2026 Festival Picks
October 3rd @ 7:00PM | Tomorrow Theater | Run Time: 78 Minutes
Festival Picks brings together eleven films from nine countries that show just how many ways dance can tell a story. What ties these films together isn’t a single style or theme, it’s the exploration that movement can express something words can’t. Each filmmaker has a different voice, and that’s what makes watching them together so rewarding.
This year’s collection travels from Colombia, Norway, South Korea, France, Canada, Switzerland, Czechia, Argentina, and the USA, inviting us into eleven distinct worlds, all connected through the universal language of dance.
Más Glow
Colombia
Acrylic nails, pink everything and the faint sound of a bolero. Más Glow is a dance film which speaks to the preconceived notions of beauty, the rules imposed on the female body and the power in taking up space. As gestures unravel inside a nail salon and dance begins to shift towards monstrous movement, four women break the rules of how they should behave.
- Director: Laura Steiner @youcancallmelouder
- Dancers & Choreographesr: Arci @quihuboparce, Lucy Cobaleda @lucycoba, Valentina Ávila @valeficaa_, Valentina Hadad @valentinahadadv
- Director of Photography: Santiago Cortés @santiagocortesdp
- Editing: Ana Alvarado @anialvaradoj
- Music/Sound: Martín Vélez @mn_vz (Original Music); Molo Díaz @molodiaz (Sound Design & Mixing); Maravilla_Media (Voice Recording & Audio Post-Production)
- Production & Production Design: Juana Fernández @juana_faam
- Production Assistant: Dulce Mercado @soydulceangelina
- Photography Assistant: Juan David Valenzuela
- Colour Correction: Álvaro Calero / Thriller.color
- Makeup Design: Wilii Ríos @willirios_makeup
- Hairstyling: eugeanmakeup
- Nail Design: Karolin Brigith Mendoza
- Extras: Juana Fernández, Dulce Mercado, Karolin Brigith Mendoza
- Catering: Felipe Valencia
- Location: Glam Spa
- Special Thanks: Sala de Belleza La Francesa, Jorge Montesdeoca, Populardelujo, Laura de Irisarri, Camila Vélez, El Quinto Pulgar
VEKK
Norway
A dance film about miscommunication and living in different realities.
- Director, Choreographer, Production: Thea Bay @theabay
- Director, Photography, Editing, Music: Simon M. Valentine @simonmakestuff
- Dancers/Key Cast: Maja Naomi Furnes @maja.furnes, Josephine Gracia Slaaen @josephinegraciaa
Ce qui nous lie (What binds us)
France
What if, within the breath of one body, the echo of another was already resonating? In a vital surge where every movement becomes a cry, nine dancers unveil their inner struggle across shifting landscapes: sea, cliff, city, dance studio, ancient theatre. Nine singular territories. Each surrenders to raw improvisation — a moment of questioning rooted in their intimate space — where movement becomes the language of urgency: to be, to resist, to exist. Bodies answer, intertwine, and merge in an organic continuity, weaving bridges between their solitary battles. Living echoes of an invisible geometry, uniting bodies beyond forms and boundaries. What if what seemed isolated was already part of a vaster, elusive movement?
- Director : Damien Bourletsis @dbmotionprod
- Production : Accrorap cie @accrorapkaderattou
- Music : Romain Dubois @romain.dubois.piano.solo
- Danseurs : Jikay @jikay_eagle , Alexis de Saint Jean alex.d.s.j , Damien Bourletsis @damsbls , Simon Hernandez @simon__hrz, Aline Lopes @aline_lopch, Yann Miettaux @yann_monkeyflava, Nabjibe Said @bboy_nadjib, Margaux Senechault @mgxsht, AzdineBouncer @misterbounce_alias_azmaster, Babacar Cissé @stiklartiste, Nour Attou @nour__att
CYPHER
Argentina
Trapped in an unknown facility, a breakdancer attempts to escape the Figures that hunt him. As he attempts to satisfy them, he is met with indifference and violence. CYPHER is a surreal psychological exploration of performance as compulsion and art as confinement.
- Writer/Director: Ruby Gleber @laguera_de_afuera
- Lead: Gastón Porteño Todini @sabor.portenio
- Director of Photography: Francisco Garcia Morteo @frangarciamorteo
- Editor: Gastón Ferrari
- Production Manager: Melina Ritter @meliglitter
- Assistant Director: Paula Saidón
What Is the Dark For?
USA
In a minimalist dreamscape, a woman navigates a complex tug of war with a tuxedoed apparition, drawing ever closer to a fated confrontation and a question of her own identity.
- Director: Derrick Belcham @derrickbelcham & Daisy Jacobson @daisykate_j
- Choreographer: Daisy Jacobson @daisykate_j
- Dancers/Key Cast: Daisy Jacobson @daisykate_j, Pomme Koch @pommekoch
- Director of Photography: Derrick Belcham @derrickbelcham
- Editor: Derrick Belcham & Daisy Jacobson @daisykate_j
- Music/Sound: M. Sage @matthewjsage
- Producing Partner: Williamsburg Biannual @wimmiamsburgbiannual
where is my god?
South Korea
At some point, the body disappears.
No weight. No boundary.
In that state, I search for God.
God never appears.
Even at the height of it only silence returns.
Does the God within me love me?
- Director: Hyun soo Yun, @floweryoungster
- Choreagrapher: Hyun soo Yun @floweryoungster, Hee Eun Jeong @hee_na_jeong, Lee Jung Woo @the_pole_star_shine
Boys a Bug
Czechia
Boys a Bug, inspired by The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, explores through ballet the grotesque transformation of a man into an insect, tracing his struggle with fear and confusion as he gradually loses his sense of self. Conceived as a true dance film, it places narrative and cinematography at its centre, using movement to express the character’s psychological descent.
