Dance film follows a dancer’s, Noora’s movement. Her body’s impulses are generated in the moment from contact with different environments. Noora has congenital bone fragility, Osteogenesis Imperfecta. She uses a wheelchair as a dancing aid. In it, she can move widely, but feels isolated from the surrounding environment. For Noora, the wheelchair is not the same as her. She takes control of her wheelchair while playing with its spokes, and at the same time puts herself in an active role instead of a passive recipient. Noora does not focus on her own limitations, but rather on her opportunities to move. Water is a natural element for her, it enables movement that is impossible for her on land. In the water Noora lets go of her wheelchair. Her toes sink into the mud bottom, which pulsates in contact with her steps. She leans herself against the water. Water supports her fragile body tightly with its pressure, it does not judge or weigh who she is. Supported by water she dares to express herself more freely, her body is more elastic, expression and range of motion are greater.
Director
Composer & Sound designer
Dancer
Screenwriters
Cinematographer
Aerial Cinematographer
Editor & Colorist
Runner / Camera assistant /
Safety Driver / Lighting / Prop
Produser
Anna Kekkonen
Joonatan Portaankorva
Noora Västinen
Anna Kekkonen & Jenny Timonen
Anna Kekkonen
Lassi Paasi
Anna Kekkonen
Lassi Paasi
Anna Kekkonen
This film has been supported by:
Arts Promotion Centre / Taiteen Edistämiskeskus
The Finnish Cultural Foundation / Suomen Kulttuurirahasto
Multiplié Dance Film / Minimalen Short Film festival 2024 – Trondheim, Norway,The award of best nordic film of Multiplié dance film 2024
The Jurys announcement:
“The award goes to a film that touches on several levels. It is breathtaking and beautiful, and there is a successful union and harmony between the director´s and the dancer´s approach to the water element of exploration.
Water welcomes bodies and “judges no one” in relation to weight, size or shape. It allows us to be who we are. A poetry of its own arises, which is deeply human.
The film appeals to our tactile sense and we are drawn into a fluid state of pleasantness. The dark water unites with the dancing body, and we are fascinated by how the dancer maintains a deep calm in interaction with the power of nature.
The underwater filming is close to the body, and the movements are perceived as even more clear and articulated. The music and the soundscape create space and provide a calmness that underpins the visual expression.
Experimental Brazil 2024 – Rio De Janeiro Brazil – Award Finalist: Best Experimental Short Film
Short Film Factory, Bucharest & Transylvania, Romania – January 2024 Awards: Best Music & Dance
International Ecoperformance Film Festival, São Paulo Brazil – Ecopoet[h]ics – Honorable Mention.
Multiplié Dance Film, Minimalen Short Film festival 2024 – Official Selection – Trondheim, Norway
Opine Dance Film Festival 2024 – Official Selection – Philadelphia, United States
CINEDANS 2024 – Official Selection – Amsterdam, Netherlands
Experimental Brazil 2024 – Official Selection – Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Finnish Film Foundation 2024 – Screening: Shortly Once a Month: Dancing allowed, Helsinki, Finland
Braga International Video Dance Festival 2024 – Official Selection – Praga, Portugal
Short Film Factory 2024 – Official Selection – Bucharest & Transylvania, Romania
International Ecoperformance Film Festival 2024 – Official Selection: