Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema, SansSouciFest.org

Sans Souci at DSA Int'l Conference 2021
Online - Dance USA Conference
Program Below.

SSF @ DSA - Brazilian Films Selection

Frame from EXUFRIDA

EXUFRIDA, 2019, Brazil, 6 min

Directed by Cicero Fraga
Produced by Silvio Cohen
Choreography by Raquel Karro
Featuring Instrumento de Ver
Dancing by Beatrice Martins
Music Composed by Luis Oliviéri
Cinematography by Alan Schvarsberg
In 1997 an out-of-control truck crashed into a bus that carried part of the Flamengos gymnastics team, the base of the Brazilian national team. Beatrice Martins fractured both feet. She can no longer compete, but she turned her recovery into a dance.
Frame from Sandbox

Sandbox (Caixa de Areia), 2020, Brazil, 3 min

Directed by Diogo Angeli
Produced by Diogo Angeli, Eduardo Pereira
Choreography and Dancing by Diogo Angeli
Music Composed by Diogo Angeli
Cinematography by Eduardo Pereira
The Sandbox screendance reflects subjectively on human confinement/isolation. Stuck in a box, we can only deal with the traces of our own conscience.
Frame from Covert - (Encobertos)

Covert (Encobertos), 2019, Brazil, 6 min

Directed by Lilian Graca
Produced by Lilian Graça
Choreography by A coreografia é um trabalho conjunto entre a diretora e os dançarinos.
Dancing by Amanda Savitri, Bernardo Oliveira, Danilo Lima, Renan Bozzeli
Music Composed by Marcelo Sena
Cinematography by Lilian Graça
Concepção coreógrafica by Lilian Graça
"Covert" elaborates the idea of a "space between" in an approach that deals with the surface plane to unveil and enter the deep field of the screen. The video thus has the objective of discussing the kinesthetic involvement of the viewer, in which its focus of engagement is triggered by the dynamics between the distances and the movement of moving away and closer to the camera and the dancers. In this way, “Covert” experiences the flow between surface and screen depth as a field of perceptual and body passages.
Frame from Dancing the limitation

Dancing the limitation (Dança em tempos de limitação), 2020, Brazil, 2 min

Directed by Ayumi Hanada
Choreography by Ayumi Hanada
Dancing by Ayumi Hanada, Giovanna Herrera, Isabela Bertô, Marcela Cibin Ugo, Melissa Baba e Renata Paulino.
Music by Gustavo de Angelis
Cinematography by Ayumi Hanada, Giovanna Herrera, Isabela Bertô, Marcela Cibin Ugo, Melissa Baba e Renata Paulino.
I involuntarily question myself about my limits and limitations. I provoke myself to feel them, respect them and often cross them.
Frame from Migrante

Migrant Gaze (Olhar Migrante), 2020, USA and Brazil, 3 min

Directed by Ana Baer, Julia Ziviani
Produced by Bruno Harlyson
Dancing by Ayumi Hanada, Casemiro de Paula Barsalini, Cléo de Paula, Fernando Vitor, Flávia Pinheiro, Júlia Ferreira, Lais Taufic, Robson Lourenço, Victoria Travitzki
Music Composed by Joaquin Lopez Chas
Filmmaker: Ana Baer
Cia Eclipse Cultura e Arte Direction by Ricardo Cardoso (Kiko Brown) e Ana Cristina Ribeiro
Groupo Dançaberta Direction by Julia Ziviani
An intimate look at the Immigrant experience focusing on issues of identity, belongingness and displacement through the language of dance. Shot in Campinas, Brazil in collaboration with Dançaberta and Eclipse Cultura e Arte.
Frame from Dancing for do not forget

Dancing not to forget (Dançar para não esquecer), 2019, Brazil, 6 min

Directed by Karina Almeida,
Choreography by Karina Almeida
Dancing by Karina Almeida and Tutu Morasi
Music Composed by Rodrigo Vasconcelos
Filmmaker: Trindade Media
Each gesture bears memories that are updated in the here and now. Presence is a present, something that comes to life every time one dances so as not to forget.
Frame from Erêkauã

Erêkauã, 2021, Brazil, 1 min

Directed by Paulo Accioly
Produced by Estranha Força
Choreography by Ernane Ferreira
Dancing by Kauã
OST by Igor Peixoto
Kauã dances in the hill, like a bird of prey.

