2017 Films

We are pleased to announce programming for our 8th annual festival, featuring over 90 dance films at multiple San Francisco venues October 19 – 22. Along with screenings, the festival will include opening and closing receptions, post-screening discussions with filmmakers, live performances, and special presentations. For the first time we will present an exhibition of VR 360 films where participants in headsets can virtually step inside various dance films. Also new is a full day of live performance captures, bringing important new works from Europe to San Francisco for the first time. As a special extension of the festival, an exciting collaboration with Catharine Clark Gallery will extend the festival with an exhibition of art/experimental dance films running from September 9 through October 28. The festival will wind up on Sunday October 22 at 6:00 p.m. with a celebration of Bay Area artists, including screenings of local shorts and the premieres of two new films from SFDFF’s annual filmmaking project the Co-Laboratory. The evening will culminate in an awards ceremony featuring for the first time cash prizes in eight categories.

View 2017 Festival Schedule


San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Rodrigo Rocha-CamposA Full Circle – Movement #3

(Canada, 2016) 8:55
Director: Rodrigo Rocha-Campos
Choreographer: Erika Mitsuhashi, Michael Ethan Kong
View Trailer | Schedule

Two siblings on an emotional roller-coaster vie for dominance. After reaching the deepest bottom, how will they make it back up to the light?

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, History of Cuban Dance, Lucy Walker A History of Cuban Dance

(United States, 2016) 8:02
Director: Lucy Walker
Choreographer: Ballet de la Television Cubana, The National Afro Cuban Ballet, The Danza Abierta, Susana Pous
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Transport yourself to Cuba through the magic of virtual reality and experience the story of the island revealed in the evolution of moves and styles from Afro-Cuban santeria through rumba, cha-cha-cha, modern, salsa, breakdancing and reggaeton.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, A Swan Lake, Alexander Ekman A Swan Lake

(Norway, 2014) 98 min
Director: Jeff Tudor
Choreographer: Alexander Ekman
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Alexander Ekman’s witty, inventive and powerful take on the most famous ballet of all. Recorded at Norwegian National Ballet.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, After You're Gone, Sergey Bezrukov After You’re Gone

(Russian Federation, 2016) 120 min
Director: Anna Matison
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Aleksey Temnikov (Sergey Bezrukov), renowned ballet dancer and acknowledged genius, discovers that he will soon lose the ability to walk. Before this happens, Aleksey sets out to choreograph a ballet and answer the question “What will I leave behind after I am gone?”

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Airplay, Lauren Bedal Airplay

(United States, 2017) 2:15
Director: Lauren Bedal
Choreographer: Lauren Bedal
Schedule

A young boy left to his own devices lets his imagination run free.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Anatomy of a Male Ballet Dancer, Marcelo Gomes Anatomy of a Male Ballet Dancer

(United States, 2017) 83 min
Director: David Barba, James Pellerito
Choreographer: Petipa, Ratmansky, Gomes
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Unprecedented behind-the-scenes portrait of ballet star Marcelo Gomes. From his struggle to reach the top of the ballet world, to his complicated relationship with his father, the film takes us on Marcelo’s journey from the heart of the Amazon to the most important International stages.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, And So Do I, Jana Younes And So Do I

(Lebanon, 2016) 13:00
Director: Jana G. Younes
Choreographer: Jens Bjerregaard
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A man lost his wife while she was giving birth to his little girl. The trauma, even after 10 years, still causes him hallucinations. In his own bubble, he imagines his wife is still with him.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Annica, Cecilia Sweet-Coll Anicca

(United States, 2016) 6:07
Director: Cecilia Sweet-Coll
Choreographer: Cecilia Sweet-Coll
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An award-winning visual music piece in virtual reality using motion capture of dancers.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Ballet Dancers in Slow Motion, Jayson TangBallet Dancers in Slow Motion

