Saturday, October 13, 7:30pm / Doors open @ 7:00
69 minutes of original, beautiful, and diverse dance for film from Brazil, France, Australia, Japan, Israel, and United States.
Clinton Street Theater- 2522 SE Clinton St, Portland, OR 97202
$12 online / $15 at the door

GET TICKETS

Advisory: The film “Riot” contains violent content.

Elemental / US – 5:10
Elemental is a reframing of the natural world through movement and a reframing of movement through novel environments. Madison, WI based hip-hop dancer Solomon Roller interprets beautiful Wisconsin nature through dance, a form of expression he has been developing and refining for over a decade. The original soundtrack features audio samples taken on location and molded into a composition that evokes the geography and sharpens the emotional undertones of Solomon’s movements. Through cinema, Elemental explores the versatile power of hip-hop to channel and illustrate the natural environment.
Interview with Elemental

LADIA / US – 6:45
Inspired by female “superheroes” Lara Croft and Nadia Comaneci. LADIA explores the limits of pain, effort and exhaustion in a contemporary female athlete.
Interview with LADIA

Ground Fine / US – 4:32
Ground Fine is a screendance with original music that takes a light-hearted look at our obsession with food cravings and behaviors detrimental to our health. It was commissioned by Basin Arts and Runaway Dish for a collaboration between choreographers and chefs and premiered at the Acadiana Center for the Arts in Lafayette Louisiana.

Clarice / Brazil – 6:50
A woman and the encounter with her own shadow.
Interview with Clarice

RIOT / France – 13:00
A black man is killed in an altercation with a vigilant neighbor and the police. The feeling of injustice is high. Emotion engenders riot …. In the absence of words, can the body take its revenge?
Interview with RIOT

SHIVTA / Israel – 10:58
SHIVTA is a short dance film telling a cinematic and kinetic exploration of two lost desert wanderers. In the form of Fata-Morgana, a doubtful portal appears in the distance. Curiosity takes over and the two, as the narrative rolls forward, find themselves bewitched and possessed by a celestial fortune teller.
Interview with SHIVTA

Botchan Retreat – Australia/Japan 23:10
Edited by Drew Moden
Based on the classic Japanese novel Botchan. A group of Japanese business people attend a weekend retreat only to find they must battle through challenges to not only receive a promotion, but to survive.

The Town on Notice / US – 4:35
The Town On Notice is an experimental film based on the original stage production by Dimensions Dance Theater. Visions of Oakland, dynamic choreography, and touches of abstraction combine to show our city’s profound, unique flavor.
Interview with The Town on Notice

We’re excited to announce that this years festival will include a Dance For Film & Movement MasterClass with LA-based Sarah C Prinz!!! Take her masterclass and then watch her work during PDFF Picks 2!

$40 Regular / $25 for PDFF Festival Pass Holders/PDFF Filmmakers/PDFF Judges (Use code MASTERPRINZ during check out to receive discounted price. Contact portlanddancefilmfest@gmail.com if you have any questions about pricing).

October 14th | 10am-1pm | NW Dance Project

TICKETS

Sarah C Prinz will lead a 3 hour masterclass on filmmaking for dancers & choreography capture for filmmakers including:
– A screening of Sarah’s selected works featured at Outfest, i-D, Channel 4 and more.
– An in-depth dissection on the intersection between film’s pre-production and movement’s choreographic processes.
– An all-levels movement workshop on the relationship between the body and language & movement and narrative.
With this masterclass, we are trying to strengthen dancer’s understanding of filmmaking and filmmaker’s understanding of dance-making.

More about Sarah C Prinz: sarahcprinz.com

Tuesday,October 16th @ 7:30
Northwest Dance Project | 211 NE 10th Ave, Portland, OR 97232

SECURE YOUR SPOT

An evening with the experts. Come learn the ins and outs of dance for film from artists in the industry.

The Panel:

Conrad “Icon” Kaczor

Conrad “Icon” Kaczor is known as one of the most innovative Poppers that specializes in the geometric shape-shifting dance style called Tutting. Conrad’s versatility as a dancer, along with his creativity and extensive knowledge of Popping and Tutting, have enabled him to guest perform and teach at national music festivals, judge dance battles on both the West and East coasts, and study with respected street style innovators across the world. Conrad also performs with Heidi Duckler Dance Theater, a site-based dance company located in both Los Angeles and the Pacific Northwest.

As a filmmaker, Conrad’s passion for dance is reflected in his collaborations and commissions with both professional dancers and dance companies alike. His short film “We’re From Here,”  about three Portland dancers, toured the film festival circuit and picked up two Best Documentary awards along the way and continues to pursue and create dance documentaries.

