Experimental visual expressions of movement, sight, and sound, these films are sometimes choreographed specifically for the lens of a camera and sometimes are adaptations of already-staged dances.
"On Falling. . ." is an experimental dance film composed of improvised vignettes that investigate falling and surrender. Juxtaposing public and private spaces and exploring the dynamic between voyeur and subject, this dance film focuses on the duet occurring between dancer and camera. This is about a single woman's journey of letting go. She expresses the physical manifestations and sensations of falling while also addressing issues of desire, the desperation of hanging on, feelings of abandonment and despair, and finally the trust to surrender to the elements. These excerpts (taken from the longer film) explore feelings of changing identity, abandonment, and anxiety. Told through a series of swirling vignettes, "On Falling. . ." was created by Nadia Oussenko in collaboration with filmmaker Daniel Kullman of Bitter Jester Creative.
Choreographed by Denise Posnak and Directed and Edited by Nadia Oussenko, Up There presents the binary relationship between the external, posed woman on display with the internal, private woman who breaks social coding. Set in a bar, a female dancer (Posnak) grapples with masturbatory "tics" while attempting to maintain composure. Easily distracted, her focal changes depict a displaced, conflicted self that is unable to settle into one system. Within the context of the public setting, her experiences with these shifts can be judged inappropriate and/or raise questions of acceptable social norms for women. Cinematography and camera operation was done by Bitter Jester's Daniel Kullman with other support crew also provided by BJC.