(United States, 2016) 5:25
Director: Jayson Tang
Choreographer: Pascal Molat
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Combination of twelve videos of San Francisco Ballet dancers shot in extreme slow motion.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Battle Grounds: The Hard Hits of Female Poppers, Director: Devon de Leña Battle Grounds: The Hard Hits of Female Poppers

(United States, 2016) 36:23
Director: Devon de Leña
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Facing both isolation and sexism within the street dancing community, Angel Alviar-Langley decides to organize the first international dance battle for female-identified poppers in Seattle.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Beating, Kari Sulc Beating

(Czech Republic, 2014) 6:10
Director: Kari Sulc
Choreographer: Tereza Hradilkova
Schedule

In this observational dance film, the camera work and editing bring to the surface not only the beauty of the body in motion but also the unexpectedly archaic, ritual dimension of an ordinary boxing training session.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, The Big Sofa, Deborah Tiso The Big Sofa

(United Kingdom, 2016) 3:00
Director: Deborah Tiso
Choreographer: Deborah Tiso
Schedule

A bizarre tale surrounding an extended family that are awoken suddenly by the earsplitting sound track of the film they are watching together, late in to the night.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Blown Away, David Masters Blown Away

(United States, 2017) 2:24
Director: David Masters
Choreographer: Dion Pratt
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From the firing of the first electrons to the cosmic journey across space. Blown Away traces the genesis and impact of sound waves on a waiting listener.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, The Body as Archive The Body as Archive

(Germany, 2016) 48:58
Director: Michael Maurissens
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Documentary film based on research that considers ways in which the dancer’s body can be regarded as archive. A few hypotheses are intended as a frame of its research; is the body of a dancer only a repository of forms of usage?

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Ceiling, Katherine Helen Fisher Ceiling

(United States, 2016) 3:53
Director: Katherine Helen Fisher
Choreographer: Katherine Helen Fisher
Schedule

Ceiling focuses on a dancer’s repetitive leap as a physical allegory for striving. Shot in the Angeles Forest on the Phantom Camera, the film weaves gender and landscape into the body’s potential for movement in the tradition of Eadweard Muybridge.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Cold Storage, Director: Thomas Freundlich, Choreographer: Valtteri Raekallio Cold Storage

(Finland, 2016) 8:46
Director: Thomas Freundlich
Choreographer: Valtteri Raekallio
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On a desolate arctic shore, a lonely ice fisherman discovers his prehistoric counterpart frozen in the sea ice, and thaws him out as his newfound soul brother. A wild all-night drinking and dancing party ensues.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Curing Albrecht, Jessica Wright, Morgann Runacre-Temple Curing Albrecht

(United Kingdom, 2016) 5:00
Director: Jessica Wright, Morgann Runacre-Temple
Choreographer: Jessica Wright, Morgann Runacre-Temple
Schedule

A young man checks into a bespoke institution, hoping to be cured of his inability to stop dancing.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Cycles, Joe Cobden Cycles

(Canada, 2016) 4:00
Director: Joe Cobden
Choreographer: Joe Cobden
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Playful choreography, set to bright piano harmonies by Russian composer G. I. Gurdjieff, tells the story of a man reliving the memories of a failed relationship over and over.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Dance for Life, Director: Ella Cooper, Choreographer: Pulga Muchochoma Dance for Life

(Canada, 2016) 4:00
Director: Ella Cooper
Schedule

Short dance film meets documentary that features a once-impoverished minor-league soccer player from Mozambique, who gives up everything to pursue a life of dance in Canada.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Dance To The Music In Your Heart Dance to the Music in your Heart

(United States, 2017) 7:50
Director: Qiying Lin
Choreographer: Antoine Hunter, Ellen S Chang
Schedule

How can a deaf person dance? Dance to the music in your heart.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Dance With Your Heart (Tengo Talento Cuba), Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi Dance With Your Heart (Tengo Talento Cuba)

(United States, 2017) 10:21
Director: Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi
Choreographer: Jennyselt Galata Calvo
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Shot in a part of Havana that is rarely seen by tourists, this short documentary follows a dancer as she seeks to keep the legacy of Afro-Cuban culture, dance and religion alive.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Dancin' the Camera, Pieter-Rim de Kroon Dancin’ the Camera

(Netherlands, 2015) 8:48
Director: Pieter-Rim de Kroon
Schedule

A tap dancer’s adventure in the mechanical world of black-and-white film shot on an original 35mm camera made in the 1920s, the era when tap was all the rage. As well as being the lens into this world the camera is the set and a character, joining with a pianist to entice the dancer into a duet.

