Dare to Dance in Public Film Festival: Round Two Winners Announced!

[alert type=alert-white ]Please consider making a tax-deductible donation now so we can keep publishing strong creative voices.[/alert]

The time has finally come: We are so excited to announce the winners of our Second Annual Dare to Dance in Public Film Festival! This year we were thrilled to receive individual film submissions from 11 countries internationally, including Taiwan, Mexico, India, Australia, Germany, France, Sweden, and beyond. But before announcing I’d like to say to everyone who submitted that really, you are all winners because you took a chance on yourselves and your own creativity and you have something to show for it. I truly believe that creativity engenders both more creativity and more opportunity.

So HUGE CONGRATS TO ALL OF YOU WHO SUBMITTED! We applaud you all for investing in yourselves, expanding your creativity, and increasing your own possibilities on so many fronts!

This year, one thing that stood out for the majority of our judges was the importance of the visible presence of a discernable public around or with whom dancers and the film itself navigated and/or interacted. And while there were many, many incredibly worthy and beautiful films, by and large preference was given to those that had these elements at play. And the judging panel’s decisions did not come lightly or easily. We sat for many hours viewing all the submissions individually, then came together for more than four hours collectively during which time we had many challenging conversations and discussions before arriving at our list of winning films. Also as a result of these discussions, the judges decided to slightly change the award categories as well as to include a list of Honorable Mentions. And finally, as there was a dearth of films actually directed by students, there was no winner in the Best Student Film Category. So students reading we hope you take note and begin your wheels turning for next year!

Without further ado, here are the winners:

  • Best Raw Film: Nicole in Washington Square Park, Directed by Rami Shafi, Dance by Nicole Wolcott (US)

https://youtu.be/T78-T5gSVfU

  • Best Polished Film: Moving Southwark, Directed by Jevan Chowdhury (England), Danced by Laura Croom, Megan Pay, Brittanie Dillon, Grace Jabbari, David Gellura, Bronte Levine, Courtney George, Gareth Mole, Megan Griffiths, Emma Farnell Watson, Tom And Jill, Doncha Kearney, Emily Smith, Mari Ishida, Saleh El Brogy, Christina Kouourma, Desiree Ballantyne, Bryony Harrison, Shaun Mendum, Stephanie Tam, Omari Carter, Bun Kobayashi, Ellie Ferguson, Nadine Marshall, Emily Tanaka
  • Best Choreography: The Double, Directed by Nicola Hepp, Choreography by Dalton Dangelo Jansen, Dance by Terencio Douw & Gihan Koster (The Netherlands)
  • Best Use of Location: Cuanto es Suficiente, Directed by Rogelio Villagomez and Denisse Figueroa, Dance by Narciso Sanchez & Laura Castellanos (Mexico)
  • Best Interface With Camera: Bethesda Fountain Group, Directed by Rami Shafi, Dance by Chris Makens, Janna Davis, Vanessa Salgado, Hans Rasch, Jeremy Neal, Deandre Cousley, Melissa Wu (US)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBi2IVe_F5w&feature=youtu.be

  • Audience Choice AwardNo Walls, Directed & Choreographed by Mariana Taragano, Dance by Adi Mayan, Andrea Villarreal, Anna Tan, Celia Maldonado, David Salinas, Ed Wood, Emily Hart, Finn Fausten,Kaeylyn Ambert-Gonzalez, Leah Getz, Manatsu Tanaka, Mariana Taragano, Morgan Iannazzo (US)

The Audience Choice Award was determined by the number of LIKES each film received over a specific span of time. Additionally, using the criteria identified previously, the judging panel felt the following films were worthy of Honorable Mentions:

  • #88 – Directed & Choreographed by Lillian Manansala (US)
  • In Time – Directed & Choreographed by Romain Rios (Sweden, Spain, France)
  • Go – Directed by Morgan Frasier, Choreographed by Robert Dekkers (US)
  • Mindfield – Directed by Omari Carter, Concept & Choreography by Alice Laidler (England)
  • Impetu’s – Directed & Choreographed by Lulo Rivero (US)

Congrats to the Honorable Mentions!!! We will provide links to their films in our next issue of ScreenDance Diaries.

Enormous thanks and appreciation again to all our wonderful donors: Anita Mann, Global Dance Initiative, Jeff Slayton, Tony Testa, Go 2 Talent Agency, Liz Levitt Hirsch and the many friends and family members who came forward to help us with funds for outreach, infrastructure, and awards for winning filmmakers! Further enormous thanks to our absolutely awesome Director of Visual Content & Marketing Design, Danielle King, whose help and insight have been invaluable… BRAVO ALL!!!

And finally huge gratitude and appreciation for the effort, time, and astute commentary of the incredibly gifted panel of judges who joined me in this challenging adjudication process: Casey Brooks, d. Sabela grimes, Julie McDonald, Vincent Paterson, and Desmond RichardsonAPPLAUSE, APPLAUSE!!!

All award winning filmmakers will be notified directly about their cash awards and featured in a profile on Cultural Weekly. So please stay tuned for more on Dare to Dance in Public Film Festival’s Award Winning & Honorably Mentioned films & filmmakers in the upcoming weeks.

Enjoy!

What are you looking for?