PROGRAM

Night Two includes exclusive interviews with Cati Jean and Desi Jevon directly preceding "Winter Grew Cold", and with Tuixén Benet, directly preceding "Lazarus".

Introduction Pierre Leloup, Artistic Director, from the stage of Theatre Raymond Kabbaz.

Interview with Cati Jean and Desi Jevon ("Winter Grew Cold") on the stage of Theatre Raymond Kabbaz.

Winter Grew Cold

Directors Desi Jevon, Cati Jean

United States 

Runtime: 6:06

Synopsis

A reminisce of a man's true love that got away before taking his last breath.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Matter of Flowers 

On the Matter of Flowers brings together six dance artists, choreographers and performers which merge together six creative universes at once different and complementary, to create a unique, collective work while apart. It brings together the imagination and visions of these creative minds in a choreographic work reflecting the love of dance that unites them.

Stifled in their artistic pursuits, four choreographers have come together to find a substitute for the lack of human contact: a duet created from afar with a pair of virtuosi performers. Four creative choreographers, four artistic spirits and accomplices, who come together to explore, question and deepen their understanding of the notions of touch, intimacy and human contact. These dance composers come together in the physicality and excellence of their choreographic works, which they each express in their own unique way: Andrea Peña’s raw, rigorous, and visceral energy, Christophe Garcia’s intimate, sensitive, and vibrant choreographic writing, Ismaël Mouaraki’s physical, organic, and urban intensity, and Dominique Porte’s lyrical, whimsical, and intuitive signature.

On the Matter of Flowers is a tribute to dance performers, so abruptly cut off from what sustains and thrills them. Daphnée Laurendeau and Danny Morissette, both artists and dancers, and also a couple in life, agreed to embark on the journey of this most unusual creative process. It is so rare to see two performers assimilating, in a single work, four distinct choreographic languages. It will be the first time the choreographers will be working with a couple, an incredible source of inspiration for them. On the Matter of Flowers explores the relationship of intimacy, love, human contact, and touch, a taboo in these troubled and troubling times, to release the senses and embrace freedom.

About Ismaël Mouaraki

French-Moroccan-Canadian choreographer and self-taught dancer Ismaël Mouaraki discovered urban dances at the age of 12. He was introduced to contemporary dance with the choreographer Xavier Lot during his residence at the Centre culturel André Malraux. It was the beginning of a three-year collaboration, and the start of a career for Ismaël. Curious and determined, he worked with different choreographers and companies in France and Canada, including Compagnie Accrorap, Philippe Découflé and Hélène Blackburn, allowing him to share his talent and his artistic expertise with a varied audience. 

An initiative of Agence Mickaël Spinnhirny, co-produced with the companies Andrea Peña & Artists, Destins Croisés, la [parenthèse] / Christophe Garcia and Système D/Dominique Porte. 

— ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Duet Alanda 

Duet Alanda connects and contrasts vital pathways of past and present while intersecting lines of lineage with movement memories of cultural beauty and traditional lore. Wherever its origin, the dance evokes life, ancient and new. Matched in strength and fluidity, the couple seeks to balance tension and tenderness, chaos and calm.

Awards: 

First Prize Choreography Winner from Masdanza23 in Canary Islands, 2018

First Prize Choreography Winner from Certamen Coreografico Nacional DanzaXtrema, 2017

Second Prize Choreography Winner from Copenhagen International Choreography, 2016

Production Prize Winner from Copenhagen International Choreography, 2016 

— --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hors

Directors Amélie Gagnon, Julia-Maude Cloutier

Canada 

Runtime: 5:51

Synopsis

Hors is a dance film on the border of surrealism. It is carried by a reflection on the interior and exterior places. Two women-landscapes merge into one another and transpose themselves into distinct places, from winter landscapes to squeaky uninhabited places, in a quest towards their place of belonging, if there is one. Dissonance between calm and discomfort, the images tell a story that goes on under the flesh, in the interstices of the Self and the Other and proposes the sensitive connection to nature as a space for rooting. "From childhood I suspected that another reality existed. "- Julio Cortázar

Director Biography - Amélie Gagnon, Julia-Maude Cloutier

Julia-Maude Cloutier is a contemporary dance artist based in Quebec. It recommends multidisciplinary collaborations and in situ performances. In recent years, she has been influenced by the eye of the camera which transforms her vision of dance by opening up new creative possibilities both on stage and on the big screen. She directed her first dance film Rust (in collaboration with Josiane Roberge in 2019. She is co-founder of the collective CRue with Amélie Gagnon.

Amélie Gagnon is a performer, choreographer and artistic advisor. Before her studies in contemporary dance, she studied literature and philosophy. She collaborates with multidisciplinary artists in favor of an open creative process. Moved by her desire to perceive the intangible, she was initiated into directing with Isabel Rocamora, who would be a decisive encounter. Hors is her first step into cinema.

— ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dignity

Director Alayna Jennings 

United States 

Runtime: 2:57

Synopsis

Domestic Violence has an extensive and painful impact. Nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States alone. On any given day there are more than 20,000 phone calls placed to domestic violence hotlines nationwide. We hope through sharing this work we can emphasize the power in survivors. We hope we can remind everyone of their Dignity.