Dive, Charlie Stellar, San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017 Dive

(United States, 2017) 5:14
Director: Charlie Stellar
Choreographer: Haley Wilson
Schedule

An alluring journey into the fluid of human and earth.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, The Earth Will Come, Kira Kirsch The Earth Will Come

(Germany/USA, 2017) 3:53
Director: Katelyn Stiles
Choreographer: Kira Kirsch
Schedule

Through an intimate encounter between a woman and a forest in the outskirts of Berlin, this short film questions romanticism and our desire to connect to nature, amidst a worldwide environmental crisis.

Fire and Ashes, Making the Ballet RAkU, Shirley Sun, San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017 Fire and Ashes, Making the Ballet RAkU

(United States, 2017) 60 min
Director: Shirley Sun
Choreographer: Yuri Possokhov
Schedule

Fire and Ashes, Making the Ballet RAkU documents the collaboration of great contemporary masters at the zenith of their careers. Yuri Possokhov choreographed RAkU for prima ballerina Yuan Yuan Tan as the defining role of her career.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, The First Date, Mary John Frank The First Date

(United States, 2016) 5:26
Director: Mary John Frank
Choreographer: Mary John Frank
Schedule

Despite the awkward small talk, disagreements, and their own destructive tendencies, Natalie and David show up for their first date and discover that they actually make excellent partners in crime.

Dive, Charlie Stellar, San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Alex Irwin, Flock TogetherFlock Together

(United States, 2017) 5:00
Director: Alex Irwin
Choreographer: Alex Irwin
Schedule

Three birds of different feathers, each proud and distinct in behavior, cross paths. Will they learn to play nice?

Genome, Max Patté, Jeremy Brick, Loughlan Prior, San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017Genome

(New Zealand, 2016) 6:20
Director: Loughlan Prior, Jeremy Brick
Choreographer: Loughlan Prior
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Genome combines the work of artist Max Patté, filmmaker Jeremy Brick and choreographer Loughlan Prior, with dancers of the Royal New Zealand Ballet.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Ghost Story, Sarah Elgart Ghost Story

(United States, 2017) 7:33
Director: Sarah Elgart
Choreographer: Sarah Elgart & the Dancers
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Four dancers search for a narrative as they prowl Bjarke Ingels’ monumental Manhattan skyscraper VIA 57 West, with a mysterious red figure often seen following in their wake.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Girls and Boys, Tomasz Gubernat Girls and Boys

(United States, 2016) 13:25
Director: Tomasz Gubernat
Choreographer: Barbara Kulpa
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An intimate portrait of a dance instructor and her disinterested teenage students.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Gogi, Viviane Frehner, Stefan Jose Gogi

(Australia, 2017) 9:34
Director: Viviane Frehner, Stefan Jose
Choreographer: Viviane Frehner, Alicia Harvie, Ashleigh White
Schedule

A poetic narrative of three sisters, separated from each other and stuck in their own worlds, Gogi is a short dance film that drives home the importance of unison and tells about isolation and longing for connection.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Haud Close Tae Me, Eve McConnachie Haud Close Tae Me

(United Kingdom, 2017) 4:27
Director: Eve McConnachie
Choreographer: Christopher Hampson
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A short duet between a professional ballerina and a 65-year-old dancer examining the connection between our younger and older selves. The film is inspired by a specially commissioned poem by Scotland’s Makar Jackie Kay, who narrates the poem in Scots-English.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Wendy Seyb, How You Look At It How You Look At It

(United States, 2015) 8:30
Director: Wendy Seyb
Choreographer: Wendy Seyb
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A story about how love at first sight changes a man’s perspective of the world around him. With a little help from his inner theme songs, his environment comes together to support his quest to be with his new sighted love…or at least, say hello.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, In Essential Drop, Gabriele Rizzi In Essential Drop

(Italy, 2016) 1:02
Director: Gabriele Rizzi
Schedule

It is from an “Essential Drop” that something unique and original can emerge. The drop as source of life that changes its shape and a show that celebrates the art of essence.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Evann Siebens, The Indexical Dance-a-Thon The Indexical Dance-a-Thon!

