Byron Chief-Moon is a multi-talented actor, stuntman, dancer, choreographer playwright, founder of the Coyote Arts Percussive Performance Association, and member of the Blackfoot Confederacy, member of the Blood Band.

Through his art and his life, Chief-Moon's story is one of cultural survival. Themes of his dance creations begin with his people's traditional stories, his attachment with the land and his community, as well as the inner conflict he faces in existing within the Aboriginal culture and the wider community. He is ensuring the preservation of his native language through its incorporation in his work. As well, he's firm in his resolve that the spoken legends of his people are communicated to the next generations in his society, and for the larger society too. His art and his life cross boundaries. Challenging the cultural construct is never easy, but Chief-Moon does.

Byron Chief-Moon: Grey Horse Rider is produced by Mouvement Perpétuel, with the participation of the Canadian Television Fund, SODEC (Société de développement des entreprises culturelles), and produced in association with BRAVO! Canada, a division of CHUM Limited and Aboriginal Peoples Television Network.

• "Brimming with sensitivity" Frédérique Doyon, La Presse
• "Brilliant" John Griffin, The Gazette
• "... absolutely beautiful..." Isa Tousignant, Hour
• "This film portrays Two Spirited peoples in a positive light, as Byron shares his true spirit of being a Two Spirited man. Others can look to Byron Chief-Moon: Grey Horse Rider with a sense of pride..." - Dr. Patricia Makokis, Bllue Quills First Nations College

• American Indian Festival, San Francisco, USA – 11/08 (Winner of Best Documentary Short)
• Native Spirit Festival, London, UK – 10/08
• San Francisco Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival, San Francisco, USA – 06/08
• San Francsico Film Festival, San Francisco, USA – 06/08
• ReelOut: the Kingston L&GFF  - 01/08
• Broadcast premiere – Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (French version) – 11/07
• Image + Nation, Montreal, Canada - 11/07
• Festival Internacional VideoDanza, Buenos Aires, Argentina – 11/07
• Regent Park (Toronto) – 11/07
• Seattle Queer Film Festival, Seattle, USA – 10/07
• Reel Pride, Winnipeg, Canada – 10/07
• One in Ten/Reel Affirmations, Washington D.C., USA - 10/07
• Calgary International Film Festival, Calgary, Canada - 09/07
• Out on Screen, Vancouver, Canada - 08/07,
• Broadcast premiere – Bravo (English version) – 07/07
• American Dance Festival, Dancing for the Camera, Durham, N.C. – 07/07
• International Arts Festival, Salamanca, Spain - 06/07
• Terres-en-vues/Présence autochtone, Montreal, Canada - 06/07
• Inside Out Toronto Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival, Toronto, Canada - 05/07
• World premiere - Festival international du film sur l’art – 03/07

Poetic and sensual, Butte unfolds over the course of a day, marking the progression of time at four key points - sunrise, mid-day, late afternoon, and sundown. Filmed on the Blood Reserve in the plains and ancestral grounds of Southern Alberta, the camera instinctively accentuates dancer-choreographer Byron Chief-Moon's deep connection to the land. The film captures images of nature and the connectiveness with the land - undulating waves of wild grass, the slow passage of clouds, pastoral, woodland thicket, and streams. The body as landscape is the central image; where the flesh, bone and muscle become synonymous with the land.

Comments

Marlene Millar and Philip Szporer's Butte (2006) contrasted an exhilarating, aerial camera journey with the earth-bound and ritualised step-based movement vocabulary characteristic of Native American culture, locating a single human figure within expansive elemental surroundings, lit by firelight and the flame-red setting of evening sun." Chirstinn Whyte, Real Time Arts Magazine

