Best Film
In The Same Boat Mervi Junkkonen
Finland 2023 | 00:07:30
A film about the limits of the ageing body and the boundless mind. Rauno’s story takes us on a boat trip with his father. A journey of misadventures and his father’s new Finnish record in cursing.
Director: Mervi Junkkonen | Writer and Producer: Mervi Junkkonen, Mia Malviniemi | Cast: Nanna Rahikainen, Rauno Männistö | Country of filming: Finland
Jury Statement
A film full of emotion and humor that broadens our understanding of what dance can be and shows its power not only as an art but as a part of social life. As an old man tells a story of his past, small dance movements become a way to engage and a means of expression. Beautifully shot and edited, this touching narrative focuses on an age group that is rarely visible in society or dance. The film also shows how care work can offer an unconventional paths to integrate dance into everyday life.
Best Choreography for Film
ENDURANCE Imre van Opstal
Netherlands / Israel 2023 | 00:11:30
The film is about the power of perseverance and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of challenging circumstances. It examines the journey of life itself, the physical and emotional aspects of endurance through the role of community and the support of others, exploring the ups and downs, the triumphs and failures, and the moments of joy and sorrow that define the human experience.
Director and Writer: Imre van Opstal | Dancers: Batsheva Dance Company | Country of filming: Israel
Jury Statement
A gripping partnership between camera and choreography: The lens seems to become a dance partner in this film full of artistry and authenticity. Its fantastic kinesthetic impact comes from the intimate closeness the camera keeps to the dancers. You experience the lightness of their movements, but also their breathing and sweating – the exertion that comes with creating such an amazing piece of art. This immensely sensuous film achieves to make its topic palpable to the viewer.
Best Student Film
Pendulum Anna Boekelder
Belgium 2023 | 00:14:00
HKU University of the Arts Utrecht – BE
Two people explore how to be there for one another by catching each other when they fall, but their ways of giving and receiving love are not compatible.
Director, Choreographer, Writer: Anna Boekelder | Dancers: Meghan Dobbelsteijn Bisschops, Jesse Debille | Director of Photography: Jesse-Zé Soepnel | Editor: Sascha Stouthamer | Sound designer: Dickenson Eekman | Music composer: Hidde Smedinga Production: Anna Boekelder, Marieke Boekelder | Country of filming: Belgium
Jury Statement
The film succeeds in representing human emotions with movement. The loss of balance,the catch and fall, the push and pull repeated apparently without an end are clear but not obvious metaphors for the relationship between a man and a woman, a relationship that is later to be discovered unbalanced.
The choice to use a very clear and simple set up – the two candles and the wire – is very successful and gives a visually very strong key to the corresponding movements of the dancers.
The repetition of shapes and poses manages to create a certain suspense as one begins to wonder how long those same shapes and poses can be sustained and not suddenly become breakable.
We do not know whether intentionally or not, but the film also becomes a clear and strong denunciation of all those „toxic relationships” that are unfortunately increasingly present in our society.
Special Mention
Urban Genesis Fu Le
France / Vietnam 2023 | 00:18:00
Phuong is released from prison and returns to her home province. She finds Khang, her childhood sweetheart, but no longer recognizes her village. The elders have left, the factories have closed, and Khang has to go to Saigon where he has found a new job.
In the past 5 years, all the brickyards in Dong Thap province have closed, and Saigon is conjured up bristling with countless skyscrapers. The film questions the place left to love when time passes fast.
Director: Fu Le | Cast: DP1936, Khang Huu | Music: Tang Nhi | Supports: Villa Saigon – French Institute of Vietnam, Dancenter Country of filming: Vietnam
Jury Statement
Movement-based storytelling at its best, this is a film of exceptional beauty, full of visual poetry and nostalgia, with a strong and clever story about traditional craftmanship, societal changes and the shifts in urban and emotional landscapes that come with it.
Audience Award
INCOGNITUM Sara Angius
Germany 2023 | 00:22:52
Between the inside and the outside of a person, in this subtle, blurry border, we find a door and open it. A metaphysical, surreal journey begins, into the depths of the unconscious. The film uses the language of contemporary dance, puppetry and cinematic illusions to explore the state of social isolation. What if loneliness were an opportunity?
Director, Choreographer, Performer, Concept, Production: Sara Angius | Concept and puppet construction, assistant director, dramaturgy: Johanna Ehlert | Cinematographer, post-production: Ole Plönnigs | Music: Tom Smith | Editor: Ole Plönnigs, Sara Angius Country of filming: Germany
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Dance On Screen’s JURY 2023:
Dirk Elwert – Ballett manager of Ballett Graz Oper
Regina Lissowska-Postaremczak – Researcher and dance film programmer, curator of ‘Moves’ in the frame of Short Waves Festival in Poznań, Poland
Ute Baumhackl – Head of the Culture, TV and Media department of the Austrian daily newspaper ‚Kleine Zeitung‘
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Dance On Screen’s Best Student Film JURY:
Valentina Moar – artistic director and curator of Dance On Screen FilmFestival, dance film programmer and choreographer
Marco Schretter – co-director of Dance On Screen FilmFestival, head of the audiovisual department of Teatro alla Scala Milano