(Canada, 2016) 4:15
Director: Evann Siebens
Choreographer: Cora Bos-Krose, Justine A. Chambers, Kevin Cregan, Jane Ellison, James Gnam, Amy Raymond
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Shot in seminal dance environments Ballett Frankfurt in Germany and The Western Front in Canada, the film mixes professional and amateur dancers, probing their gaze and the search for the sublime through simple improvisational gestures.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Jamais Vu, Kim Modeun Jamais Vu

(Republic of Korea, 2017) 7:30
Director: Kim Modeun
Choreographer: Kim Modeun
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Short film depicting the never-ending journey of life and the liminal space experienced in the intervals between life and death.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Jonah, Andrew Michael Ellis Jonah

(United States, 2016) 5:23
Director: Andrew Michael Ellis
Choreographer: Ernest Felton Baker
Schedule

An interview with a former African-American slave accompanies a powerful dance vignette of an urban man in extremis. The juxtaposition of past and present raises questions about inherited trauma and the possibility of regeneration.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Giovanni Bucchieri, Juliet, Juliet, Juliet Juliet, Juliet & Juliet

(Sweden, 2017) 8:41
Director: Giovanni Bucchieri
Choreographer: Giovanni Bucchieri
Schedule

Dance superstar Ana Laguna and acting legend Stina Ekblad meet with dancer, choreographer and director Giovanni Bucchieri in this expressive story about an unexpected meeting.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Kick Jump Twist, Mimi Cave Kick Jump Twist

(United States, 2017) 4:29
Director: Mimi Cave
Choreographer: Danielle Agami
Schedule

Official music video for Sylvan Esso’s ‘Kick Jump Twist’ starring Gary Reagan of Ate9 Dance Company.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Land of All, Michal Rynia, Giuseppe Ippolito Land of All

(Slovenia, 2016) 5:37
Director: Michal Rynia, Nastja Bremec, Giuseppe Ippolitono
Choreographer: Michal Rynia, Nastja Bremec
Schedule

Two bodies move together exploring an imaginary world where nothing divides them and where art is a language and the power of connection, construction and creation is the main goal.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Libera, Walter Yamazaki Libera

(United States, 2017) 6:19
Director: Walter Yamazaki
Choreographer: Lauren Jonas, Diablo Ballet dancers
Schedule

Short film examining the dancer in two worlds—the world of constraint and the world of infinite freedom—and how they must strive to find balance between the two.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Luke Willis, Lifeboat Lifeboat

(United States, 2017) 5:16
Director: Luke Willis
Choreographer: Luke Willis
Schedule

A short dance film in virtual reality. Through dance, a young man chases after a girl and repeatedly fails to win her unyielding support.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Light, Lenora Lee Light

(United States, 2017) 57 min
Director: Tatsu Aoki
Choreographer: Lenora Lee
Schedule

Light is a film in which dance, memory and music collide in a visual and aural landscape; a meditation on women being propelled into the unknown by courage and faith to risk their lives and everything they have for freedom.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Lovebytes, Director: Jasper Valentine
Choreographer: Omari 'Motion' Carter Lovebytes

(United Kingdom, 2014) 3:13
Director: Jasper Valentine
Choreographer: Omari ‘Motion’ Carter
Schedule

A short screendance film which uses British Sign Language influences, combined with dance and music, to show one man’s walk of lamentation, illustrating a journey of growth from a moment of heartbreak.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, María Manuela, Emma Lanier María Manuela