Daniel Norwood “DsouL”

While earning a degree in Psychology from California State University, Northridge, Daniel Norwood, aka “DsouL”, spent every spare moment studying movement with pioneers of “popping,” a illusionary style of street dance.  Daniel’s unique attention to precision along with his ability to create expressive illusions with his body grabbed the attention of renowned choreographer, Chris Scott, who recruited Daniel for the American Music Awards to perform with Taylor Swift.  Searching to reach across cultural boundaries, Daniel followed his passion for dance, psychology, and culture around the world – from teaching popping full time at one of the only arts university in China, Beijing Contemporary Music Academy – to creating a viral dance video in the capital of Vietnam – to street performing in Paris.  Over the past 3 years “DsouL” has gained notoriety on the world stage teaching internationally at universities and studios, competing on nearly every continent, and sharing his personal process with aspiring dancers.  Daniel’s greatest passion is to inspire people to find their authentic selves through movement and performance.”

Amy Leona Havin

Amy Leona Havin is a Choreographer and Director from Rehovot, Israel. She began her dance training with Ohad Naharin’s Gaga Movement Language in Tel Aviv, Israel and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, Washington where she studied both live dance and dance film creation under Wade Madsen, Danielle Agami, and Salt Horse’s Corrie Befort. She has been granted acceptance to study under choreographers such as L-E-V’s Sharon Eyal, Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company’s Rami Be’er, Yasmeen Godder, Shahar Binyamini, Sidra Bell, HASADNA, and more. Havin relocated to Portland in 2013, founded The Holding Project in 2015, and was awarded an artist residency with Disjecta Contemporary Art Center in 2016. She continues to make live performance, dance for film, and durational installation work.

Robert Uehlin

Robert Uehlin is an award-winning screendance cinematographer from Oregon. He has studied film production at Northwest Nazarene University and at the University of Oregon where he also taught. His work has been screened at the American Dance Festival, The Utah International Screendance Festival, The Northwest Screendance Exposition, the 40 North Dance Film Festival, and the Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema.

For Uehlin, screendance is the most powerful vehicle for conveying the simple beauty of the human form in motion. In his work, audiences are transported. They go with the dancers into new spaces where they explore their own relationships with nature. They dance alongside them as partners and witnesses. And they are brought closer to the choreography itself, moving with the camera, echoing the choreography, experiencing a kinesthetic empathy unavailable to traditional dance audiences

Raven Jones

Raven Jones is a graduate from the University of South Florida with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Modern Dance performance and Choreography, and a minor in American Sign Language interpreting. She now lives in Portland, Oregon where she is the Founder and Artistic Director of WolfBird Dance, as well as the Founder and Project Manager of YAE! (Young Artists Empowerment) Camp. Raven has choreographed and produced multiple evening length works, which have been premiered on both the East and West coasts and internationally in Paris, France.

Actively in the Portland community, she has taught Contemporary and Contemporary Floor-work classes, was the contemporary teacher for Portland’s 2017 Citywide Dance Audition, and taught workshops and classes at Manatee School for the Arts (Palmetto, FL), the University of South Florida (Tampa, FL), Reed College (Portland, OR), and St. Mary’s Academy (Portland, OR). She has also been the residency recipient of the 2017 Center Space Resistance residency (Portland, OR) as well as the 2017 residency recipient at New Expressive Works (Portland, OR).

Growing up, Raven was heavily involved in professional and community theatre. Using this musical theatre influence, she has spent the last five years developing a unique dance-theatre style that has been reviewed as “unself-conscious,” “intelligent,” and “fierce.” Raven is a collaborative choreographer, working collectively with multi-media Artists to produce thought provoking work that strongly focuses on developing movement through personal memories and human experience. In 2018, on behalf of WolfBird, Raven was the Open Meadows Foundation grant recipient for the development of her outreach an empowerment advocacy program YAE! (Young Artists Empowerment) Camp.

Saturday, October 20, 7:30pm / Doors open @ 7:00
76 minutes of original, beautiful, and diverse dance for film from, France, Russia, United Kingdom, Cuba, Australia, and United States.
Clinton Street Theater- 2522 SE Clinton St, Portland, OR 97202
$12 online / $15 at the door

GET TICKETS

Le Choregrave / France – 4:27
At a Christmas diner where connections between people is impossible, Salla is trying to make them move.. In 2017 Jake Russell created the French project “Le Chorégrave”. With a team of artists he writes, directs and shoots short one shot films where the camera, dance and live music all combine to create an artistic performance that falls into no category. Each film is shot in carefully selected venues where sound is recorded live during each performance, with no cues to direct the dancers, and no editing after the shoot.

our last aria / US – 7:14
Filmed on location in the Eureka dunes of Death Valley California, “our last aria” follows the journey of two figures traversing a kinetic and emotional landscape in the heart of a desert wilderness.
Iterview with our last aria

Taste of Night / Russia – 7:47
‘Taste of Night’ is a dance short film in the style of ironic noir is the fantastic story that happened at the ball. No one knows what Fate has prepared for him, and how the day will end. A brilliant, handsome man meets a young girl at the party. He tries to seduce her. Is it possible if the girl is an extraordinary creature? This film is a part of project that aimed to modify stereotyped impression of tango as a dance in red dress with rose between teeth that a lot of people still have.
Interview with Taste Of Night

Thread a Stair / United Kingdom – 3:13
‘Thread a Stair’ sees a disoriented dancer thread his way out of a never ending staircase. The choreography takes inspiration from a family of movements in breakin’ (breakdance) known as threads to create stair specific sequences, steps and concepts. A result of close collaboration with both music producer and animator, Thread a Stair is a coherent piece of confusing art that shines a light on the intricacies and playful nature of this dance.