Rio Cor de Rosa, 2019, Brazil, 7 min

Directed by André Rosa
Choreography by Clébio Oliveira
Featuring Companhia de Dança do Teatro Alberto Maranhão
Dancing by André Rosa, Gabriela Gorges, Gustavo Santos, Juarez Moniz, Julia Vasques, Marghot Lima, Tatyelli Raulino, Will Gomes
Music Composed by Wim Mertens / Terje Isungeset / Antony And The Johnis / Electric President / Glen Hansard e Marketa Iglova
Cinematography by André Rosa
The body claims more than is ever its right to, intervention and alteration, it is action in constant motion, in search of different spaces, even if it suffers from the marks of the past. Memories lead us to our old dwellings, internal pains, external smiles, psychic violence and other paths. Every place, a new river and different waters.
Frame from Street

Street (Rua), 2019, Brazil, 3 min

Directed by Barbara Cunha, Mary Gatis
Choreography and Dancing by Inae Silva
Music by DJ Dolores
Cinematography by Renato Stockler
Looked at the living room. She saw herself in prison. A beautiful hanging cell.Forty meters from the ground. The bright blue from the box. Strange voices in the air, dulling the senses, sucking all your air. The voice emanating from the box. Tell her what to do: Food, clothes, desire. Where to go, what to think. She goes to the street. She wants to dance. She dances naked. She's get in on and breaks everything. She the chaos master. There is no gas to stop Your Carnival.
Frame from  Women's threads

Women's Threads, 2017, Brazil, 10 min

Directed by Maria Fernanda Miranda, Paulo GCMiranda
Produced by Mandra Filmes
Choreography by Renata Lima
Featuring Mulheres de Linhas
Dancing by Maria Fernanda Miranda, Tainá Barreto, Ladyjane Macedo
Music Composed by MESTRE SEBASTIÃO RODRIGUES PEREIRA
Music Performed by -
Cinematography by Diego Zanotti
Edited by Paulo GC Miranda
In the scrublands of Gerais, amid crooked trees, flowery Ipês and airborne dust, there is a female universe of threads created and maintained by the hands of women of various ages. World of many hands. World of threads. Women of threads who, in spinning, weaving, and embroiderers, with their landscapes, webs, circles, needles and looms, their songs, create living entanglements in the form of female narratives and hand movements

SSF @ DSA - International Films Selection

photo by Ross Riege
photo by Ross Riege

SAND, 2010, USA, 10 min

Produced by Kyle Ruddick, Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Choreography by Kenji Igus, Darrow Igus & Cari Ann Shim*
Dancing by Darrow and Kenji Igus
Cinematography by DP-Ross Riege, additional by Phillip Abrams & Kyle Ruddick
Edited by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Sound Design by T.K. Broderick
"Sand," a short experimental dance-for-camera documentary, tells the story of sand dance as it is passed down from father to son.

Advance, 2010, USA, 3 min

Directed by Mitchell Rose
Produced by Jamey Hampton, Ashley Roland, Mitchell Rose
Choreography and Dancing by Jamey Hampton, Ashley Roland
Featuring BodyVox
Music Composed by William Goodrum
Filmmaker: Mitchell Rose
One dance. Two minutes. Fifty locations.
photo by Luke Rothschild
photo by Luke Rothschild

Grey Shanty, 2008, Venice, CA, USA, 6 min

Produced and Directed by Holly Rothschild
Choreography by Holly Rothschild
Dancing by Greg Barnett and Jeremy Hahn
Music Composed by String Theory
Music Performed by Stuart Johnson and Luke Rothschild
Shot & Edited by Hugh Swingle
Two lovers struggle with the impending end of their relationship.