(United States, 2017) 27:19
Director: Emma Lanier
Choreographer: José Maldonado
Schedule

A choreographer breaks flamenco’s gender norms to speak out against machismo, while a young filmmaker documents and reflects on intersecting questions of ownership, meaning, and resistance.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Mata Hari, Jeff Tudor Mata Hari

(Netherlands, 2016) 115 min
Director: Jeff Tudor
Choreographer: Ted Brandsen
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Director and award-winning choreographer Ted Brandsen has taken the turbulent life of the Dutch dancer and spy Mata Hari as his inspiration for a lavish new full-length ballet. A new score has been specially commissioned from Grammy-nominated composer Tarik O’Regan.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Midsummernight's Dream, Director: Tommy Pascal, Choreographer: Alexander Ekman Midsummer Night’s Dream

(France, 2017) 97 min
Director: Tommy Pascal
Choreographer: Alexander Ekman
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A powerful contemporary piece by Alexander Ekman that explores the energy and the mysteries conjured up by the summer solstice. This vast and ambitious project is danced by the Royal Swedish Ballet and set to music by Mikael Karlsson.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Move, Marlene Millar Move

(Canada, 2016) 3:45
Director: Marlene Millar
Choreographer: Sandy Silva
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Gathered in a train car waiting on the tracks, destination unknown, nine dancers and singers perform a soulful rendition of the gospel song “You Gotta Move” accompanied by body percussion.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Moving Afrika, Valeria Lo Meo, Michele Manzini Moving Afrika

(South Africa, 2016) 5:02
Director: Valeria Lo Meo, Michele Manzini
Schedule

Expressive documentary set in South African townships that seeks to answer the question “what is reality?”

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Moving Athens, Jevan Chowdhury Moving Athens

(United Kingdom, 2015) 4:58
Director: Jevan Chowdhury
Choreographer: Emi Korfia
Schedule

In this film, set in the streets of Athens against a backdrop of urban decay as well as architectural durability, dancers improvise across a range of dance genres, from ballet to street.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Multidentity, Tycho Hupperets MULTIDENTITY

(Netherlands, 2016) 4:30
Director: Tycho Hupperets
Choreographer: Tycho Hupperets
Schedule

Playful exploration of how movement and clothing can create identity.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Night Theme, Ben Estabrook Night Theme

(United States, 2017) 6:15
Director: Ben Estabrook, Heath Orchard
Choreographer: Meghan Horowitz
Schedule

From an inauspicious melody written for and recorded on the 1970s album Kill City by Iggy Pop and James Williamson, Night Theme was given new life by this orchestral arrangement, contemporary choreography, and a modern take on psychedelic imagery.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, The Ninth Symphony by Maurice Béjart The Ninth Symphony by Maurice Béjart

(Germany, 2014) 88 min
Director: Mari Inamasu
Choreographer: Maurice Béjart
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Maurice Béjart’s compelling staging of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony has been enchanting audiences worldwide since its inception and its idea of universal brotherhood remains highly topical.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, No Deal, Director: Devin Jamieson, Choreographer: Jillian Meyers, Jeff Mortensen No Deal

(United States, 2016) 5:29
Director: Devin Jamieson
Choreographer: Jillian Meyers, Jeff Mortensen
Schedule

Washed up. Washed away. Inebriated negotiation. Gone astray. A void without reason. Reality unpeeled. Two strangers meeting, unsuccessfully. No deal.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Our Canada, My Story: Thomas Poulsen Our Canada, My Story: Thomas Poulsen

(Canada, 2016) 5:04
Director: Salima Stanley-Bhanji
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Thomas Poulsen shares the story of his performance career as a dancer and actor and his life as a person with disabilities.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Over the Edge, Vladimira Spindler Over the Edge (Preko Ruba)

(Croatia, 2017) 10:00
Director: Vladimira Spindler
Choreographer: Mirna Spori
Schedule

