BodySynth controller) premiered at New Music Across America. Zander Ayeroff, Film Editor and Costumer, (Leslie’s son) is an actor, singer, dancer, performance artist and immersive theatre designer. Zander joined Co-Reality Collective (CRC) in 2020, producing and performing in many global virtual events including Virtual Burn 2020 and 2021(week-long digital replacements for Burning Man art festival). He holds degrees in Theatre Arts and Entertainment Technology and Promotion. Stan Ayeroff, Composer, (Zander’s dad) is a composer, arranger and guitarist based in Los Angeles. Check out his website at StanAyeroff.com 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 | The Dallas Public Library |  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. Requirements Length: 5 - 10 minutes max Must incorporate Dance Must pay fee per submission 2 submissions per artist Categories + Submission Fees Early Bird Deadline: August 1, 2022 $15 emerging: description $25 professional filmmaker: description Later Gator Deadline: September 15, 2022 $20 emerging $30 professional filmmaker

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