Dance (Lens) 2023 — Official Selection #1
6 Films From The Dance (Lens) Festival Official Selection
Live screenings of the Dance (Lens) program were held from 13–15 July.
Katma (2023), by Azzam Mohamed
“كتمة/KATMA” – is a slang term used back home in Sudan among the youth to describe a party. It means “suffocation/no room for breathing”، which primary used to describe a peak of a party, or a party that is lit.
KATMA aims to explore party and club culture, drawing inspiration from Sudanese parties back, parties in Sydney (Soul of Sydney, Freedom Session), and parties from back in the day (The Loft parties in New York, Warehouse Parties in Chicago, and the rave parties in UK).
KATMA explores elements from those parties, translating the essences of this cultural movement elevating it into a conceptual dance film context.
This project is commissioned by Destructive Steps Dance Association and supported by: Inner West Council, and PYT Fairfield (Powerhouse Youth Theatre).
Laeviter (2023), by Prue Lang
“laeviter” – Latin: barely, slightly, touch
This film is dedicated to the lives of all the women and girls institutionalised at the Abbotsford Convent from 1863-1974.
Supported by Abbotsford Convent, City of Yarra, Creative Victoria
Tiny Passenger (2023), by Amber McCartney
Sugar, give me sugar.
Commissioned by The Australian Ballet & Telstra for the Emerging Choreographer Initiative
Pivot <<movement II>> (2023), by Cobie Orger
Pivot is a musical score and an experiment, an invitation to interpret and respond to a sparce notation consisting of mood and temporal cues and accompanied by a click track. This second movement draws on choreographic and somatic principles to embody what is typically experienced only through sound. It thus seeks to investigate the meditative quality of repetition while disrupting patterns of sequence, orientation and perspective, as contrasting states converge.
Sketchbook (2022), by Rachel Owens
This animation is a reflection on who I am and what it feels like to be left alone to get to know myself as a human and artist in a post-pandemic world. Overthinking and discarding ideas, scratching out the parts of ourselves we believe aren’t worthy of attention or admiration. Cycling through many thoughts and ideas and learning that not everything deserves to be thrown away. Sometimes we just need to take a breath, step back and look at the bigger picture.
This animation originally premiered in the Dance Film ‘Collection’ by Lion Heart Dance Company and Pride Productions in August 2022.
This project is supported by Lion Heart Dance Company, Benjamin Curé, Pride Productions and Andrew J Liu
Banshee Cried Silver (2023), by Harrison Ritchie-Jones
Banshee Cried Silver is a spaghetti western inspired, love-tragic, comedic, dance drama film. It is both a sincere and absurd exploration of movement and storytelling. Set between undeveloped land beneath a train station and a forgotten alleyway, a secret love affair sets off a series of events that spiral into tragedy, vengeance, dance, betrayle and bloodshed.
Dance (Lens) 2023 is supported by the Besen Family Foundation