Poetic non-narative documentary film about retiring principal dancer Mirna Sporis. The film takes place in the Croatian National Theatre, Mirna’s theatrical home of more than 25 years.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Paul Taylor Dance Company Living Brochure, Andrew Asnes Paul Taylor Dance Company Living Brochure

(United States, 2017) 1:37
Director: Andrew Asnes
Choreographer: Paul Taylor
Schedule

Explore The Paul Taylor Dance Company repertoire in 360 degrees as you immerse yourself onstage with the dancers.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Persecuta, Martin & Facundo Lombard Persecuta

(United States, 2017) 2:23
Director: Martin & Facundo Lombard
Choreographer: Martin & Facundo Lombard
Schedule

A new powerful dance scene by the Lombard Twins.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Bobbi Jo Hart, Rebels on Pointe Rebels on Pointe

(Canada, 2017) 90 min
Director: Bobbi Jo Hart
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Rebels on Pointe is the first-ever cinema verité documentary that intimately follows Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, the all-male, drag ballet company founded in 1974 that has a cult following around the world.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Recycled Movement, Bö Lee Recycled Movement

(Kenya, 2015) 3:50
Director: Bö Lee
Choreographer: Bö Lee
Schedule

Three Kenyan dancers and a Korean filmmaker met and shared two weeks. This film shows their collaborative attempt to “revive an abandoned world through our dance.”

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Room, Daniel Morcos Room

(South Africa, 2016) 12:00
Director: Daniel Morcos
Choreographer: Kristina Johnstone
Schedule

Room explores the dynamics and relationship between two bodies that occupy a particular environment with a specific vocabulary drawing from classical movement. Out of this is born a nuanced narrative as the two bodies on screen strive for synchronicity.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, SAMT (silence), Aoun Chadi SAMT (silence)

(Lebanon, 2016) 15:00
Director: Aoun Chadi
Choreographer: Aoun Chadi
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In a fanatic dictatorship, modern dance is the secret code of the silent resistance. At out-of-the-way places in town young people celebrate the hidden joy of life with their bodies, cope with the terror they experienced. SAMT, is the introduction of a dysfunctional society that is about to implode.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Jouka Valkama, SEE | OBEY SEE | OBEY

(Finland, 2015) 15:05
Director: Jouka Valkama
Choreographer: Susanna Leinonen
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SEE | OBEY tells three different narratives about human emotions, everyday events and conflicts by physical expression and movement. Time is manipulated by cinematic means and the moments that happen in a blink of an eye get a new depth with slow motion. The film uses both professional dancers and almost a hundred volunteers.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Shake the Dust, Adam Sjöberg Shake the Dust

(United States, 2015) 85 min
Director: Adam Sjöberg
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From executive producer and rapper Nasir “Nas” Jones, this documentary pays tribute to the art of breakdancing and its influence on young people around the world.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Silent Resonance Silent Resonance

(United States, 2017) 4:07
Director: Scott Squires
Choreographer: Price Suddarth
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A virtual-reality dance experience from Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) brings you inside the mind of a dancer.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Six Solos, Simon Fildes Six Solos

(United Kingdom, 2016) 6:30
Director: Simon Fildes
Choreographer: Sang Jijia
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Individual performances or communal expression? We can become more than the just the sum of parts if we come together.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Smoke-Clad Warrior, Mali Lazell, Adrian Künzel Smoke-Clad Warrior

(Germany, 2014) 2:52
Director: Mali Lazell, Mads Dinesen, Adrian Kuenzel
Choreographer: ANIMA‡
Schedule

The Journey of a warrior.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Solar Duplex, Victoria Marks Solar Duplex

(United States, 2016) 10:00
Director: Victoria Marks, Jingqiu Guan
Choreographer: Victoria Marks
Schedule

A dance for a man and a woman, who are never fully together, but never apart. Bound in time and in parallel play.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Sonder, Simona Deaconescu Sonder