• Native Spirit Festival, London, UK – 11/08
• Regent Park, Toronto, Canada – 11/08
• VAD, Girona, Spain – 10/08
• Schwenkhalle, Bremen, Germany – 07/08
• Unesco Cámaras de la Diversidad project (Latin America) – 05/08
• Unesco Cámaras de la Diversidad project – 05/08
• Live Art Productions’ Dance on Screen, Halifax, Canada – 03/08
• Rendez-vous du cinéma québecoise – 02/08 - Prix à la création artistique du CALQ (Nomination)
• International Film Festival, Rotterdam – 01/08
• High Performance Rodeo Festival, Calgary – 01/08
• SouthEast Dance, Dance for Camera, Brighton, UK – 11/07
• Image + Nation, Montreal - 11/07
• Festival Internacional VideoDanza, Buenos Aires, Argentina – 11/07
• Royal Ontario Museum, Canadiana screening, Toronto, Canada – 11/07
• MADDance Festival, Toronto, Canada – 10/07
• Moves, Manchester, UK - 06/07
• Palm Springs Native American Film Festival - 03/07
• World premiere - Festival international du film sur l’art – 03/07
• Palm Springs Native American Film Festival – 03/07
• Cowichan Aboriginal Film Festival - 04/06
• Pas de danse, pas de vie (Intl Dance Day) - 04/07
• Terres-en-vues/Présence autochtone, Montreal, Canada - 06/07 (Nominations: Best Short Film, Best Cinematography)
• International Arts Festival, Salamanca, Spain - 06/07
  

a soft place to fall is a dance film that investigates a couple's shifting relationship. This dance tells the passionate story of a man and a woman and the humour and peril of becoming vulnerable to each other as the two move through states of obsessiveness and determination.

Colour saturated, the aesthetic supports the playfulness in the dance as well as the caustic, tender and poignant qualities of the relationship.

• EDIT International Dance Film Festival, Budapest, Hungary – 10/08 (Best of Festivals 2004-2007 selection)
• Rendez-vous du cinéma québecoise – 02/08 - Prix à la création artistique du CALQ (Nomination)
• International Dance Film Festival, Yokohama, Japan – 02/08
• EDIT International Dance Film Festival, Budapest, Hungary – 10/07
• Festival international du film sur l'art - 03/07
• Moving Pictures Festival of Dance on Film and Video, Toronto, Canada - 11/06
• International Dance Film Festival, Budapest – 10/07
• Montreal Underground Festival – 05/07
• Festival international du film sur l’art – 03/07
• Moving Pictures Festival 2006 - 11/06

The intensity of an internal struggle manifests itself externally, as revealed through an intimate, fragmented view of dancer, Peter Trosztmer, as choreographed by Sharon Moore.

• "This piece is riveting. I saw it at MoPix 2005. If this is what dance film is about, then bring it on." - Brent Asper, Bravo!FACT website
• "A riveting close- up of a man's body experiencing the adrenaline rush of a life-or-death encounter." - Robert Johnson, Star-Ledger, Dec 30, 2005
• "Un solo absolutement bouleversant." -Isabelle Poulin, Radio-Canada, Desautels, Mar. 3, 2006
• "Au chapitre de l'étonnement, attirons l'attention sur la prouesse des réalisateurs Marlene Millar et Philip Szporer et du danseur Peter Trosztmer dans une chorégraphie de Sharon Moore. En moins de cinq minutes, sans paroles et dans un gros plan impitoyable qui montre chaque muscle, The Hunt est un pur concentré de toute la tension et la transformation physique que nécessite le fait de se mettre en danse." - Aline Apostolska, La Presse, Mar. 9, 2006
• "Dancer Peter Trosztmer is terrifyingly intense and self-contained in a piece about control... It's only a few minutes long for a reason; it packs a wallop." - John Griffin, The Gazette, Mar. 11, 2006
• "Marlene Millar and Philip Szporer direct the incomparable Peter Trosztmer, a Montreal dancer, in the stunning solo, The Hunt." - Susan Walker, The Toronto Star, novembre 2005