I think I know where I stand / USA – 4:27
An exploration of individuality, femininity, and youth through improvised movement.
Interview with I Think I Know Where I Stand

Maura / Cuba – 13:08
Dancer and choreographer Maura Morales fled from Cuba at the age of 17. In this short documentary / dance film, she explores her own history, the concept of home as well as the current socio-cultural situation in her former homeland.

Digital Afterlives / Australia – 4:47
A man in white-winged angel shoes in an infinite black space is awakened by the strains of Franz Liszt’s “Totentanz” (“The Dance of the Dead”). He gets multiplied and manipulated through all the dimensions of infinite black. None of the incarnations of his body have free will as he is thrown, bounced, split, squelched, flopped, frozen, and slid through multitudinous geometries by an unknown force, finally to be returned to his original form and spat out onto the junk heap of history. Could the insistent music be a god manipulating him in this afterlife? Would a breakout lead him to a better world or just another incarnation of himself as a puppet?

A Guide to Breathing Underwater / USA – 7:15 (Nudity)
A Guide to Breathing Underwater follows a person’s quest to find solace in his body. Using dance and gesture, shadow and light, we see him traverse through New York City, looking for his utopia. When he finds an open space overflowing with air and water: an exhale. Finally, he can be still.

sweetgrass / Oregon Artist – 10:56
Sweetgrass is an aromatic herb native to North America. It can be harvested up to five times per year and is also referred to as ‘Holy Grass’.
Interview with sweetgrass

Wait / USA – 6:58
“Wait” is a queer film about the cyclical nature of co-dependency. It explores intimate moments in which we define our identity through another person and the dismantling required to start over.

TWINS “You Must Be Related!” / USA – 3:48
Two dancers, who also twins, explore public perceptions of twins and their internal struggle of sisterhood.

Sunday, October 21, 7:30pm / Doors open @ 7:00
74+ minutes of original, beautiful, and diverse dance for film from Mexico, New Zealand, France, Sweden, and United States.
Clinton Street Theater- 2522 SE Clinton St, Portland, OR 97202
$12 online / $15 at the door

GET TICKETS

Body of Your Dreams / USA – 9:47
Body of Your Dreams is a short film choreographed by Myles Thatcher and Directed by Quinn Wharton. It looks at the pressures of modern body image and fitness in the pop coated visuals of a squash court. The dancers of the Joffrey Ballet fly through the space and encounter cracks in the beautiful world when face to face with the box they live in.
Interview with Body of Your Dreams

Triumvirate / USA – 3:23
Triumvirate is a screendance that uses a play on gravity as a metaphor for what holds us together, grounded, and fearless. The movement takes place in a non-traditional environment, and thus creates the opportunity for the viewer to question what is ‘normal’ in this new world. The piece showcases a trio of powerful women who continually negotiate–and renegotiate–their space, relationship, and destination together.

what is real / Oregon Artist – 3:34
Internationally known street dancer Daniel “Dsoul’ Norwood collaborated with a dancer and filmmaker Conrad Kaczor from Portland, Oregon to create a promotional video for The Gnosis Retreat Center. It’s a place where experiences shouldn’t be corralled into labels and numbed by prescriptions out of convenience. People need the embrace of a community. Gnosis Retreat Center is a safe haven for those experiencing extreme states of consciousness.

Restless / USA– 2:51
Experimental dance film exploring themes of restlessness.
Interview with Restless

Are you holding me, or am I holding myself Mexico– 11:47
Are you holding me , or am I holding myself? is a self study examining the relationship between our minds and our bodies, our thoughts and our actions, and the sometimes insurmountable gaps between what we think we want to feel and what we actually experience.
Interview with César Brodermann

Nurse Me / New Zealand – 11:38
Emerging from the sea’s dark folds, three lone figures are reborn into a post-apocalyptic world. The nurses – bearers of solace, fetish and sexual power – have been drawn back to the center, the vortex, to where it all began.
Interview with Nurse Me

Insan / France – 9:14
Complex relations of adversity, expressed in the context of a guerilla war.

House of Joy / Oregon Dance Film Commission Recipient
Interview with House of Joy

Shadow Animals / Sweden – 21:35
Marall follows her parents to a party and during the evening she observes the adults’ social rituals, and what happens when someone doesn’t fit in. Marall also seems to be the only one seeing the shadow that circulates inside the house.
Interview with Shadow Animals