(Romania, 2016) 12:20
Director: Simona Deaconescu
Choreographer: Simona Deaconescu
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A visually abstract and poetic film about the human being confronted with nature, the machine and himself.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, The Spot, Ted Ely The Spot

(United States, 2017) 2:38
Director: Ted Ely
Choreographer: Karla Garcia
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A group of men and women from different walks of life meet up at The Spot, where they groove and let loose to release the stress and negativity of everyday life.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Steadfast, Regina Hofmanova Steadfast

(Czech Republic, 2014) 9:04
Director: Regina Hofmanova
Choreographer: Regina Hofmanova
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Based on a story by Hans Christian Andersen, Steadfast is a stylized take on themes of solitude and isolation.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Stray Notes, Kate Duhamel Stray Notes

(United States, 2017) 4:36
Director: Kate Duhamel
Choreographer: Courtney Henry, Michael Montgomery, Babatunji
Schedule

Three dancers find a simple, magical harmony, but harmonies can become complex.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Stopgap in Stop Motion, Stephen Featherstone Stopgap in Stop Motion

(United Kingdom, 2016) 4:40
Director: Stephen Featherstone
Choreographer: Lucy Bennett
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Photographs of performers in a disabled and non-disabled dance company come to life. The individual artists dance out of the photos and across table tops until the whole company meets and performs in unison.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, The Sum of All Parts, Lukas Timulak, Peter Bilak The Sum of All Parts

(Netherlands, 2017) 4:00
Director: Lukas Timulak, Peter Bilak
Choreographer: Lukas Timulak
Schedule

A playful short dance film connecting five dancers through geometry and geometric patterns creating a dynamic moiré effect.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Take Your Time, Natasha Adorlee Johnson, Max Sachar Take Your Time

(United States, 2017) 4:49
Director: Max Sachar, Natasha Adorlee Johnson
Choreographer: Natasha Adorlee Johnson
Schedule

Take Your Time is a raw and powerful performance-art piece that explores the concept of time & relationships by following a duet as they navigate complex obstacles and spaces.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, This is not Magritte (Ceci n'est pas Magritte), Ivan Skorik This is not Magritte

(Russian Federation, 2016) 5:54
Director: Ivan Skorik
Choreographer: Ivan Skorik
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A story inspired by paintings of René Magritte. The film was created as a part of Cinema Dance Project at the Acting Faculty of Moscow Film School.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Three On Four, Marty Buhler Three on Four

(United States, 2016) 3:41
Director: Marty Buhler
Choreographer: Marty Buhler
Schedule

A film about the re-imagination of sound and movement.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Through You, Lily Baldwin, Saschka Unseld Through You

(United States, 2017) 12:00
Director: Lily Baldwin, Saschka Unseld
Choreographer: Lily Baldwin
Schedule

Using dance to inhabit a common mortal story of love born, lived, lost, burned, and seemingly gone forever, Through You is a live-action VR richly infused with an atmosphere of passion.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, To the Ends of the Fingertips Director: Roswitha Chesher To the Ends of the Fingertips

(United Kingdom, 2016) 3:11
Director: Roswitha Chesher
Choreographer: Sophie Arstall, Elizabeth Barker
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Slipping through the fingers of time, we follow a search for freedom and fulfilment in this visually rich and surreal tale. A Big Dance & Channel 4 commission.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Unspoken: RJ Muna Unspoken

(United States, 2016) 6:05
Director: RJ Muna
Choreographer: Dexandro Montalvo
Schedule

Some of the Bay Area’s most talented artistic minds join forces to create this haunting, spastic, yet beautiful piece that explores human emotion and stretches the imagination.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Vanitas, Director: Vinícius Cardoso Vanitas

(Brazil, 2017) 5:21
Director: Vinícius Cardoso
Choreographer: Samuel Kavalerski
Schedule

Short film exhorting us to think about passions—and also the ephemerality of life.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Oonagh Kearney, The Wake The Wake

