Perceptual Twists + Award Ceremony

In journeys toward altered states, routines and spaces are upended. This selection of international student shorts challenges conventions and illuminates rituals and stories that defy the status quo. From invoking ancestors to reimagining daily habits, revisiting memories, and breaking through societal constraints, these films explore the cracks in our perception. Each narrative reveals both newfound freedoms and the potentially dangerous consequences of crossing boundaries.

Since 2015, Cinedans has proudly presented the Cinedans Student Award, sponsored by Canon, to spotlight emerging dance film talents from international dance, film, and art academies. This year, fourteen films—selected from over 100 entries across 28 countries—compete for the coveted prize.

The programme is accompanied by a Q&A with the makers and the announcement of the winner of the Cinedans Student Award.

ÄYEL

KZ | 2024 | 3’ | World Premiere

Director: Valeriya Kim | Choreographer: Madina Bekzhigitova

After separating heaven and earth, Tengri, the all-embracing God of heaven in the traditional Turkic, Yeniseian, and Mongolian beliefs, divided himself into man and woman to procreate. He named the woman the goddess Umai and settled her atop Mount Sumeru in the sky, near a milk lake called Sutkol. Here begins the story of Umai – the ancestor and spirit of women – on the vast steppes of the nomadic lands.

Clepsydra

DK, NO | 2022 | 21’ | Dutch Premiere

Director: Victoria Waelgaard | Choreographer: Hanne Svenning, Erlend Danielsen, Victoria Waelgaard

Clepsydra is an exploration of the repetitive patterns and movements inherent in our daily habits and routines, as well as the relational dynamics in our interactions with others. Using tableaus, director Victoria Wælgaard delves into the fusion of interactive design, dance, and movement within the cinematic frame.

Tremble

PL | 2024 | 10’ | World Premiere

Director: Izabela Nykiel

A couple struggles to find the strength for dialogue, love and respect. They return to the beginning of their relationship and rediscover the intertwining of their roots.

Absent Presence

IT | 2023 | 1’ | World Premiere

Director/Choreographer: Giorgia Ponticello

To perceive, from the Greek meaning 'touch at a distance'. Absent Presence is a surreal journey of a disconnected body seeking itself in the empty spaces of a house. A play of perceptions unfolds, blurring the line between the ambiguity of reflections and distorted shadows, prompting viewers to question their own experience.

Peak Hour in the House

UK, HK | 2024 | 7’ | Dutch Premiere

Director/Choreographer: Blue Ka Wing

Alone at home, a woman is immersed in a bizarre adventure of the mind. In the intimacy of her space, her imagination knows no bounds, transcending time and space as she revisits memories and glimpses into the unknown. However, this solitary exploration is disrupted by the sudden presence of an unexpected intruder.

Contresens

FR | 2024 | 3’ | Dutch Premiere

Director/Choreographer: Tizia Benmchich-Lanardonne

From a Parisian Métro platform below to the night streets above, one woman decides to go against the current and defy the Parisian routine.

SYNCOPE

CH | 2023 | 21’ | Dutch Premiere

Director: Linus von Stumberg | Choreographer: Sarafina Beck, Linus von Stumberg

After Whim makes it through an unconventional audition for the dance piece Syncope, the choreographer remains unsatisfied with her full commitment. But what she and the other dancers experience in rehearsals is only a glimpse of the dark vision he will impose on them.