Director Biography - Alayna Jennings

Independent filmmaker and spoken word artist Alayna Jennings is a Salt Lake City native. She has worked in the entertainment industry since 2010. Her work combines the artistry of poetry, choreography, and film. Alayna's passions radiate in her work, addressing critical social issues with a focus on affecting authentic change. Her directorial debut Unremedied attacks the dangers of indifference and ignorance towards a relevant societal epidemic, sexual harassment. ​Alayna's up and coming second film Dignity focuses on the effects of domestic violence while striving to raise awareness and generate empowerment for survivors.​Her written works have been performed live throughout the country, and include topics such as equality, female empowerment, child abandonment, and embracing the power of activism.

— ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Avoidance

Director Matthew McKee 

United States 

Runtime: 6:30

Synopsis 

A short dance film inspired by themes of loss and conflict.

Choreographer: Ben Needham-Wood

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Swivel

Director Lois Norman 

in Narrative or Experimental short

United Kingdom 

Runtime: 6:39

Synopsis 

What if, you can be all of who you are and still allow another? That just for one night, judgement no longer exists? What if, an intimacy of touch, a truth of want, Swivels around your doubt and trusts? What if, love is not a gender, it is a swivel of the heart? Swivel is a short gender fluid dance story by Award winning director Lois Norman, starring the trailblazing Iron&Sparks. With visceral Cinematography by Canadian Teryl Brouillette, powerful Sound Design by UK's Jemma Cholawo and New Zealand's Helen Mountfort moving cello score, Swivel is a brave leap of faith, that moves to express the courage it takes, to explore sexuality and self with true equality, acceptance and compassion. Swivel had its World Premiere at Queer North Canada 2019 and has since won 12 outright Winner Awards and many more Award Nominations!

Director Biography - Lois Norman

Lois Norman is a British/Australian Creative Artist, whose work focuses on the bravery and diversity of the human condition. Primarily, using the ‘Female’ word and image as a lens, she explores and questions the truth of who we are and the strength it takes to be all of who we can dare to be. With a career in theatre and the word and a love of Art and the visual, she is currently enjoying filmic and writing collaborations with a diverse range of Artists from all disciplines, always moving to explore new ways of seeing and feeling. Her short documentary: Drawing on Speech which was created in collaboration with Tate Curator and Artist Michele Fuirer, was screened at both at Tate Britain and Tate Modern 2014/2015. Her Award Winning Documentary ‘She Is Juiced’, a first feature for Lois, which she filmed entirely solo, celebrates the work and lives of Four LGBTQIA+ Female Identifying Artists, had its World Premiere when Lois was invited to screen ‘She Is Juiced’ at Tate Britain in 2017, both as part of Tate’s ground Breaking Exhibition, Queer Britain and to launch London Pride 2017. The film has also won Best Art Film at NRFF Amsterdam 2018, Best Documentary at Brighton Rocks 2018, was a BAFTA Cymru Finalist at Carmarthen Bay Film Festival 2018 and Lois has won ‘Most Innovative Film Maker’ at Wales International Film Festival 2018.

Lois’ two poetry films, The Light, starring dancer Bettina Carpi and The Shell featuring Lois herself, have also achieved screenings and awards around the world: The Shell winning Best Poetry Film at BAFTA Cymru qualifying Carmarthen Bay film Festival in 2019.

Swivel, Lois’ Gender fluid Dance film starring the trailblazing Iron&Sparks was made in 2019 and is currently screening/has been screened in many world film festivals, including the prestigious BAFTA accredited Aesthetica & BAFTA Cymru accredited Carmarthen Bay Film Festival in the UK. Swivel has won 11 awards so far including Best Experimental, Best LGBTQ, Best Score, Best International Short, Best Art House Short and Most Pioneering Work!

@loisnormanwordimage

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**** Interview with Tuixén Benet on the stage of Theatre Raymond Kabbaz ****

Lazarus

Director Tuixén Benet 

United States

Runtime: 8:34

Synopsis

Through a dialogue between movement and landscape, Lazarus reflects on the objectification of the woman body in film. The famous quote by Edgar Allan Poe "the death of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world" triggers a succession of falls and recoveries that escape the poetic by trying too hard to find it.

Director Biography - Tuixén Benet

Tuixén Benet Cosculluela is a choreographer and filmmaker based out of Barcelona and Los Angeles. Awarded for her Exceptional Input for Dance Cinema at Choreoscope, Barcelona 2020. She has choreographed for feature films, advertising campaigns and music videos all over the world, collaborating with production companies such as CANADA, O, Blink, Doomsday and Control Films, and with artists such as Tame Impala, Polo & Pan, Justice, El Guincho, Juanes and Javiera Mena among others. Her choreographies have been nominated many times at the UK Music Video Awards and she won the Le Club des Directeurs Artistiques 2018.She co-created the dance company Les filles Föllen in Barcelona, awarded best New Talent 2011 by the Dance Association of Catalonia. Besides creating her own work for the stage and performing in festivals around Europe and America with the company, she directed and edited her own music videos and short dance films. She’s recently finished her first medium length choreographic film Aloma i Mila and is in post-production on her next film. She is also the guitar player of the Catalan band Les Sueques with which she released three records and has toured across Spain and the UK. Tuixén Benet graduated in Choreography and Interpretation Techniques at the Institut del Teatre de Barcelona and earned an MFA in Film Directing at the California Institute of the Arts.