(Ireland, 2015) 19:20
Director: Oonagh Kearney
Choreographer: Cindy Cummings
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Drama Queen. Diva. Looking for attention. In Ireland, we silence women in the courts, silence women in the health-care system, silence women in the church, silence women on the national stage… but this silencing also happens at home, in the house, in the body.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Wake, Director: Katherine Macnaughton Wake

(Canada, 2016) 6:05
Director: Katherine Macnaughton
Choreographer: Ashley Werhun
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A reflection on the isolation that technology can create, Wake is an invitation to reconnect and rebuild our relationships with the people and elements around us.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, We, Director: Lulu Meng We

(United States, 2017) 2:00
Director: LuLu Meng
Schedule

A short film in which drawing and rapid body movement illustrate the strokes of the letters w and e, we deals with the coexistence of conflicting matters, rationality/emotion, discipline/ignorance, singularity/harmony.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, We No Longer Wait for the Barbarians (Nous n'attendrons plus les barbares), Director: Alain El Sakhawi We No Longer Wait for the Barbarians

(Italy, 2016) 8:20
Director: Alain El Sakhawi
Choreographer: Alain El Sakhawi, Valeria Zampardi, Fernando Roldan Ferrer
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Allegory on the myth of the original sin of Adam and Eve transposed to the contemporary world.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, White Spirit, Director: Aude Thuries White Spirit (Du blanc à l’âme)

(France, 2015) 26:00
Director: Aude Thuries
Schedule

Avoid blanks in a conversation, it’s an art. Contrary to creating, which is a job, more precisely White’s job, a man with white clothes interferes in conversations at appropriate — or quite inconvenient — moments in order to disturb them.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Who Do You Trust?, Director: Hi-Jin Hodge, David Hodge Who Do You Trust?

(United States, 2017) 9:45
Director: Hi-Jin Hodge, David Hodge
Choreographer: Yayoi Kambara
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Who Do You Trust explores the universal question of what trust means and how we perceive it. Through modern dance the film draws viewers deep into the question of how our ever-changing society interacts with the concepts of trust.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, W I L D, Director: Adrien Ouaki W I L D

(France, 2017) 13:22
Director: Adrien Ouaki
Choreographer: Adrien Ouaki
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During questioning a man tells us his story and the events that brought him here.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Without Reason, Mohammed Khansa, Emma Humphris Without Reason (Bala Sabab)

(France, 2015) 10:44
Director: Emma Humphris
Choreographer: Mohammed Khansa, Emma Humphris
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A Lebanese inmate travels through his memory from his cell, repeating the steps and actions that led to this detention; a tragic and lonely dance that will transform his identity and his life forever.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Womb, Director: Gilles Jobin Womb

(Switzerland, 2016) 32:00
Director: Gilles Jobin
Choreographer: Gilles Jobin
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Womb is a 3D short film which marries stereoscopic images, dance, visual art and music. It is an existential tracking shot, an abstract analogy of life’s journey that draws on the depth of space and the volume of bodies to trigger a contemplative and emotional response.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Women's Christmas Night, Director: Oonagh Kearney Ireland Women’s Christmas Night

(Ireland, 2016) 5:30
Director: Oonagh Kearney
Choreographer: Jessica Kennedy, Megan Kennedy
Schedule

A highly visual and feminist response to Séan Ó’Riordáin’s famous Irish language poem.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, You, Director: Graham Clayton-Chance,
Choreographer: Nigel Charnock You

(United Kingdom, 2015) 5:55
Director: Graham Clayton-Chance
Choreographer: Nigel Charnock
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A dance monologue. Verbal and physical slapstick reveals darker truths about love, sex and relationships. Taken from the archive of the late Nigel Charnock, one in a series of films celebrating his work in new films of classic performance pieces.

San Francisco Dance Film Festival Films 2017, Schwerelos, Director: Jannis Lenz Zero-G (Schwerelos)

(Austria, 2016) 9:00
Director: Jannis Lenz
Schedule

Zero-G follows a group of Parkour “tracers” from Vienna and slam artist Fatima Moumouni, who pens a poem on the city and young people’s attitude to life.