Unyielding Fires (Cinedans International Competition)

Dance is a force of undeniable expression.

A Fire in My Belly (Directors: Naomi Kats, Elie Polyrock Haddad | Choreographer: Naomi Kats | IL, IT | 2023 | 3’ [Dutch Première])

“Simple is complex and complex is simple.” Choreographer and director Naomi Kats exposes the internal world and the perspective we hold on our thoughts. To which extent do we allow ourselves to choose, and to look in the mirror?

Spiral (Director: Eva-Maria Koskinen, Salla Sorri | Choreographer: Vivianne Budsko-Lommi | FI | 2022 | 19’)

Anna sees Jasmine, her former bully from school, after years when she brings her daughter to dance class. Anna and Jasmine try to behave nicely, but something is bubbling beneath the surface. And then things get out of hand.

Faces of Passing Love (Director/Choreographer: Hsiang-Yun Huang | NL, TW | 2023 | 9’ [World Première])

Faces of Passing Love is a film that mourns for past lovers through obsolete technology: a repeatedly projected slideshow, where eyes open, mouths whisper, tears linger.

Misfit (Director: Conner Bell | Choreographer: Micaela Taylor | US | 2023 | 12’)

On her way home from a dance rehearsal, a young woman’s spiraling thoughts begin to blur past and present as she questions her identity and place in the world.

Physical Culture (Director: Anna Bogomolova | Choreographer: Connor Schumacher | NL | 2022 | 8’)

Physical Culture frames rave as a vital human practice in the information age. It invites us to explore physical movement, to discover who we are when we dance and why we do so. It asks universal existential questions and puts them in a refreshingly queer, playful package. It's rave, it's queer, and it's for everyone!

And me, I’m dancing too (Director: Mohammad Valizadegan | CZ, DE | 2023 | 20’ [Dutch Première])

Saba, an Iranian girl, is a dancer. She wants to be indifferent to her surroundings and manifests this self-being and freedom with her body. She is in love with the art of dancing, the art of letting go and living away from conventional bonds. But this art of being is forbidden in an ultimately religious state that ignores the very basic human rights. The film is an honest portrait of the daily oppression women have to deal with in Iran towards the path to freedom.