Entertainment News

Australia’s national festival celebrating the art of dance-film. This year the festival runs from May 11 to 14 and is presented by the Arts House with sessions and events held at the North Melbourne Town Hall, the Meat Market and Dance House.

Sitting between the performing arts and film culture, the ReelDance caters to both dance and film audiences with a focus on screen musicals, music videos and documentaries, and contemporary dance on screen. The scope of the festival is global with films coming from Belgium, Uganda, Netherlands, Palestine, Hong Kong, Sweden and New Zealand.

This year is the 4th ReelDance event since it’s inception in 2000. The 2006 festival will reach 11 Australian cities, each with a custom-made program as well as additional free screenings, screen lounges, forums and workshops. ReelDance is curated/directed by Erin Braningan.

Highlights of the ReelDance Film Festival in Melbourne:

ReelDance 2006 International Guest: Wim Vandekeybus, director of internationally acclaimed Belgian dance company Ultima Vez, choreographer and director of dance-films. Wim will be opening the festival on Tuesday 11 May, premiering his latest acclaimed short Blush (as part of the Comtemporary Dance On Screen session), and hosting a free 120-minute presentation discussing his work on stage and screen. Films from his 25-year back catalogue will be screening free during venue hours at the NMTH for the duration of the festival.

ReelDance Awards: A showcase of the best local shorts from Australia and New Zealand - finalists to be awarded at the Sydney Opera House.

REELDANCE AWARDS 2006 – WINNERS AND FINALISTS

Winner: The ReelDance Award for Best Dance Documentary

Black Grace: From Cannon’s Creek to Jacob’s Pillow NEW ZEALAND (2005: 70min)
Director Aileen O’Sullivan and Toby Mills
Choreographer Neil Ieremia

A documentary tracing New Zealand’s all-male dance company as they set out to perform at one of the world’s oldest dance festivals, Jacobs Pillow, in the USA.

Finalists: The ReelDance Award for Best Australian or New Zealand Short Dance Film or Video

I Dream of Augustine AUSTRALIA (2005: 10min)
Director Corelia Beresford
Choreographer/performer Narelle Benjamin

A woman dreams of being in the infamous Salpetriere Hospital, Paris, where the young hysterical patient known as Augustine was hypnotized and put on public display in the 1870s. Watched by an unseen doctor she follows his orders and loses sight of herself. Official selection Dendy Awards Sydney 2005, 2nd Prize Napolidanza 2006, in competition Clermont-Ferrand 2006, Best Dancefilm nomination Australian Dance Awards 2005.

Whole Heart AUSTRALIA (2005: 10min)
Director and choreographer Tracie Mitchell

A woman looks out as far as she can see and dreams of flight and freedom. She realises she must discard everything that weighs her down. Official selection, Melbourne International Film Festival 2005, Official Selection Commonwealth Film Festival Manchester May 2006, Best Dancefilm nomination Australian Dance Awards 2006, Silver Award, Best Cinematography, Australian Cinematographers Society, 2005

Pandora NEW ZEALAND (2005: 8min)
Director/choreographer Alyx Duncan

The tale of an aging hermit and her discovery of a magical girl washed up on the beach one stormy morning. Official selection, New Zealand International Film Festival 2005.

Break NEW ZEALAND (2005: 15min)
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 uses choreography as the narrative. In competition Clermont-Ferrand 2006.

Three Times AUSTRALIA (2004: 7min)
Director/choreographer Sue Healey

Three women with their own sense of time: a trio of temporal intrigue. Special Mention – Napolidanza, Naples, 2005.

Nuns’ Night Out AUSTRALIA (2005: 10min)
Director Samuel James
Choreographer Julie-Anne Long

An absurdist dance fantasy shot on Super 8, the film follows a flock of nuns ‘landed in the landscape’ in and around the historic village of Hill End. At the end of the day they make their way to the Royal Hall for a curious vaudeville show. Through surreal vignettes, the veil of propreity is slowly removed to reveal dark currents of sensuality, ribaldry and untameable desire.

The Eye Inside AUSTRALIA (2005: 14min)
Director Cordelia Beresford
Choreographer Narelle Benjamin

1880 Paris. A teenage girl is confined to a hospital room by a voyeuristic doctor. He hypnotizes her as part of a ‘cure’ that invades her memory, her body and eventually even her dreams. An experimental horror film based on a real case history. Best Short Fiction and Cinematography nominations, AFI Awards 2005.

River Woman AUSTRALIA (2005: 13min)
Director Michelle Mahrer
Choreographer/performer Bernadette Walong

The serpent journeyed birthing the rivers, trees, wind, rocks… awakening life. An evocative dancefilm inspired by the rainbow serpent mythology, featuring a unique collaboration between choreographer and director. Best Experimental Film, Atom Awards 2005.

Nascent AUSTRALIA (2004: 10min)
Director Gina Czarnecki
Choreographer Australian Dance Theatre

A visual and visceral journey through and about being. Raw footage of improvised and choreographed dance is confronted with compositional techniques. Images form a complex and rhythmic structure, stretching, smearing and distorting ‘real’ time. The dancers’ gestures and bodies, poised and isolated, gradually become intertwined, indistinguishable and frenetic. Delegates Choice, IMZ Dance Screen 2005, Best Dancefilm Australian Dance Awards 2005