- Director/ Writer: Laurie Lynch @laurielynch
- Choreographer, Writer, Head Producer: Fraser Roach @fraser_roach
- Dancers/Key Cast: Jakub Rasek @kubalibrecz (as “Gregor”), Romina Contreras @romina_contreras._ (as “Greta”)
- Cinematographer & Producer: Holden McNeil @galacticdestruction
- Music/Sound: Josef Kurtz @josefkurtz, Guildhall Session Orchestra @guildhallschool, Aldi Ho (Soprano); Georgia Tolson (Mezzo Soprano)
- Art Director: Elle Nav
WAIL
Switzerland
WAIL is a poetic exploration of grief and release. The film merges music, dance, and imagery to embody the act of lamentation. Through an expressive visual and sonic language, WAIL invites the viewer into a sensory space where sorrow transforms into motion, and silence becomes sound.
- Cinematographer: Juan Pablo Salazar @juanpablosalaz
- Dancer: Clara Thierry @clara.dance2be
- Director of Photography: Juan Pablo Salazar @juanpablosalaz
- Editor & Colorist: Juan Pablo Salazar @juanpablosalaz
- Original Music: Paul Taro Schmidt @whynotpauly (Original Music); Jakob Schneider @jakobsndr (Recording & Mixing Engineer); Zino Mikorey @zinomikoreymastering (Mastering Engineer)
- Screenplay: Clara Thierry @clarathie
- Background Performer: Mari Combi @mari_dicenere
- Chief Lighting Technician: Marco Quant
- Grip & Lighting Technician: Aaron Rosales @aaronjrg_
- Technical Support (ZHdK): Andreas Birkle
- Graphic Design: Lorena Cala Bohórquez @popbueno
your love: 'sitting' beside me
USA
your love: ‘sitting’ beside me is the second section of a triptych of short dance films that captures the life cycle of love. “Sitting” is a movement story that explores the nuances and awkwardness of a budding relationship.
- Director & Choreographer: Ali Kenner Brodsky @akbandco
- Dancers/Key Cast: Jessi Stegall @fraulein_stegall, Ilya Vidrin @ilya.vidrin
- Director of Photography: Rich Ferri @therichferri
- Composer: MorganEve Swain @swain.morganeve
LIMBES
France
An expressionist dance film opening a window into the dreams and nightmares of a young man. Between paralysis and release, shadow and light, it reflects on our collective fears and traumas, and the winding paths toward healing.
- Director: Karl Cannone @karlcan
- Actor/Dancer: Casper Tveteraas Hauge @cazhauge
- Director of Photography: Hugo Ghnassia
- Music/Sound: Samuel Marot Saferis @samuelmsmusic (Composer)
- Producers: Romuald Sintes @romualdsintes, Joseph Perrette @josephperrette
Vestiges
Canada
Featuring eleven Ballet BC company artists, Vestiges introduces original choreography and movement direction by Medhi Walerski in close collaboration with the dancers, brought to life through Marcus Eriksson’s striking cinematic vision and original score. Shot in a vast, storied space in the Pacific Northwest, the project explores ideas of memory and connection in a series of cinematic chapters.
- Director: Marcus Eriksson @themarcuseriksson
- Creative/Artistic Director & Movement Direction: Medhi Walerski @medhiwalerski
- Dancers/Key Cast: Sidney Chuckas @sidchuckas, Emanuel Dostine @ban__emanuel, Eduardo Jiménez Cabrera @eduardoj2311, Joziah German @joziah_german, Orlando Harbutt @orlandoharbutt, Kiana Jung @kianasmiley, Kelsey Lewis @kelseylewis, Benjamin Peralta @benjaminperalta, Vivian Ruiz @vivianmariaruiz, Kaylin Sturtevant @kaylin_s, Jacalyn Tatro @jac_tatro17
- Director of Photography: Devin Karringten @devink_film
- Producer: Sean Frith @seanfrith
- Steadicam: Mic Krizaj @michael_krizaj
- Camera Operator: Evan West @evan.west
- 1st AC: Luke Strahm @luke_strahm
- 2nd AC: Sydney Bunning @composition_ok, Damien Surprenant @damien.surprenant
- Snorricam: Mike Decker @mdlife
- DIT: Filip Smola @czsmola
- Gaffer: Steve DeZewart @its_pronounced_steve
- LX: Greg Milton @monoflecks
- Key Grip: Shai Vera @shaivera
- Grip: Dean Wadella @anvilartistry
- Stylist: Leila Bani @leilareira
- Stylist Assistants: Mahsa Pazhouh @mahsapazhouh, Rosemary Fisher-Lang @rosemarykfl
- Makeup: Maria Walton @mariareneemakeup
- Hair: Erin Klassen @erinklassenhair
- SPFX: Ole Vezina @olee1k, Chris Lawson
- Digital Tech: Rich Amies @richard_scott_amies
- Camera Assistant: Michaela Stachova
- BTS: Ted Spenceley @railcarcreative, Jackson Howell @jaxonhowell
- PA: Dannick Turmel @danturmel, Shamus Cochlin @shamus_cochlin
- First Aid/Craft Service: Sheila Cassels @_just_sheila
- Special Thanks: Sasha Plavsic @sashaplasvic, ILIA Beauty @iliabeauty, Simons @maisonsimons, MBS Equipment @mbseco, UCOO Photography Rentals @ucoo