Product Review

Dance For Camera is a collection of the most outstanding examples of a new film genre that merges performance and film aesthetics. Selected from festivals in Europe and North America, and winners of over 17 international awards, these six dance films present an array of humor, drama, beauty and rhythm not usually seen on film or stage. A cross between experimental, narrative film and video art, these six films offer an enticing, challenging, and inspiring way to experience the vibrancy of live dance, the rhythm of choreography and editing, and the magnitude and visual intimacy of the screen.
The films included are:

REINES D'UN JOUR, Switzerland, 26 minutes
Six tumbling bodies on mountain slopes of the Alps, caught between Heaven and Earth, among the cows and the villagers. This strikingly visual and sensual dance performance is a powerfully funny tribute to the beauty of nature.
Choreographer: Marie Nespolo, Christine Kung/ Director: Pascal Magnin/ Producer: Swiss-TV
Awards: BEST OF FESTIVAL- Dance on Camera , New York; BEST SHORT FILM - Autrans Film Festival, France; SPECIAL JURY AWARD - Video dance Festival; SPECIAL JURY AWARD - Oberhausen International Short Film Festival, Germany; GOLDEN SPIRE WINNER - San Francisco International Film Festival; GRAND PRIX - Springdance; PRIX ITALIA - Mention spéciale

MEASURE, United States, 7 minutes
A relationship emerges between a man and woman that is revealed as much through their eyes as through the expressive timing of their rhythmically intricate steps.
Choreographer: Dayna Hanson; Directors: Gaelen Hanson and Danya Hanson

REST IN PEACE, UK & Netherlands, 9 minutes
Four siblings bury their parents. As they dutifully carry the coffin, they begin to exhibit signs of anarchic behavior. Back home, all restraints break loose in a flurry of inexplicably bizarre activity. But hang on! What is that, buried away in a desk drawer? It seems that the parents had strange secrets of their own.
Choreographer: Hans Hof Ensemble; Director: Annick Vroom; Producer: Rodney Wilson, BBC
Awards: BEST OF FESTIVAL 2001, Dance on Camera Festival, New York

A VILLAGE TRILOGY, Canada, 24 minutes
Returning to the physical language of early cinema, this trilogy, inspired by the displacement and destruction of WWII, successfully evokes the power of the spirit.
Choreographer and Director: Laura Taler
Awards: BEST CANADIAN DANCEFILM, Moving Pictures Int' Film Festival; BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM, Worldwide Short Film Festival; GOLD HUGO, Chicago International Film Festival

CORNERED, Canada, 5 minutes
This vertiginous black and white film redefines gravity as an attractive force of right angles.
Producer/director/choreographer: Michael Downing

CONTRECOUP, Switzerland, 24 minutes
This film depicts an urban environment torn by violence, disorder, and loneliness where the light is sinister, daily life is hostile, and sleep is a nightmare.
Choreography: Guilherme Botelho; Director: Pascal Magnin; Producer: Swiss TV
Awards: FIRST PRIZE (CREATION) - IMZ Dance Screen, Köln; CERTIFICATE OF MERIT WINNER, San Francisco International Film Festival; "CZECH CRYSTAL AWARD", Golden Prague Festival; SPECIAL MENTION, Locarno Film Festival; PRIX CARINA ARI/MEDIA DANSE: Winner "From Stage to Screen"; SECOND PRIZE, Golden Prague; BEST SHORT FILM, Cinema Tout Ecran, Geneva