Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema, SansSouciFest.org

Sans Souci at the Atlas Black Box, 2018
1125 18th Street, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
7:00 PM: Video installations • 7:30 PM: Screenings
Come early to enjoy the looping video installations.
FREE Admission.
SSFDC presents our 15th Annual Premiere weekend, featuring dance cinema from around the world and live performances by Life/Art Dance Ensemble and Rosely Conz. Join us before the show to experience unique multimedia installations, and enjoy an evening of short dance films-- exciting, evocative, hilarious, challenging, and poignant, with something for every kind of dance-film-lover! Completely different films, performances, and installations each night!
Different programs at each screening:

Friday Evening Screening, September 14 at 7:30 PM

Frame from TerraBlue

TerraBlue, 2017, United States, 5 min

Directed by Ana Baer and Rosely Conz
Choreography and dancing by Rosely Conz
Music by Alexis Bacon
Filmmaker: Ana Baer
Inspired by the poem “O Azul” written by Brazilian poet Clarice Lispector, TerraBlue plays with the Portuguese word Terra, meaning Earth and soil. Earth, ironically mostly covered by water, blue as seen from space. Or blue as the sky when we look up from Earth. Is blue a matter of perspective? Is it possible to have mobile and yet nourished roots? These are questions permeating TerraBlue.

Body of Your Dreams, 2018, United States, 10 min

Directed by Quinn Wharton, Myles Thatcher
Choreography by Myles Thatcher
Featuring The Joffrey Ballet
Dancing by Derrick Agnoletti, Nicole Ciaponni, Edson Barbosa, Anais Bueno, Elivelton Tomazi, Fernando Duarte, Yumi Kanazawa, Valeriia Cheryakina
Music composed by Jacob TV
Music performed by Recorded
Filmmaker: Quinn Wharton
A short film exploring the ballet "A Body of your Dreams" by Myles Thatcher featuring the Joffrey ballet dancers. Using athletes in a gym setting the film looks at body issues and pop culture in conjunction.
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.

The Carnival Kid, 2017, United States, 5 min

Directed by Michael Perry
Produced by Amalia Kaufman, Joey P. Fama
Choreography by Lane Napper
Featuring N/A
Dancing by Cooper Flanagan, Matt Wiercinski
Music composed by Michael C. Perry
Music performed by Jour Majesty
Cinematography by Rüdiger Barth
Edited by Michael C Perry
Ever have a little bit of trouble concentrating at work? Travis does. He can’t seem to get much done with his co-worker Adelaide on his mind. This imaginative romantic-comedy is reminiscent of the golden age of Hollywood musicals, including an old Dixieland band, just for starters! The Carnival Kid is a surreal Technicolor musical short set to the music of Jour Majesty.
Frame from Otherland

Otherland, 2018, Netherlands, 13 min

Directed by Jan Pieter Tuinstra
Produced by Sanne Cousijn, Camiel Zwart
Choreography by Keren Levi
Featuring -
Dancing by Elvin Elejandro Martinez, Xavier Barthelemi, Zelda Dapaah, Joby Shayron Tremus, Guilliano Pinas, Marvin Oliveira, Cyril Adaine, Mattia Palumbo, Amber Vineyard, Naimah Janse, Debbie Ruijter, Natascha Ruimwij, and more
Music by Hexenschuss
Cinematography by Jan Pieter Tuinstra
Edited by Patrick Janssens
Based on the biographical story of Elvin Elejandro Martinez and narrated by him, ‘Otherland’ is a juxtaposition of two narratives that evoke new associations for viewers: Martinez's coming of age in Sint Maarten, and his character's Vogue performance at the Voodoo Carnival Ball. While the visual story of the Ball is fictional, the film is based on in-depth research into the Dutch ballroom community, and all the characters and dancers are part of the European ballroom/vogue community.
Frame from don't dwell on it

don't dwell on it, 2017, United States, 4 min

Directed by Samantha Lysaght
Choreography and dancing by Samantha Lysaght
Featuring Samantha Lysaght
Music by Frank Sinatra
Cinematography by Samantha Lysaght, Sexton McGrath
Edited by Samantha Lysaght
"don't dwell on it" manifests anxiety and heartbreak through physical extremes. Filmmaker and dancer Samantha Lysaght intensifies her sensation of pain to find catharsis. The film, accompanied by the sounds of Frank Sinatra, combines Lysaght's struggle and humor to convey tenderness.
Frame from TWINS "You must be related!"

TWINS "You must be related!", 2018, United States, 4 min

Directed by Varya Rootwood
Produced by Varya Rootwood, Yura Makarov
Choreography by India Gonzales, Ananda Gonzales
Featuring independant
Dancing by India Gonzales, Ananada Gonzales
Music by Patric Gregg
Filmmaker: Yura Makarov
Two dancers explore public perceptions of twins and their internal struggle of sisterhood.

BATTLE, 2017, USA, 4 min

Directed by Shelley Lewis
Produced by Chris Whitney, Kathryn Cole
Choreography and dancing by Ryan T. Smith and Wendy Rein
Featuring RAWdance
Music by Lou Canon
Cinematography by Devin Whetstone
Edited by Alison Gordon
In this modern dance-duel, two personalities fight for control of one woman’s fractured mind. Set within the dark reaches of her psyche, the conflict escalates from thumb-wars to bows and arrows as she faces herself in a fight to the finish. But can one side live without the other? Dark and detailed, with a dose of unexpected humor, Battle seamlessly merges contemporary choreography with mesmerizing settings, shot on location in San Francisco’s historic Armory complex. Written by Shelley Lewis and RAWdance and complemented with a haunting soundtrack by Lou Canon.
Frame from Groggy Grugg

Groggy Grugg, 2018, United States, 4 min

Produced and Directed by Conor C. Long
Choreography by Brianna Lopez
Featuring University of Utah Screendance
Dancing by Grugg
Music by William Cannon
Filmmaker: Conor C. Long
A claymation screendance short film about that terrible every day struggle to get out of bed for that first delicious cup of coffee.

Saturday Evening Screening, September 15 at 7:30 PM

Frame from Imitation and Splattery

Imitation and Splattery, 2016, USA, 6 min

Directed by Michelle Bernier
Choreography by Michelle Bernier
Featuring Life/Art Dance Ensemble
Dancing by Michelle Bernier, Jessica Riggs, Megan Roney, Mykayla Solorio
Music composed by J.S. Bach
Music performed by The Swingle Singers
Cinematography by Tyler Stocker
Edited by Michelle Bernier
Ceramicist by Ariana Kolins
Color Correction by H. Paul Moon
A dancer and a ceramicist enjoy one another's processes and products.
Frame from Letter

Letter, 2017, Slovenia, 4 min

Produced and Directed by zeljko bozic
Choreography by zeljko bozic
Featuring kazina
Dancing by ANA KATANE, ANDRAŽ GRULJA, ANISA KETE, EVA MRHAR, HANA HUČ, JAKOB HORVAT, KAJA ELSNER, NIKA FUGINA, NIKA ZUPANČIČ, NINA ZABUKOVNIK, MATIC DOLINAR, MILJAN NOJIĆ, PETRA STAMENKOVIĆ, ŽELJKO BOŽIĆ
Music by zeljko bozic
Cinematography by saso stih
Edited by zeljko bozic, nikola janusic
Director of Photography by saso stih
"Letter" deals with issues of self-esteem and self worth. These insecurities are dealt with daily but often left unspoken, since they are widely considered a weakness. The author reveals his own doubts to point out that we are in this together.
Frame from SHIVTA

SHIVTA, 2017, Israel, 11 min

Directed by Or Meir Schraiber
Produced by Achsheli Productions
Choreography and dancing by Or Schraiber, Ori Ofri, Bobbi Jene Smith
Featuring Independent
Music composed by Emanuel Keller, Roberto Prado , Keir GogWilt
Music performed by Emanuel Keller, Keir GogWilt , Raina Sokolov Gonzales , Kyle Motl
Cinematography by Derrick Belcham
Edited by Or Schraiber , Derrick Belcham
SHIVTA is a short dance film telling a cinematic and kinetic exploration of two lost desert wanderers. In a form of Fata-Morgana, a doubtful portal appears in the distance. Curiosity takes over and the two, as the narrative rolls forward, find themselves bewitched and possessed by a celestial fortune teller.
Frame from Hungars Beach

Hungars Beach, 2015, United States, 3 min

Directed by Kate Corby
Produced by GoEun Kim
Choreography by Kate Corby
Featuring Kate Corby & Dancers
Dancing by Jessie Young and Josh Anderson
Music composed by Nat Evans and Kate Corby
Cinematography by MinSeung Chang, SeEum Jung
Edited by MinSeung Chang, Kate Corby and Elizabeth Wadium
Still Photo by MinSeung Chang
Hungars Beach explores memory, trauma and the power of place through a series of simultaneously beautiful and unsettling images. A small beach and cottage provide a vivid backdrop for a woman in distress, haunted by images of her younger self and the inescapable weight of loss.

Double Up, 2017, United States, 15 min

Directed by Francesca N. Penzani
Produced by Francesca N. Penzani, Emily Drossner
Choreography by Francesca N. Penzani
Dancing by Kyreeana Alexander
Music by Nedra Wheeler
Cinematography by Vincent Wrenn, Aaron Marquette
Edited by Francesca N. Penzani
"My heart’s beating inside myself, inside yourself, the heart of the earth. I am here are you? Can you see me? Can you hear me?" Based on a dream to bring two women together to create a collaboration that celebrated the joy of being alive, “Double Up” is a powerful conversation, through music and dance: Nedra Wheeler on bass and voice, and tap dancer Kyreeana Breelin.

