Dance film screening
THE Balts Meet THE Finns
We Will Be After Us | Greta Grinevičiūtė (3’40, FR, 2024)
Brother | Vilnis Birins (7’48, LV, 2021)
Uggland | Sandrina Lindgren (11’11 Fi/SE, 2022)
In the dusk, I hear what I close my eyes from| KATOAVA-kollektiivi (9’00, Fi, 2024)
Dear Passengers | Madli Lääne (11’00, EE, 2022)
A gaze of my skin, drains into me | Vilma Tihilä (6’29, Fi, 2023)
The Yard – In and Out of Place | Juhani Haukka, Outi Markkula (5’56, FI, 2022)
Circology | Tero Peltoniemi, Antti Seppänen (15’53, Fi, 2023)
Drama King | Valērijs Oļehno (3’33, LT, 2024)
Spaces, Environments, and Landscapes of the Mind
Space and environment play a central role in both dance and film. Dance always happens in relation to space, while film locations—through composition and framing—generate meaning and aesthetics. For choreographers, working in different spaces can be a fascinating challenge, offering opportunities to engage with the surroundings and add thematic depth to the movement.
The films Drama King and We Will Be After Us are part of the Latvian Dance + City series, which takes significant architectural spaces as its point of departure. In the narrative-driven Drama King, the monumental Lithuanian National Theatre becomes a stage where a janitor surrenders to the ecstasy of dance in its deserted halls. We Will Be Us, on the other hand, is set in the French suburb of Les Étoiles d’Ivry, where the protagonists’ movements merge seamlessly with the geometric forms and brutalist architecture, creating a powerful bond between body and space.
Dear Passengers places the viewer in the midst of an ordinary bus ride, where longing and the need for touch are compressed into a confined space. Scenography takes on a key role in A gaze of my skin, drains into me, a film that explores bodily landscapes through macro imagery, guiding viewers on a journey into their own imagination.
The folk dance film The Yard – In and Out of Place is a frosty and playful take on the quadrille, set in a ‘displaced’ yard—a conceptually intriguing space in itself. Nature and its preservation take center stage in In the dusk, I hear what I close my eyes from, a dreamy and misty film that uses the language of cinema to evoke the emotions stirred by the forest and its destruction.
The films Uggland, Circology, and Brother delve more deeply into mental landscapes than physical ones. Uggland portrays the relationship between two sisters in the shadow of their mother’s Alzheimer’s—a story where the joy of dance and movement becomes a connecting force. Brother revolves around a memory and explores how we remember in different ways—and how the body remembers without words. In the uniquely expressive Circology, the state of mind of Atlas, a master of hand-spinning, shifts from contentment to anxiety as he lets loose in his own imaginative world.
Together, these films form a rich and compelling whole—offering diverse perspectives, powerful spatial experiences, and insightful inner worlds.
We Will Be After Us
3’40, FR, 2024
Les Étoiles d’Ivry, conceived by architects Jean Renaudie and Renée Gailhoustet, presents an ideal setting for a dance film depicting the evolving relationship between two individuals through the expressive language of movement. The complex’s avant-garde architecture, characterised by interconnected walkways and innovative spatial design, serves both as a backdrop and a contributor, providing dynamic spaces for the performers to interact with. Against this urban canvas, the protagonists’ movements seamlessly intertwine with the geometric forms and communal areas, reflecting the complexities of human connection amidst modernist structures.
Director – Greta Grinevičiūtė
Choreographer – Dovydas Strimaitis
Dancer – Dovydas Strimaitis
Cinematographer – Nojus Drąsutis
Composer – Dominykas Digimas
Sound Designer – Dominykas Digimas
Editor – Gabrielė Urbonaitė
Producers – Just A Moment (Lt) / Dagnė Vildžiūnaitė, Danielė Kunčinaitė, Air Productions (Lv) / Antra Gaile, Līga Gaisa, Stellar Film (Ee) / Johanna Maria Paulson, Tag Film (Fr) / Christian Popp, Moon Man (Ua) / Darya Bassel, Oleksandra Kravchenko, Vika Khomenko
Production Co – Lrt Agnė Biliūnaitė, Gytis Oganauskas, Lolita Bytautaitė, Arte G.E.I.E.
Brother (7’48, LV, 2021)
The film Brother is open, heartfelt, life-affirming story about a desperate attempt to remember and the courage to look memories in the eye.
Performer – Vilnis Birins
Choreographers – Ramona Galkina/ Vilnis Birins
Cameraman – Reinis Aristovs
Editor – Armands Zacs
Videographer – Viktors Keino
Lighting – Dainis Sumiskis
Music – Tormenta de Plata by Fil Uno
Production – Ansis Rutentals Movement Theatre
Uggland (11’11, Fi/SE, 2022)
Uggland is a documentary dance film about a mother, two daughters, and Alzheimer’s. It is about the joy of dancing and about finding a way to meet in a difficult time.
Director – Sandrina Lindgren
Dramaturgy – Iiris Syrjä, Ishmael Falke
Choreographer – Sandrina Lindgren
Dancer – Annette Lindgren Atterhem och Pernilla Lindgren
Cinematographer – Pernilla Lindgren
Music – Sebastian Atterhem
Editors – Jussi Virkkumaa, Sandrina Lindgren
Still Photos – Pernilla Lindgren
Production – Grus Grus Teatteri
In the dusk, I hear what I close my eyes from
Hämärässä kuulen sen, miltä suljen silmäni
9’00, Fi, 2024
In the dim Stansvik, the body becomes a medium – a tool – between nature and destruction. It is a sleepy, exhausted embodiment of contradiction amidst the avalanche of emotions unfolding around it.
Directors Iida Nikander, Valde Paananen, Miska Lamberg and Henna Laine
Choreographer Iida Nikander
Dancer Iida Nikander
Cinematographer Valde Paananen
Costume designer Henna Laine
Sound designer Miska Lamberg
Editor Valde Paananen
Grading Jaro Koho
Graphic Design Noa Joulin
Still photos Eero Koistinen
Production KATOAVA-kollektiivi
Dear Passengers
11’00, EE, 2022
A lonely traveller embarks on a journey to find relief for a hidden yearning. Her restless longing spreads around and forces fellow passengers to face their own desires and disappointments.
Director Madli Lääne
Choreographer Renate Keerd, Anastasia Masalova
Cinematographer Heiko Sikka
Composer Patrick McGinley
Production Designer Freda Purik
Costume designer Liis Plato
Makeup artist Jennifer Scholz
Sound designer Markus Andreas
Editor Emeri Abel, Kaupo Muuli
Producer Johanna Maria Paulson, Evelin Penttilä
Production co Stellar Film
A gaze of my skin, drains into me (6’29, Fi, 2023)
Ihoni katse, valuu minuun
A Gaze of My Skin, Drains into Me, is a short film that focuses on the sense of touch. It looks through the sense of touch. What does the sense of touch tell us and what kind of information do we collect through it? What do we know without visual perception – and how can we tell about it through film?
Director – Vilma Tihilä
Dancer – Alina Sakko
Cinematographer – Vilma Tihilä
Production Designer – Lotta Esko
Composer – Elisa Härmä
Sound Designer – Elisa Härmä
Editor – Vilma Tihilä
Grading – Teemu Kyytinen
Sound mix: Saku Anttila ja Elisa Härmä
Musicians: Cello: Aino Erkinheimo, Vocals: Päivi Ojanperä & Elisa Härmä
The Yard – In and Out of Place (5’56, FI, 2022)
Piha – siirretyillä sijoilla
When people move, cultural tradition moves and is repositioned. But sometimes yards move too. The yard of Antti’s house, relocated from southwestern Finland, becomes the setting for a dance recorded from Karelia across the border. Quadrill’s last turn in Finnish is called maanitus – an open improvisation and an invitation to dance.
Director – Juhani Haukka
Choreographer – Outi Markkula
Dancers – Katriina Tavi, Emilia Lajunen, Outi Markkula, Kalle Pulkkinen, Jukka Tarvainen
Cinematographer – Juhani Haukka
Costume coordinator – Hilppa Herd
Music – Emilia Lajunen
Music Mix – Kuisma Eskola
Editor – Juhani Haukka
Still Photos – Juhani Haukka
Production – Taideosuuskunta Suin päin
Circology (15’53, Fi, 2023)
Atlas lives next to a wind turbine in his remote and safe village. Although he is a master of hand spinning, Atlas finds himself breaking away from his village’s tradition until an explosion from his turbine burns the meaning of his life to the ground.
Director – Tero Peltoniemi
Choreographer – Antti Seppänen
Dancers – Antti Seppänen, Viivi Sjöblom, Marika Styrylska-Palka
Cinematographer – Tero Peltoniemi
Production Designer – Lotta Esko
Composer – Emil Sana
Sound Designer – Juho Salaterä
Editor – Tero Peltoniemi
Producer – Jukka Rajala, Annika Sillander
Production Co – Malakta Films Ldt
Drama King 3’33, LT, 2024
In the grand halls of the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre, a middle aged cleaner transforms the empty building into his personal stage. Together with his friend and fellow security guard, he creates a small dance performance reflecting the main character’s inner world, connection to the theatre building, and his transformation from a regular worker into an artist. The story is inspired by the sculpture in front of the theatre, Three Muses, symbolising Drama, Comedy, and Tragedy.
Director – Valērijs Olehno
Choreographer – Darius Algis Stankevičius
Dancer – Darius Algis Stankevičius
Cinematographer – Aigars Sërmukšs
Composer – Edvards Broders
Costume Designer – Tėja Tarvydaitė
Makeup Artist – Ūla Pakalniškytė
Sound Designer – Edvards Broders
Editor – Emeri Abel
Producer – Just A Moment (Lt) / Dagnė Vildžiūnaitė, Danielė Kunčinaitė, Air Productions (Lv) / Antra Gaile, Līga Gaisa, Stellar Film (Ee) / Johanna Maria Paulson, Tag Film (Fr) / Christian Popp, Moon Man (Ua) / Darya Bassel, Oleksandra Kravchenko, Vika Khomenko
Production Co – Lrt Agnė Biliūnaitė, Gytis Oganauskas, Lolita Bytautaitė Arte G.E.I.E.
Curator Kati Kallio
Duration of the screening about 75 minutes
Audience discussionu about 20 minutes
Picture from the film Drama King