Stairhead, directed by Erin Beneze

SCREEN PREMIER – Country:  USA

Selected from Dances Made to Order

Synopsis: A young woman discovers a host of strange and elusive creatures while ascending a paradoxical staircase.

Black Train is Coming, directed by John T. Williams

WORLD PREMIER – Country:  USA

Synopsis: “Black Train is Coming” is based on the 1926 sermon, “Death’s Black Train is Coming” by Rev J.M Gates, one of the most prolific black preachers in the United States. Many of his sermons were strong warnings of the hellish punishments that awaited sinners. The film blends this old time sermon with modern day Flex and Turf dance style. 

Next, directed by Joshan Esfandiari-Martin

WEST COAST & CALIFORNIA PREMIER 

Country:  a Germany-Austria-UK Co-Production

Selected from the Short Film Corner at Cannes

A young dancer auditions for a role. Relayed in a striking new format, her personal, contemporary choreography intimates her private passions and artistic dreams, culminating in the revelation of a peculiar practice – the secret of her preparations.

Outside In, idea and story Tove Skeidsvoll and Petrus SjöviK

SELECTED FROM THE SHORT FILM CORNER AT CANNES – Country:  Sweden

Synopsis:  Cecilia dances inside a forest. She moves in front of a film crew who direct her movements. Eventually Cecilia has had it and decides to go her own way. 

May and June, written and directed by Rachael Lincoln

SNEAK PEAK  – Country:  USA

Synopsis:    Two imaginative sisters live their entire lives in 11 minutes on a couch. 

Two Seconds After Laughter, written and directed by David Rousseve

SNEAK PEAK – Country:  USA & Indonesia

Synopsis: An original intersection of documentary, dance-for-camera, and dream-like fantasy, Two Seconds After Laughter creates a border-jumping dialogue on a universal irony:  The heart longs most for the one place to which it can never fully return… home.  With a narrative inspired by choreographer Sri Susilowati’s experience of returning to her native Indonesia after 20 years of living and dancing in America, Two Seconds… is a meditation on the nature of memory; a cry of longing caused by separation; and a fable-like tale of the joys and emotional dislocation experienced by contemporary immigrant peoples.  

 Vías de Vuelo, directed by A. Salomón

US PREMIER – Country:  Mexico

synopsis:    A contemporary Icarus in search of its own freedom. An epic tale to conquer itself in a metaphorical tunnel that reminds about inner confinement. A brief humorous insight about the meaning of freedom in human life.

Curated by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

As part of the Topanga Film Festival’s overarching theme of brain science the Dance Film Showcase will present visually engaging, viscerally invigorating and sensory stimulating work.   The program will begin with a mini lecture on the newfound scientific discovery of mirror neurons and their direct relation to viewing dance on screen by Cari Ann Shim Sham*.

“When a body that is not in motion, such as a viewer in a cinematic experience, sees a body that is in motion, the very sight of this motion triggers mirror neurons in the brain that allow the body at rest to feel the sensation of the movement it sees. So Dance Film has the potential to transcend all other forms of cinema through the active sensational qualities that it delivers.” ~Cari Ann Shim Sham* Dance Film Programer, TFF

About the Showcase: 

This year’s program features an incredibly diverse group of dance film premiers from all over the world.  The night will begin with “Stairhead” by local maker Erin Beneze, a film from Kingsley Iron’s online sensation Dances Made To Order and will be the first time the film is shown live. The World Premier of California’s John T. William’s “Black Train is Coming” will be followed by two dance films secured by Cari Ann at the Cannes film festival. The West Coast Premier of “NEXT” by Joshan Esfandiari-Martin from Germany and the International premier of “Outside in” by Tove Skeidsvoll and Petrus Sjövik from Sweden represent the European high standard of dance filmmaking.  Then we will get a special sneak preview look at Bandaloop Project Director Rachael Lincoln’s film “May & June”. Finishing off the night with a Sneak Peak of David Rousseve’s “2 Seconds After Laughter” and the US premier of the entire “Vías de Vuelo” by Alfredo Salomón, this amazing showcase will provide transformational sensations to inspire deep conversations with the filmmakers in attendance including David Rousseve, John T. Williams, Erin Beneze and Kingsley Irons of Dances Made to Order.