OF THE HEART, 2007, USA, 6 min

Produced by Douglas Rosenberg
Choreography and Dancing by David Dorfman and Lisa Race
Music Composed by Arvo Part
"Of The Heart" is a tender and moving duet for the camera that slowly unfolds in a windblown field in late fall. The film speaks of longing and desire and is a richly metaphoric movement portrait. The performance by Dorfman and Race is heartfelt and honest, stripped to its emotional core.
Frame from Gatha

Gatha, 2018, China, 16 min

Produced and Directed by Chenglong Tang
Choreography by Chenglong Tang
Featuring N/A
Dancing by Zibo Geng, Shifei Chen
Music Composed by Margot Reisinger, PIKLANS, Hubert von Goisern
Music Performed by Existence, PIKLANS, Hubert von Goisern
Cinematography by A Luo, Chan Fu
Edited by Xiaoxiu Guo, Chan Fu
Gatha tells the story of two Tibetan brothers’ prostrating pilgrimage to Mount Kangrinboqe, or Mount Kailash, where the elder brother unfortunately dies on the road. With his late brother's last wish, and in spite of all the trials and tribulations, the younger brother finally arrives at the Holy Land, alone, grieved, but fulfilled. His journey continues, as a new cycle of life begins.

DYNAMITE, 2018, United States, 7 min

Directed by Leila Jarman
Choreography and Dancing by Maceo Paisley
Music by Michael Sempert
Cinematography by Ariel Pomerantz
Edited by Leila Jarman
A short, poetic performance art/dance film that investigates gender and masculinity --more specifically the American black male experience-- through embodied inquiry to find spaces where identity exists between and in opposition to social constructs. This film guides us through narrative incorporating movement, spoken word, and chant, as it uncovers truths about race, gender, and success in an ever-changing social landscape.
Frame from Let's Dance

Let's Dance, 2010, USA, 2 min

Produced and Directed by Malia Bruker, Oscar Molina
Choreography and Dancing by Eun Jung Choi, Guillermo Ortega Tanus
Featuring Da Da Dance Project
Music Composed by Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Paparelli
Music Performed by Miles Davis and the Lighthouse All-Stars
Filmmaker: Malia Bruker, Oscar Molina
"Let's Dance" is a sensual black and white film that captures the relief that dance provides in everyday life.

Stopgap in Stop Motion, 2016, United Kingdom, 5 min

Produced and Directed by Stephen Featherstone
Choreography by Lucy Bennett
Featuring Stopgap Dance Company
Dancing by Amy Butler, Laura Jones, Nadenh Poan, Chris Pavia, Hannah Sampson, David Toole, David Willdridge, Tomos Young
Music by Dougie Evans
Filmmaker: Stephen Featherstone
Performers in disabled and non-disabled dance company "Stopgap" move in and out of photos and across tabletops until the whole company meet and perform in unison.
Frame from Flatland

Flatland, 2017, Iran, 15 min

Directed by Alireza Keymanesh, Amir Pousti
Produced by 33 Projects
Choreography by Alireza Keymanesh
Music Composed by Peter Pir Hoseinlou
Cinematography by Peyman Kermani, Kasra Bordbar
Camera Operation by Amir Pousti
"Flatland" has been made based on a book of the same name written by Edwin Abbott in 1884, which describes a two-dimensional world occupied by geometric figures. The narrator is a square named A Square, a member of the caste of gentlemen and professionals, who guides the readers through some of the implications of life in two dimensions. On New Year's Eve he visited by a three-dimensional sphere named A Sphere, which he cannot comprehend until he sees Space land (a tridimensional world) for himself. This experimental short film has come out of a group exhibition under the collective title "Flatland," curated by Ms. Golbarg Barzin. The exhibition comprised works by seven other artists in various fields of art, such as sculpture, painting and visual art.
photo by Hanna Korhonen
photo by Hanna Korhonen