Festivals

• Schwenkhalle, Bremen, Germany – 07/08
• Sala Parpalló, Valencia, Spain - 2008
• International Dance Film Festival, Yokohama, Japan – 02/08
• Territoris danza, Canal 33, Spain – 01/08
• Midoc_Arte International Competition, Milan, Italy – 09/ 07
• Vdance, Tel-Aviv – 05/07
• Montreal Underground Film Festival – 05/07
• Pas de danse, pas de vie (Intl Dance Day), Montreal, Canada – 04/07
• IDN: Festival of Dance and the Moving Image, Barcelona, Spain – 03/07
• Rendez-vous du cinéma québecoise – 02/07 (Nominated for Prix à la Création Artistique du Conseil et Arts et des Lettres du Québec)
• VIII Festival Internacional de Video-Danza de Buenos Aires, Argentina – 12/06
• Flint Institute of Arts – Flint MI - 12/06
• Dance on Screen - Italy Tour (Bassano, Florence, Ferrara) - 11/06
• Dance on Screen - London, UK - 11/06
• Kinodance Internaitoanl Dance Film Festival - St Petersburg, Moscow, Ekaterinburg, Russia - 11/06
• Ultima Film – Dance for Camera, Oslo, Norway – 10/06
• Festival Kino Tanca – Lodz, Poland – 09/06
• American Dance Festival/Dancing for the Camera 07/06
• Cinedans – Amsterdam, Netherlands – 06/06
• Napolidanza - Naples, Italy - 05/06
• Commonwealth Film Festival, Manchester, UK - 04/06
• University of Michigan, Ann Arbor – 03/06
• Festival international du film sur l'art, Montréal, Canada – 03/06
• Moving Pictures Festival of Dance on Film and Video - program for Dance Ontario's Dance Weekend, Toronto, Canada – 01/06
• Reel Dance on the Road tour – U of Lethbridge, Vancouver, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montreal – 02-06/06
• Dance on Camera Festival, New York, USA – 01/06 (Nominated for 34th Annual Dance Film Association Jury Prize)
• Moving Pictures Festival of Dance on Film and Video, Toronto, Canada – 11/05

Seven short profiles of Canadian choreographers, each powerful voices from the new generation: Natasha Bakht from Ottawa, Byron Chief-Moon from Lethbridge, Day Helesic from Vancouver, Hinda Essadiqi and Audrey Lehouillier, both from Montreal, Malgorzata Nowacka from Toronto, Sarah Stoker from St. John's. From diverse cultures and backgrounds, these artists are all cultivating new ground, questioning the established codes and redefining the language of choreography. None shy from taking risks. Zeroing in on the creative process, the film presents their distinct worlds through cinéma-vérité and dance for camera sequences. By infiltrating their communities, studios and homes, the camera seizes the essence of their day-to-day worlds. The artists discuss their sources of inspiration, their motivations, preoccupations, methodology, and the message, if any, they wish to convey.

• "Conceptually and aesthetically, the series is all hit and no miss…. Millar and Szporer's thesis -- that capturing emergence is important -- is unassailable." - Kathleen M. Smith, The Dance Current, March 2005
• "Un film rare, sensible et intelligent, attentif et respectueux…". - Aline Apostolska, La Presse, March 16, 2005
• "A poetic and beautifully shot testimony to the diversity and creative energy of the new generation of Canadian dancers." - Lina Shoumarova, Thursday Report, March 3, 2005
• "An act of preservation: they have managed to record what young choreographers are doing now. Such thoughtful documentation." - Kena Herod, Maisonneuve Magazine, March 1, 2005
• "Les très belles images… dansent dans nos yeux longtemps après. Une belle réussite et une belle découverte." - Aline Apostolska, La Presse, March 16, 2005
• "Un très très beau film... un bijou. C'est bien meilleur le matin." - Johane Despins, Radio-Canada

• Festival Transatlantique Montréal – NFB – 09/08
• Cinéma ExCentris: Journée internationale de la danse, Montréal, Canada - 06/06
• Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur, Saint-Sauveur - 2005
• Cinémathèque Québécoise: Journée internationale de la danse, Montréal, Canada - 04/05
• Festival international du film sur l'art, Montréal, Canada - 03/05

• Byron Chief-Moon: Grey Horse Rider
• Congress on Research in Dance Congress - 11/05
• Festival Internazionale di Cinema Gaylesbico, Milan, Italy - 05/05
• Trouville Off-Courts, Trouville, France - 08/04
• Terres en Vues, Montreal, 05/04
• II Muestra Internacional de Video Danza, Québec en México, Mexico City, 11/04
  
