Together One Time
World Premiere
Casey Brooks, 2021, USA, 3m
As if we needed any more reminding that we’re living through unprecedented times, our phones spew an endless barrage of hate, violence, and doom. With each waking moment, headlines remind us that women are (and have always been) targets of the ill-doings of people all around the world. Recently our attention has turned to the threefold rise in hate crimes toward Asian Americans and Southeast Asians during the pandemic; in particular, the violence directed at Asian women in the latest act of domestic terrorism in the U.S. demands a response. Wonderland Magazine has teamed up with NYC’s Banji Twerk Team for a seamless and powerful one-take performance to a remix of Marlena Shaw’s “Woman of the Ghetto.” Inspired by the Womanist theory put forth by Alice Walker, the film aims to unite every woman with the feminist movement at the intersection of race, class, and gender oppression. We aspire to honor all the women who strive for inclusion and equality.

Outside My Window (Face Ă  ma fenĂŞtre)
New York Premiere
Sonia Gemmiti, 2020, Canada, 7m
A young woman stares out her window, working up the courage to step outside. Completed before stay-at-home orders were a daily reality, first-time solo director Sonia Gemmiti presents an expressionistic exploration of her own agoraphobia and isolation. Shot in ultra-widescreen black and white by François Gamache, with music by Jean-Michel Blais, choreography by Mairéad Filgate, and—at its heart—a powerful lead performance by Eva Kolarova, Outside My Window is that rare instance of personal filmmaking that captures the larger reality of our time. Winner of the “Make Your Life a Masterpiece” prize at the 2021 Asolo Art Film Festival and recipient of a Special Mention at the Amarcort Film Festival, Outside My Window makes its New York debut at Dance on Camera. 

Forgotten Song
Tobin Del Cuore, Tyler Gilstrap, Samuel Lee Roberts, 2020, USA, 11m
Spanish with English subtitles
An eccentric character navigates a cityscape with an absurdly large mirror. In time, he is transported to a suspended alternate world where we experience his desire to achieve the impossible.

On Mending
World Premiere
Shawn Fitzgerald Ahern, Emilie Leriche, 2021, Italy, 15m
A reflection on the beauty and inevitability of impermanence, On Mending is a short dance film that follows a community’s attempt to process overwhelming loss. The film and its characters wind their way through a vast and barren alpine landscape, an abstract land of memory and nostalgia. At its root, On Mending is a meditation on support, community, and the action of releasing what we can no longer carry with us.

WeAIghT
New York Premiere
Jennifer Archibald, Andrew Cashin, 2020, USA, 5m
WeAIghT examines the emotional impact of the Black Lives Matter movement during the 2020 protests in New York City. The film features music composed by Philip Hamilton and a solo performance by dancer James Gilmer, a current company member of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. “I wanted to find the purest of expression that one could find at the core of revolutionary and demanding protests,” said choreographer Jennifer Archibald, a Yale School of Drama instructor and recipient of a Joffrey Ballet’s “Winning Works” commision. “It is a vulnerable image to witness. We must be emotional to understand emotions.”

Once There Was III
New York Premiere
Nina McNeely, 2021, USA, 6m
Three women are bound to a shared soul, oscillating between the throes of brutality and piety. A visceral display of true sisterhood—they suffer together, thrive together, and bleed together—Once There Was III is a mixed-media creation combining dance with live projection-mapping on the body. It is an exploration into ancient iconography, universal archetypes and their relationship with the female form, and spirit throughout history.  It is a reflection of the struggle of existence through the isolation and dystopian landscape of our current times. It was created to represent a beacon of hope and to inspire faith in the possibility of a beautiful future. 

Porch Light
New York Premiere
Ned Farr, 2021, USA, 6m
A young woman returns to her hometown in search of the childhood she left behind, but realizes that in order to find it, she must discover the child within herself.

I Just Wanna Dance
New York City Premiere
Amanda Beane, 2021, USA, 4m
When two dancers are asked to partner at an audition, each struggles with the flip sides of homophobia before finding common footing. Set in a Victorian ballroom overlooking the San Francisco skyline, the film takes us on a journey through genres of partner dancing, addressing homophobia and effeminophobia. Their routine rooted in hustle, the dancers move through the form’s various influences, such as mambo and Lindy Hop, while integrating elements of contemporary hip-hop. During this duet, they develop a relationship, break through societal norms, and come to terms with platonic intimacy. Shooting with a remote head and jib, the camera sweeps through the fast-paced choreography, capturing hustle as a transcendent force of Black joy and tenderness.