True Love Waits, 2017, Israel, 3 min

Directed by Adi Halfin
Choreography and dancing by Bobbi Jene Smith
Featuring none
Music by Radiohead
Cinematography by Roman Linetsky
Edited by Adi Halfin
Dancer-choreographer Bobbi Jene Smith in a soulful performance to the sound of Radiohead's "True Love Waits."
Frame from Universal

Universal, 2018, United States, 6 min

Directed by Jeff Curtis
Choreography by Jürg Koch
Featuring n/a
Dancing by Jennifer Adams, Mlondolozi Zondi
Music by Marlui Miranda (excerpted), Silent Partner, Poddington Bear
Filmmaker: Jeff Curtis
This short animated film introduces the work of dancer, choreographer and teacher Jürg Koch. Having worked with Candoco integrating disabled and non-disabled performers and dancing in contemporary repertory, Jürg produced "The Application of Universal Design of Instruction in Dance Degrees in Higher Education," to rethink teaching conventions and serve as a blue print to develop further material and processes.
Frame from AMA

AMA, 2018, France, 7 min

Directed by Julie Gautier
Produced by Spark Seeker, Les Films Engloutis
Choreography by Ophélie Longuet
Dancing by Julie Gautier
Music composed by Ezio Bosso
Cinematography by Jacques Ballard
Edited by Jérôme Lozano
The rain falls like so many tears on a young woman dressed in a little black dress. We dive into her eyes as we dive into her soul drowned by sorrow. At the bottom of the water, the woman, lying on the floor, gently up and begins to dance.
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.

Friday Evening Installations (Program A)

Frame from UNUSUAL ("Insólitos")

UNUSUAL ("Insólitos"), 2018, Brazil, 15 min

Produced and Directed by Diogo Angeli
Choreography and dancing by Bruno de Castro, Cristina Santos, Diogo Angeli, Kyo Dias and Maurício Ribeiro
Featuring Diogo Angeli
Music composed by Diogo Angeli and Divanir Gattamorta
Music performed by Diogo Angeli
Cinematography by Diogo Angeli and Stephanie Barbisan
Edited by Diogo Angeli
Frame from Reverie of the Puppets

Reverie of the Puppets, 2018, United States, 5 min

Directed by Kathy Rose
Choreography by Kathy Rose
Featuring Kathy Rose
Dancing by Katarina Poljak, Han Bit Kang, Liang Yu, Kathy Rose
Music composed by Spirit of the Girl/Kevin MacLeod
Music performed by evin MacLeod
Filmmaker: Kathy Rose
Frame from Digital Afterlives

Digital Afterlives, 2018, Australia, 5 min

Produced and Directed by Richard James Allen, Karen Pearlman
Choreography and dancing by Richard James Allen
Featuring The Physical TV Company
Music composed by Franz Liszt
Music performed by Edward A. Kilenyi
Cinematography by Michi Marosszeky
Edited by Karen Pearlman
A witty and whimsical meditation on free will, identity and the afterlife. A narrative made through the collision of unlikely elements: dance, digital code, Franz Liszt, and playful echoes across the history of onscreen physical storytelling, paying homage to films like “Modern Times” and “The Red Shoes.” A man in white-winged angel shoes is awakened, then multiplied and manipulated through all the dimensions of infinite black, finally to be returned to his original form and spat out onto the junk heap of history.
Frame from Snow Melt

Snow Melt, 2018, United States, 4 min

Directed by Carrie Richer
Produced by Hole Dance Films
Choreography and dancing by Kate Kosharek
Featuring Hole Dance Films
Music by Scott Joplin
Filmmaker: Carrie Noel Richer
Winter is long in Wyoming and the Spring melt always takes a long time to come around. Sometimes, one has to take that melting process into one's own hands.

Penumbra, 2018, United States, 7 min

Choreography by Lindy Fines
Featuring GREYZONE
Dancing by Breckyn Drescher, Miriam Gabriel, Rachel Gill, Jennifer Payan, Andy Santana
Music by Steve Hauschildt
Cinematography by Anibal Hernandez
Edited by Justin Fines
Costumes by House of 950
A dark theater is consumed by a fantastical force. One by one, audience members undergo a metaphysical transformation as they are drawn to the stage and into the performance. Together on the stage they dance under the spell of the theater until they leave the stage for another realm.