  
• Natasha Bakht
• Peterborough New Dance, Peterborough, Ontario - March 9, 2006
• Live Art Dance Productions, Dalhousie Arts Centre, Nova Scotia - February 16-18, 2006
• Congress on Research in Dance Congress, November 2005
• Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival, May 26-29, 2005
• Moving Pictures: Reel Dance on the Road, Peterborough, April 1, 2005
• Darf ich bitten? (dance documentary festival), Cologne, Germany, September, 2004
  
  
• Sarah Joy Stoker
• Congress on Research in Dance Congress, November 2005
• Moving Pictures: Reel Dance on the Road, St. John's, Nfld., June 2005
  
  
• Audrey Lehouillier
• Dance Moments Festival, Krakow, May 18, 2005
• Darf ich bitten? (dance documentary festival), Cologne, Germany Sept. 2004
• Festival Danse en Vol, Brussels, Nov. 2003
• Cinéma du Québec à Milan, Milan, May 2004
• Napoli Danza, Naples, May 2004
  
  
• Hinda Essadiqi
• Festival Danse en Vol, Brussels, Nov. 2003
• Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival, Yorkton, May 2004
  nomination for Best Arts & Entertainment
• Cinéma du Québec à Milan, Milan, May 2004
  
  
• Malgorzata Nowacka
• II Muestra Internacional de Video Danza, Québec en México, Mexico City November 2004

A documentary tracing the experiences of five Canadian contemporary-dance choreographers. Anne Troake (St. John's, NFLD), Sarah Williams (Montreal, QC), Nova Bhattacharya (Toronto, ON), Tania Alvarado (Edmonton, AB), and Susan Elliott (Vancouver, BC) are poised to make their mark nationally. Their backgrounds are as varied as the regions they come from. All were selected by the Canada Dance Festival (CDF) in 2002 to participate in a three-year multi-faceted project.

The documentary begins at the 2002 festival with the choreographers in performance. The filmmakers follow the progress of the artists at a three-week residency the next year at the Banff Centre where they face a new and different reality. Breaking from the relative isolation that many dance artists work in, the women explore other facets of their creativity through movement, drawing and discussion.

"Raising the Bar" culminates with expectation at the 2004 CDF. But the event is compromised with funding shortfalls, and the artists face a new set of challenges. Who presents new work and who is cut?

Raising the Bar" is produced by Mouvement Perpétuel, in association with BRAVO! Canada, a division of CHUM Limited, the Canada Dance Festival, the Banff Centre, and made in part with the support of the National Film Board of Canada's Filmmaker Assistance Program.

• Commonwealth Film Festival, Moves 06, Manchester, UK - 2006

Filmed entirely in New Caledonia during the 8th Festival of Pacific Arts, the documentary captures the spirit of the Pacific countries as they perform their songs and dances - reflecting their traditions as well as their present day struggles.

Video installations integrated into a live dance performance.

An experimental mix of spoken word (Ian Ferrier), sculpture (Pascale Girardin) and dance (Peter Trosztmer)

• Visible Verse, Cinématheque Pacifique, Vancouver, Canada - 11/05
• Tidal Wave Film Festival, Fredericton, NB - 11/03
• Voix d'Ameriques Spoken Word Festival - 02/03
• Vancouver Video Poem Festival, 11/02 (Honourable Mention)

A personal documentary on the challenging life and career of Joan Myers Brown, whose fierce vision has forged a path for Philadanco, the Philadelphia-based dance company she founded and has directed for the past forty years.

Video installations integrated into a live dance performance.

At an event honouring the Dalai Lama, held at the Hollywood Bowl, Winnipeg's Plug-In Gallery throws a tea party for the assembled masses.

Moab Film Festival, Utah, 2001, Most Inspirational Film Award

A intimate and engaging documentary of two cross-cultural dance-artists, Eko Supriyanto and Sen Hea Ha, from Indonesia and Korea, who confront their traditional roots and face the contemporary realities of urban Los Angeles.

This documentary highlights a six-week creation residency at UCLA, featuring 30 artists from theatre, dance and music, from across Asia and the United States, as they struggle to find a balance between their art and cultural differences.

Influenced by the writings of Gilles Deleuze, two dancers explore the possibilities of communication within the frame.

An impressionistic art video, where dance - created for the camera - is site specific. The locations both urban and rural, and the performances are rendered dreamlike through innovative camera work and editing techniques.