5.11.2025, 20:00, Kino Cameo
EN UT + Q&A
7.11.2025, 17:00, Kino Cameo
EN UT + KONTEXT TALK
Movies move. Movement is the essence of film – and of dance. The Movies is a journey through the history of both arts, ranging from the first dancers and dance scenes of early cinema to the abstract movement studies of the avant-garde and the commercial heights of the American music industry. The programme shows us not just how dance is portrayed in film, but also how film itself can dance. From clumsy dogs to Loïe Fuller’s ethereal presence to Eisenstein on Speed: join us for a wild dance through film history.
Following Friday's screening, Professor Kristina Köhler will talk with Johanna Hilari, Laura Kaehr, and other guests. The conversation will explore the diverse encounters between dance and film – their history, aesthetics, and lasting impact.
Loïe Fuller – Serpentine Dance
Loïe Fuller / France 1902 / 1'35" / DCP / colour/black & white / no sound
The serpentine dance was originated by American actress and dancer Loïe Fuller. It is a form of dance that was popular throughout the United States and Europe in the 1890s, becoming a staple of stage shows and early film.
RaumZeitHund
Nikolaus Eckhard / Austria 2010 / 5'49" / colour / no sound / Ani
Nikolaus Eckhard's ironic study «RaumZeitHund» («SpaceTimeDog») is situated at the intersection of chronophotography and cinematography. Eckhard explicitly references Muybridge's famous photo series, «Animal Locomotions». A specially trained dog was photographed on a treadmill in extreme slow motion. The dog's appearance fluctuates «between a forcibly moved marionette and a seemingly carefree ballerina» (Eckhard).
Le piano irrésistible
Alice Guy / France 1907 / 4'15" / DCP / black & white / no sound / Fic
A man starts playing a piano. Neighbours who hear the music are drawn to it and begin dancing, dropping what they are doing to join the impromptu dance party.
Allegretto
Oskar Fischinger / USA 1936 / 2'33" / 16mm / colour / no dialogue / Exp
In «Allegretto», diamond and oval shapes in primary colors perform a sensual, upbeat ballet. The geometric dance is set against a background of expanding circles that suggest radio waves. The film is considered Fischinger's greatest achievement in musical visualization, in the sense of completely transcribing symphonic textures into a visual mode.
Pas de deux
Norman McLaren / Canada 1968 / 13'34" / DCP / black & white / no dialogue / Exp
McLaren's «Pas de deux» is famous for its groundbreaking visual effects, which transform live ballet dancers into a dreamlike, stroboscopic image by optically re-exposing the film. This technique, along with its artistic meditation on movement and a hauntingly beautiful aesthetic, secured its status as a masterpiece of experimental film.
Hysteresis
Robert Seidel / Germany 2021 / 5'5" / DCP / colour / no dialogue / Ani/Exp
Robert Seidel interweaves projections of his drawings with the choreography of queer performer Tsuki to create a dense, abstract texture. Artificial intelligence helps to develop a frenetic, tender, and extravagant visual language that reveals the hysteria and hysteresis of this unique moment.
Wait for Me
Galen Hooks / USA 2017 / 5'23" / DCP / colour / English / Clip
With this film, Galen Hooks wanted to show that dancers don't just «perform movements» but are real characters with expressive power. As she herself says, she wants the audience to think, «That girl's a star – not just a good dancer».
Wenn jeder tanzen würde, wie er wollte, na!
Winfried Junge / Germany 1972 / 24'39" / DCP / black & white / German / Doc
Stiff exercises performed by young dance students and hot beat rhythms in the disco: the film contrasts ballroom dancing and beat music through alternating cuts. Without commentary, the film explores the validity of these two different dance forms, without taking sides in favour of dance school or youth dance culture.
Battleship Potemkin Dance Edit (120 BPM)
Michael Bell-Smith / USA 2007 / 12'29" / DCP / black & white / no dialogue / Exp
Bell-Smith refers to his re-edit of Eisenstein's iconic 1925 film «Battleship Potemkin» as a «sort of Cliff Notes condensation of the original narrative». Writes the artist, «I've separated the film into its constituent shots and time-stretched them one by one to the exact same length, one half of a second. I then replaced the soundtrack with a one-second dance loop synced to the cuts». Through his reconfiguration, Bell-Smith replaces the editing structure of the original film (seminal in its use of montage) with the «dumb, visceral, metric montage favored by dance visuals and music videos» offering up a new context for the film's stark imagery and revolutionary narrative.