Saraab: Mirage, 2018, Islamic Republic of Iran, 4 min

Directed by Hediyeh Azma
Produced by Hediyeh Azma, Sumedha Bhattacharyya
Choreography by Hediyeh Azma
Featuring Deir
Dancing by Hediyeh Azma
Music by Negin Zomorodi
Cinematography by Sumedha Bhattacharyya
Storyline and Editing by Hediyeh Azma
'Saraab', which means 'mirage' in Persian, was a Indo-Iranian collaborative curatorial project. Life beyond death is always a concern, not only as a fear of death but also a fear of loneliness for those who are left alive. Many people are 'left alive' by their beloved, and feel we are living with their memory, or even their soul. Saraab goes beyond corporeality through a screen choreography.

Saturday Evening Installations (Program B)

Frame from Tethered

Tethered, 2018, France, 10 min

Directed by Danielle Garrison, Franck Gonnaud and David Allen
Produced by Franck Gonnaud and David Allen
Choreography and dancing by Danielle Garrison
Featuring Danielle Garrison
Music by Alexis Story Crawshaw
Filmmaker: David Allen and Franck Gonnaud
"Tethered" was created in conjunction with Danielle Garrison's grant from Fulbright France, with David Allen and Franck Gonnaud (as part of the art collective the Insolite), Toulouse-based artists, specializing in photographic media. The final image was provided by London-based artist James Tarry (jamestarryphotography.com). It is part of his Mind State Series, representing experiences in anxiety, depression, and stress.
Frame from Washing Distortions

Washing Distortions, 2015, United States, 2 min

Directed by Aundrea Anderson
Produced by SILVERBACKGINGER PRODUCTIONS
Choreography by Aundrea Anderson
Featuring BITEdown Dance
Dancing by Emily Pietruszka
Music composed by Murcof
Music performed by None
Filmmaker: Aundrea Anderson
This product is a result of the process. Shot on digital and transferred to 16mm Hi-Con. The film was processed as monoflex. As a result of a happy accident in the reversal bleach process, the image within the film frame that was not covered turned black leaving only the negative image of the dancer within the pieces of the frame. The work is a trick for the eyes searching for the image as it is hidden in distortion.

In the House of Mantegna, 2017, Italy, 7 min

Directed by Michele Manzini
Choreography by Michele Manzini
Featuring solo work
Dancing by Barbara Canal
Music by Michele Manzini
Filmmaker: Valeria Lo Meo
Six scenes: conflicts, a border, extremes, vertigo, silences, nudity. Appearance does not hide the essence but reveals it in its very finiteness.
Frame from The Storm

The Storm, 2018, United States, 5 min

Directed by Chafic Saad
Choreography by Evie Ladin
Featuring MoToR/dance
Dancing by Nuria Bowart, Linda Carl, Tammy Chang, Alyssa De Caro, Valerie Gutwirth, Evie Ladin, Mira Manickam, Sandrine Monlezun, Diana Strong
Music composed by Lotus Dickey/arr. Evie Ladin
Music performed by MoToR/dance
Cinematography by Chafic Saad/KindMotion
Edited by Kris Lee/KindMotion
In these contentious and unstable times, with potential destruction seemingly so near, or unpredictable, we know that diverse perspectives, love, and community activism and connection is what gives us hope and perseverance. Using nothing but the sonic qualities of the human body moving in space, MoToR/dance body music choirographies emphasize what we have when we strip the world down to only ourselves, having to deal with each other, making our own soundtrack to our thoughts.
Frame from Cubed

Cubed, 2017, United States, 3 min

Directed by Mitchell Rose
Produced by Mitchell Rose, Susan Van Pelt Petry, Shane Mecklenburger
Choreography and dancing by Ashley Roland & Jamey Hampton
Featuring BodyVox
Music by William Goodrum
Filmmaker: Mitchell Rose
This digital dance-film—a cubist reimagining of the body—explores metaphors for human boundaries and separation.

In search of lost time, 2017, United States, 9 min

Directed by Marta Renzi
Choreography by Marta Renzi
Dancing by Aislinn MacMaster & David Thomson
Music composed by Marta Renzi
Cinematography by Charles Caster-Dudzick
Edited by Marta Renzi
A man and a woman inhabit the same surreal location though not, apparently, at the same time. Marta Renzi directs this black-and-white meditation on memory and absence, with a nod to the sound score for Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker and a location inspired by Joelle Bouvier and Regis Obadia's La Chambre.
Frame from Impressions

Impressions, 2017, United States, 7 min

Directed by Madison Plummer
Choreography by Madison Plummer
Dancing by Olivia Roth, Shannon Gunter
Music by Danny Norbury
Filmmaker: Madison Plummer
Impressions explores the profound impact of relationships and our desire to seek out connection.

Supported by a grant from
Boulder County Arts Alliance