The 5th edition of BIDFF is called The Network and is the first edition to have such a varied program, including films made by directors, choreographers, visual artists, animators and musicians, and also including a development program for film projects in early stages.

From BIDFF, Films in Frame recommends:

1. The opening film And Then We Danced (dir. Levan Akin). There are conflicts between conservative and modern, between tradition and the need to be yourself, which eventually burst into an explosion of passion, feelings and dance. Merab, the main character, is described by Bénédicte Prot, for Cineuropa as “Disarmingly innocent and gentle, [Merab] is an amazing character, who manages to embrace what’s in front of him, while he keeps what he already has.”
2. The documentary L’urgence d’agir (dir. David Mambouch), about the choreographer Maguy Marin, an emblematic figure of contemporary dance. In her works she combines dance with static passages, explores the avant-garde, but manages to reach the general public through an extraordinary choreographic force. She is the winner of the American Dance Festival Award for Modern Dance (2003) and the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale (2016).

And of the Romanian short films we mention:

1. Singing Bodies (dir. Lavinia Pollak)

2. | DIS | CONNECTED (dir. Maria-Luiza Dimulescu, Cătălin Rugina)

3. Soup (dir. Corina Andrian)

And because we wanted to know more about this year’s edition, we spoke with Simona Deaconescu, artistic director, who answered some of our questions:

What is the theme of the 5th edition of BIDFF and why did you choose it?

The BIDFF theme for 2019 is The Network. It’s a concept we have chosen to explore by thinking of the evolution of the body, and going even further to the idea of “body of work” – referring to the work process of a creator in the contemporary society. At the moment, the dance world, more than any other creative industry, is based on the collaboration between organizations and artists from different corners of the world. For an art that captures the movement through the camera lens, the mobility of artists and ideas have become two priorities in the process of transforming dance film from a niche manifestation into a trend that is becoming more and more popular.

Who has chosen and, in particular, how were the films from this year’s program selected?

The films in the official competition were selected by me, along with my colleague Anamaria Antoci and the film critic Laurențiu Paraschiv. Every year we try to choose the most daring dance shorts that manage to achieve an almost perfect symbiosis between cinematic language and dance. This year we changed a little the direction of selection, meaning we also chose fiction films that talk about the body, documentaries and a new competition category – musicals.

Another novelty would be presenting some new off-competition sections, where the curatorial direction may seem atypical for a dance film festival. Thus, the Midnight Specials section (archive films and cine-concert) is curated by Corina Cimpoieru (researcher and coordinator of the Dance Archives project at CNDB) and Bogdan Movileanu (ANF editor). There will be 3 screenings co-presented by other festivals. This year we collaborated with FIVER (dance film festival in Spain). Programmer Samuel Retortillo has prepared a set of the most appreciated Spanish films.

We also shook hands with BIEFF – Bucharest Experimental Film Festival (Adina Pintilie, Dan Angelescu) to present the selection of Corporealities, a set by Cinedans on tour. We left in the end perhaps the most unusual collaboration. For a long time we wanted a section of films for teenagers. This year we started a partnership with SUPER! – festival of films made by teenagers. Ioana Bogdana and Eva Todică have selected some wonderful films for teenagers in a set called “Love in the Age of the Virtual”.

3 films in the program that shouldn’t be missed out, in your opinion?

I won’t mention the films that I personally liked, but only those that impressed me through their surprising approach. I would mention “Paris you got me”, “Ali”, “Cultes” and I wouldn’t miss the musicals competition which contains 5 short films perfect to watch in open air on Thursday evening, from 9 pm at Gastropub Factory.

What related events (masterclasses, lectures) are part of this year’s program?

After four years of searching for a format to develop a platform for the industry and to help dance film projects in development, we got to EXPAN D. Five directors (from Romania, Spain and UK) will enter an intensive program of mentoring, meetings with field experts and pitching sessions.

At E X P A N D we also organized two masterclasses and a lecture open to the general public, too. Peter Schneider, the first president of the Walt Disney Studios, will tell us about his experience on Broadway. Andy Wood, one of the most experienced dance film creators, will talk about the collaboration between directors and choreographers, and Claudia Kappenberg, an artist active in shows and media, will challenge us to a discussion on the harmful effect of presenting an idealized and athletic body on the screen.

 BIDFF takes place this year between September 4-8. More details about the festival can be found on the official website or Facebook page.

Romina Banu

Photographer and editor; she co-founded Dissolved Magazine together with Melissa. For Films in Frame she gathers film and TV series recommendations for lazy weekends and she writes about interesting projects from the film industry. Other than that, she likes traveling, chilling with her cats and sleeping.