Classics on the Move

Aki Kaurismäki, Jacques Tati, Jane Campion, Jørgen Leth, Zbigniew Rybczyński, and Herz Frank are film directors who have left a significant mark on the world of cinema. Some of their works are rightfully considered movie classics. But what do these acclaimed filmmakers have in common besides a passion for cinema and a thirst to explore life through the cinematographic frame? Cinedans invites you to take a fresh look at the shorts made at the early stage of their careers and embrace the films from the perspective of choreography.

Choreography exists in our daily lives, in small gestures and routines, in movement through spaces. This curated selection of films explores choreography as a method of constructing the narrative. In Tango by Zbigniew Rybczyński, the fixed position of the gaze gives an endless amount of movement possibilities in a small space. Aki Kaurismaki in Tavern Man shows the one-day journey of his character through a continuity of choreographed mise-en-scènes. In Ophelia’s Flowers, Danish filmmaker Jørgen Leth experiments with rhythm, abrupt texts, and ragged editing as if it is a dance style. And Jacques Tati, in his very first film, School for Postmen, deconstructs a postman’s routine into an absurd and hilarious dance, played, of course, by himself.

This programme is curated and will be introduced by Cinedans programmer and filmmaker Kristina Daurova.

Tavern Man

FI, PT | 2012, 15’

Director: Aki Kaurismäki

A typical day in the life of a lonely man who works at an unsuccessful tavern located in the historical center of Guimarães, an old town in Portugal. During the day, the man spends his time coming up with new menu items for his tavern, while at night he gets ready to meet someone special. A yearning, dialogue-free meditation on unfulfilled dreams.

Passionless Moments

AU | 1983 | 12’

Director: Jane Campion, Gerard Lee

“There are one million passionless moments in your neighbourhood; each has a fragile presence which fades as it forms", says the narrator in this collaboration between directors Jane Campion and Gerard Lee, created while they were both students. A collection of ten everyday awkward and embarrassing moments, each with an uneasy and absurd familiarity.

Tango

PL | 1981 | 9’

Director: Zbigniew Rybczyński

The 1980 animated avant-garde, Oscar-winning film Tango by Polish experimental filmmaker and artist Zbigniew Rybczyński begins with a boy climbing over a window into a room to retrieve a ball. Gradually, the room fills with more people, each performing everyday actions in a loop. Like a choreographed dance, the 36 individuals move in and around the room, without ever colliding with each other. Rybczyński created this effect by combining 16,000 painted and drawn cell-mattes. The purely analog production process of this animation took several months.

Ophelia’s Flowers

DK | 1968 | 7’

Director: Jørgen Leth

A short film about the Nordic spring as a mental state, Jørgen Leth’s experimental take on Ophelia’s famous flower monologue from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, portrays her gathering flowers and her crumbled world into a bouquet of strange dream visions. Through rhythm, abrupt texts, and fragmented editing, Leth reveals a floating reality that mirrors the protagonist’s madness, much like in the original scene.

Ten Minutes Older

LV | 1978 | 10’

Director: Herz Frank

A 10-minute journey through the emotions unfolding on the faces of children. What they see, we don’t; instead, we can only witness the focused faces of these preschoolers as they experience a puppet show. The emotions behind their expressions shift rapidly, impossible to fully grasp in an instant—Boredom? Excitement? Sadness? Joy? Ten Minutes Older remains one of the most captivating meditations on the passage of time and the immersive thrill of watching, beautifully captured on film.

School for Postmen

FR | 1947 | 16’

Director: Jacques Tati

In a small country post office, three letter carriers are instructed by their superior to break down and then repeat gestures of the ritual of delivering the mail. A short film directed and starring Jacques Tati, playing a clumsy French postman who is adamant to prove he can be just as fast as American postmen at delivering mail.