Animalz, 2006, UK, 3 min

Directed by Sergio Cruz
Produced by Ed Cooper
Choreography by JP Omari
Featuring B3 Brighton BBoys
Dancing by B3 Brighton BBoys
Music Composed by Sergio Cruz, Filipe Galante, Christos Fanaras
Cinematography by Martin Gajewski
Sergio Cruz's film "Animalz" takes the urban B-Boy Skills of Brighton and Hove's B3 Boys into the city's surrounding natural landscapes. Co-choreographed by BBC Strictly Dance Fever's JP Omari, the sixteen 8-14 year-old dancers were encouraged to bring out the animal in themsleves. Shot on location in Brighton at Stanmer Park, Devil's Dyke and Telscombe Beach.
Frame from InterState

InterState, 2018, United States, 6 min

Directed by Ilana Goldman , Gabriel Williams
Choreography and Dancing by Ilana Goldman
Featuring N/A
Music Composed by Patrick McKinney
Music Performed by Patrick McKinney and Greg Sauer
Cinematography by Gabriel Williams
Edited by Ilana Goldman
This short dance film features a mysterious and ambiguous masked figure embodying both animalistic and human characteristics as it travels across the country in search of home and self. InterState is an investigation of identity, migration, and displacement, set against the backdrop of America’s most dramatic and dynamic landscapes. From Seattle and St. Louis to Mt. Rushmore and variously magnificent national parks, InterState explores the connection (or lack thereof) between living organisms and habitat, at every turn questioning the idea of a “natural environment.” What do we carry with us when we move—literally? Each new location, each new scene provides an opportunity for the soloist to unearth a symbiotic way of moving in relation to the environment while simultaneously maintaining a sense of self, physically holding onto idiosyncrasies regardless of place, space, or time. By the film’s end, the audience is caught up in the soloist’s journey, bound to the rhythmic sense of timing created as the singular body carved space—and identity—in each terrain it inhabited.

Making Men, 2019, Belgium, 10 min

Directed by Antoine Panier
Produced by Dunia Dance Theatre
Choreography by Harold George
Featuring Dunia Dance Theatre
Music Composed by Glen Velez, Murcof, Vivaldi, Peter Broderick
Cinematography by Antoine Panier
Making Men examines the question of masculinity. This dance film zooms in on 4 individuals in the process of becoming men. As is expected, they proceed unquestioningly into manhood through various stages of their lives, adopting the clearly coded characteristics allowed by society. However, a feeling of unease, in the very depths of their being, oppresses them. They feel uncertainty but also something else, harder to define… Shot in the breathtaking landscape of Zimbabwe, the film features strong and rhythmical choreography but also a special camera work that intensifies emotions inspired by the movement.
Meaghan McHenry dancing like her old man.
Dancer Meaghan McHenry

Dance Like Your Old Man, 2006, Australia, 10 min

Directed by Gideon Obarzanek & Edwina Throsby
Produced by Chunky Move in association with Chequerboard Productions
Featuring Chunky Move
Dancing by Meaghan McHenry, Sara Black, Alexandra Dillon, Bec Reid, Penelope Bartiau & Ros Warby
Music by various artists
Cinematography by Cordelia Beresford
Editing by Simon Njoo
Six unseen fathers come to life through their dances as imitated and reflected on by their daughters.
Frame from SILENT PLACES

SILENT PLACES, 2013, Romania, 12 min

Directed by Simona Deaconescu
Produced by Anamaria Antoci
Choreography by Simona Deaconescu
Featuring TANGAJ DANCE
Dancing by Dragos Istvan Rosu, Razvan Stoian, Irina Stefan, Alexandra Balasoiu, Simona Deaconescu
Music Composed by Tibor Cari
Cinematography by Oleg Mutu RSC
Edited by Codrin Iftodi
The camera bursts into the heart of the dance while the music copes with the cruelty and fever of everyday's warfare.

Welcome to the SSF Archives

Thanks for checking out the Sans Souci Festival Archives. Here you'll find information on all the films we've screened over the past 18 years, and when and where we screened them. Click on "Prior Events" in the navigation menu on the left, and you'll find events listed by date and location. If you're interested in upcoming events, resources, and more, please check out our NEW WEBSITE.