Paired with this week’s classic dance musical West Side Story, Boredom is a choreographed contemporary dance piece which explores feelings of boredom and aimlessness. Juxtaposition is a major feature driving the film as a tension is created between stillness and motion, participation and indifference. This play with dance and rivalry makes it a perfect companion film for West Side Story, a film renowned for its tensions and rivalries.
For our next iteration on our Eyes on the Prize theme, we present an evening of three Canadian films about child competitors. The Cuber is a charming micro-documentary about Eric Limeback, a Toronto student who is most notable for being able to solve a Rubik's Cube blindfolded. In Dear Scavengers, a scavenger hunt marks a lighthearted generation clash between a shopkeeper and a kids camp. These shorts will be paired with the feature film of the evening, Bee Nation, a heart-warming and thought-provoking tale of First Nations children in Saskatchewan aiming to win the first ever First Nations Provincial Spelling Bee. All three films are perfectly paired as they follow remarkable young children vying for a crucial win. These empowering films will warm your heart and leave you inspired.
Tensions run high in Ivy Yukiko Ishihara Oldford’s short film Duelo de Duendes. Two mothers battle it out on a train platform, as their young daughters look on, using only dance as a form of communication. Despite having no words, the rivalry is made clear between the two women. Set in Japan, with an ingenious use of sound, this film proves that the language of flamenco is universal. Paired with this week’s feature film Strictly Ballroom (Baz Lurhmann, 1992), Duelo de Duendes is the perfect companion to this week's dance-themed competition films.
