BAY AREA SHORTS

A showcase of new dance film work by Bay Area Artists

SFDFF wouldn’t be what it is without its annual celebration of Bay Area dance films. The two-part program features new work from established dancers and filmmakers and by newcomers venturing behind the camera for the first time. We can’t wait to return to the theater and showcase local talent again in this live event.

Program includes a live performance by Babatunji Johnson.

Co-Presenter: Dancers’ Group / Brava Theater

Program Info

Runtime: 104 minutes

Sunday, October 24, 2021 @ 7pm

Venue: Brava Theater

$25

Program Films


PART One

Wild – Co-Lab 2021

SFDFF Co-Lab Screening Chalk Hill Artist Residency2021
SFDFF's 2021 Co-Laboratory film
Lindsay Gauthier
Fogbeast (Melecio Estrella and Andrew Ward)
(USA, 2021) 3:00 min
Contemporary

Her Cold Hands

Film still from Matthew McKee's "Her Cold Hands" dance film at SFDFF 2021
Her Cold Hands is a music video with a mission to raise awareness about mental health
Matthew McKee
Ben Needham-Wood
(USA, 2020) 5:14 min
Contemporary

Hinga

Film still from "Hina" dance film by Sammay Dizon, dance film at SFDFF 2021
Short time capsule honoring the sacred grief, life force, and resiliency of the Bay Area Pilipinx community during the COVID-19 crisis.
Sammay Dizon
Sammay Dizon
(USA, 2020) 15:07 min
Contemporary

Milongueando en SF

Still from "Milongueando en SF" by Juliet McMains dance film at SFDFF 2021
During the lockdown in 2020, San Francisco became eerily quiet. The portrait of the city at a standstill becomes the backdrop for one couple's intimate dance as they transform the empty city into their tango dance floor.
Juliet McMains
Juliet McMains
(USA, 2021) 3:29 min
Tango

Set Me Free

Still from "Set Me Free" dance film by Conni McKenzie at SFDFF 2021
Set Me Free is an exploration of the cyclical nature of exhaustion and the process of learning to let go of unnecessary burdens.
Conni McKenzie
Conni McKenzie
(USA, 2021) 6:25 min
Contemporary

Portal

Film still from "Portal" by Hannah Westbrook dance film at SFDFF 2021
Dance film born of isolation, loneliness, soul searching, and desire during the 2020 Covid-19 quarantine
Hannah Westbrook
Hannah Westbrook
(USA, 2020) 3:27 min
Contemporary

Forcas da Natureza

Mariella Morales "Forcas da Natureza" dance film at SFDFF 2021
Forcas Da Natureza is a live performance capture that pays homage to the essence of the orixa in the African-Brazilian tradition.
Mariella Susana Morales
Mariella Morales
(USA, 2020) 9:38 min
Folk-World

Slipping Sand

Slipping Sand dance film by RAWdance and Katerina Wong at SFDFF 2021
Slipping Sand is a close examination of humankind's relentless relationship with time
Katerina Wong
Katerina Wong
(USA, 2021) 4:28 min
Contemporary

Resilience In-Joy

Resilience in Joy by Kendra Barnes and Jennifer Johns dance film at SFDFF 2021
Panoramic projection and otherworldly fairies transport viewers to a dream-like landscape.
Kendra Barnes, Jennifer Johns
Kendra Barnes
(USA) 2:19 min
Contemporary

Byrne

Still from Byrne by Max Savage dance film at SFDFF 2021
Dancer Babatunji Johnson and filmmaker Max Savage combine forces along with One Found Sound's live performance of Ivan Trevino’s original composition
Max Savage
Babatunji Johnson
(United States, 2021) 3:26 min
Contemporary

PART TWO

Part Two opens with a short live performance by Babatunji Johnson

Drumset

Film still from "Drumset" by Evie Ladin MoToR/dance dance film at SFDFF 2021
Dance film by MoToR/dance, an all-female body music moving choir directed by Evie Ladin
Evie Ladin, Kris Lee
Evie Ladin
(USA, 2021) 3:25 min
Contemporary

Flavedoom

Karla Quintero in "Flavedoom" dance film at SFDFF 2021
Flavedoom is an allegory and a cautionary tale about consumption and the hidden violence behind it. It is inspired by two classic analog horror films: The Blob & ¿Quién puede matar a un niño?
Karla Quintero
Karla Quintero, Shareen DeRyan
(USA, 2021) 9:48 min
Contemporary

Walk With Us

Still from Walk With Us Lydia Clinton dance film at SFDFF 2021
Walk With Us is a music video that combines contemporary dance, Americana music, gospel chorus’ traditional call and response, protest, and poetry
Hannah Westbrook, Darren Crisp, Willa Moore
Hannah Westbrook
(USA, 2021) 8:00 min
Hip-Hop/Street

Climactica Sonambula

Naomi Pasmanick in Climactica Sonambula dance film at SFDFF 2021
Inspired by the sensation of rising in the morning and realizing one is living in a nightmare; or the collective dream state before the climate catastrophe.
Naomi G Pasmanick
Emma Lanier
(USA, 2020) 1:00 min
Contemporary

Solace

Still from "Solace" dance film by Anouk Otsea at SFDFF 2021
Solace is a work created for, about, and in collaboration with Juneau, Alaska, Lingít Aaní, the ancestral land of the Auk Kwan people
Anouk Otsea
Anouk Otsea
(USA, 2020) 6:16 min
Contemporary

Rorschach

Still from "Rorschach" dance film by Reneff-Olson Productions at SFDFF 2021
Rorschach explores a collection of fragmented scenarios. Each scenario invites the viewer to ask what it means to perceive the mental well-being of another person.
Benjamin Defaria, Valentina Reneff-Olson
Rena Butler, Ethan Colangelo, Benjamin Defaria, Alice Klock, Florian Lochner
(USA, 2021) 6:11 min
Contemporary

Black Lives-n-Motion

Still from "Black Lives-N-Motion" dance film by Carla Service at SFDFF 2021
Cathartic and spontaneous acts of dance in downtown Oakland
Carla Service
Janae Cobb, Tamika Kelly, Lazandra Dial, Antoinette Spillers, Tracey James, Mayodele, Semira Martin, Elijah No Danver, Alicia Langlais
(USA, 2020) 3:58 min
Hip-Hop/Street