Opening Program Installation Program 1   Program 2-3  Program 4-5 Program 6 Program 7 Program 8 Program 9   Program 10  Program 11 Program 12 Program 13 Program 14 Closing Ceremony

Program 10: From the Festivals Around the World II
(St. Petersburg)

Break (14min, 2005, New Zealand)
Director/Choreographer: Shona McCullagh

A long term relationship is ending. Set in rural New Zealand a depressed mother makes the difficult decision to leave her son and partner. The film explores the relationship a nine year old boy has with his mother and the ultimate loss of his trust.

«I’m delighted that a film that uses dance as an articulate, narrative language can stand up against those that employ the spoken word. To step across the genre barrier of dance film to a universally understood medium is what I’ve always sought to do. Movement quite simply has the enormous potential to describe directly what often cannot be spoken.» – Shona McCullagh

Shona McCullagh holds a unique position in New Zealand as an outstanding film director, dancer/ choreographer, filmmaker and educator. Besides short dance films («Fly» and «Hurtle») that won her numerous international awards, Shona developed a series of installations for dancers and non-dancers utilising the performance interactive software. In 2004, Shona created choreography for three feature films «Perfect Creature», «The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe» and «King Kong». She also choreographed for Royal New Zealand Ballet company for their initial 2005 season and recently co-directed «Nutcracker» for television.

What are you going to do when you get out of here? (52min, 2005, Slovenia)
Director: Saso Podgorsek; Choreographer: Iztok Kovac; Music: Thierry De Mey

The “Soul” of the working-class town of Trbovlje (hometown of Iztok Kovac and the main source of his inspiration) – embodied in the rhythm of work and rest – has almost entirely evaporated, and its “Body” – the gigantic industrial plants built on the surface above the underground network of shafts – lies scattered around the valley like the bones of a decaying animal in a desert. But to a discerning eye this gives a picture of the uniqueness of what used to be the mechanism that our fathers, mothers, uncles and grandfathers so enthusiastically built and breathed though. A picture of our childhood. ¬– Iztok Kovac, Saso Podgorsek

Iztok Kovac, solo dancer, choreographer and the founder of EN-KNAP, an international dance group, has one of those creative energies which has enabled him, starting from nothing, to bring Slovene modern dance onto the European and world stages.

Born in 1964, Saso Podgorsek graduated from the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Since then he has realized a number of programmes for Studio Ljubljana at TV Slovenia and collaborated with Arxel Tribe production house (computer animation), Iztok Kovac and his group En-knap, as well as of Mute Records, Ajax Studio, ZRC SAZU, Stop magazine and several advertising agencies.

"Love Sonnets" (29min, 1993, Belgium)
Director: Thierry De Mey, Choreography: Michèle Anne De Mey

A film about love and dance, “Love Sonnets” couples together seven sonnets signed by those who dance them. Sonnets where words are swapped for movement. Sonnets whose rhythms embrace Scarlatti’s sonatas for harpsichord and traditional aria from Southern Italy. Sonnets where rhymes, numbers and verbal colours seek consonance with what can be seen as a cinematographic melodic line.

It can suffer it self, but not know it self,
It can cover it self, but not obtain it self,
The soul that, in movement can see it self.
Cannot in the defunct tranquillity find
Beauty, who is the fire in movement,
And living it cannot be assuaged.

Thierry De Mey, born in 1956, is a film director and composer. The incorporation of movement and rebound are the common thread at the core of his work: "the rebuttal of the idea of rhythm as a simple series of durations in a time frame, but rather as a generative system for impulses, falls and new developments” constitutes the preliminary overture for his musical and cinematic endeavours. For the choreographers Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Wim Vandekeybus and his sister Michele Anne De Mey, Thierry continues to be an invaluable collaborator in the invention of "formal strategies" - to employ a term which holds great importance for him. The installations of Thierry De Mey, which include music, dance, videos and interactive processes, have been presented in exhibitions such as the Biennials of Venice, Lyon and in many museums. His work has been rewarded with many national and international prizes including the Bessie Awards, Eve du Spectacle, Composers Forum of UNESCO to name a few. He is currently working on the composition of an original score for the project between the choreographer Akram Khan (London/India) and Sylvie Guillem (Paris).