Program 3: Innovators

Post-screening discussion with Jane Comfort, Sean Donovan, Leslie Cuyjet, Alexandra Nikolchev

A maverick of New York City’s downtown dance scene, choreographer Jane Comfort has been known for her issue-oriented works integrating text and movement since the late 1970s. Breaking Form explores a creatively rich and unexamined chapter in New York City dance through the transformation of Comfort from polite Southern transplant into a prolific performer celebrated worldwide for her bold political satire and irreverent social commentary. This film invites its viewers to be inspired by an artist who defies expectations and whose creative work calls on her audience to engage in the social injustice issues of the day.

Preceded by:

All of Us
Charlotte Griffin, 2023, USA, 7m
New York Premiere
Framed, disrupted, and propelled by improviser Corey Scott-Gilbert dancing with the powerful narration of the late and beloved Gus Solomons Jr., this film features romantic partners, roommates, family members, and duets dancing “at home” amongst accumulating domestic objects. Highlighting movers across identities, All of Us offers a look into coexistence within a common screen space, transforming repetition into a parable of the human experience. Produced and directed by Charlotte Griffin with co-producers Johanna Witherby and MiRi Park, and with an original score by Milica Paranosic for mezzo-soprano Hai-Ting Chinn. This screendance was awarded an “Honorable Mention” for its promise by the Dance Films Association Production Grant.

a foreigner
Eiko Otake and Patrizia Herminjard, 2023, USA, 4m
World Premiere
Japanese with English subtitles
Once a person is a foreigner, she never ceases to be a foreigner. No place is hers, except her shadow. This film features award-winning, movement-based interdisciplinary artist Eiko Otake, who has been a pivotal figure in site-specific dance for more than five decades.

With support by: