Fans of dance might want to check out a new dance film festival happening at Sudbury Indie Cinema Nov. 17 to 20.
The Dance Onscreen festival has been put together by Branch Collective, a non-profit group based on the development and sustainability of the dance community in Northern Ontario.
The first of its kind in Sudbury, Dance Onscreen is a dance film festival that brings work from across the country into one theatre.
The festival begins Thursday, Nov. 17 with a feature film showing of Cabaret (1972).
Celebrating its 50-year anniversary, Cabaret is a film that layers serious social issues with the bohemian life of live performers in Berlin during the Weimar Republic.
The film holds 40 international awards, including eight Academy Awards. Cabaret will be screened at 6:30 p.m. and will be followed by a festival launch party at Sudbury Indie Cinema.
On Friday, Nov. 18 the “Local Commissions” program will screen at 7 p.m. This showcase features films created by local artists through a project led by Branch Collective called The Northern Dance Film Initiative.
The NDFI brought local choreographers, musicians, and filmmakers together to form creative teams during August - October of this year. The teams worked together to collaboratively create new works; dance films made by artists who live in Nothern Ontario, in Northern Ontario.
“I am so thrilled to share such innovative and interesting dance films from across Canada with Sudbury next weekend,” said festival producer Mikaela Demers.
“But I am especially excited to share the work of Sudbury dancers, musicians and filmmakers who collaborated to create six unique dance films that will be shared for the first time at Dance Onscreen. In total, 25 different local artists participated in this process.”
The youth program will screen on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 3:30 p.m., bringing together works created by the next generation of artists, aged 15 -25, from across the country in one program. The screening is preempted with a Community Coffee hosted at Kuppajoe, creating a space for artists and audience members to come together and make personal connections.
The Ontario Showcase runs Nov. 20 at 12 p.m., uniting artists from Northern and Southern Ontario, followed by the “Canadian Open” program at 2 p.m., presenting choreographers and filmmakers from across the country.
That morning, Leigh Lugosi, a filmmaker from Winnipeg, will facilitate the making of a dance film in real time. Their spontaneous art making workshop is open to all local artists and participants for free at 9:30 a.m., hosted at Sudbury School of Dance.
Screening dates and times:
- Thursday, Nov. 17th, 2022 - 6:30 p.m. – Cabaret, 50 th Anniversary re-mastered version.
- Friday, Nov. 18, 2022 - 7 p.m. - Local Commissions
- Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022 - 3:30 p.m. - Youth Program
- Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022 - 12 p.m. - Ontario Showcase
- Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022 - 2 p.m. - Canadian Open
All screenings take place at Sudbury Indie Cinema. Tickets and more information available here.
