Choreoscope
In conversation with Loránd János
Director of Choreoscope - Barcelona Dance Film Festival and Curation Hour network member
Interview by Tatev Avetisyan
Dance is a universal language that has long proven its mastery in communicating intriguing narratives, pushing the boundaries of traditional storytelling and, simply, shaping words into movement. As the genre evolves, we’ve come up with new terminologies and concepts - “dance for the camera”, “video dance”, “cine dance”, and “screendance” and, as we consider the existence of more than 28 types of dance worldwide, we create even more room for creative ways to interpret this genre. With this great community of talents, Loránd János - Director of the Choreoscope - has laid the foundation for what has become a point of reference for artists worldwide - Barcelona Dance Film Festival.
“The festival is about creating community, being able to communicate, and exchanging ideas,” says Loránd János. In collaboration with other dance festivals, Choreoscope aims to not only set Barcelona on the map as a capital of dance film, but also create an opportunity for artists to share their works with the community and a wider audience. In this candid interview with Curation Hour, János takes us through the challenges of setting afloat the dance film festival, its values and objectives and shares his favourite pick from the 2022 selection.
Tell us about your creative journey. What are the steps and milestones in your career that led you to the creation of the festival?
This question is not easy to answer, as we are talking about a journey that encompasses basically my entire life. I would say it has much to do with causality on the one hand, and coincidences on the other hand. Ever since I was little, I was fascinated by film, and growing up, it became more and more evident that it was what I wanted to do in life. But like every human’s journey, my life isn’t a straight line; it has its ups and downs, detours and sideroads. I learned that nothing happens by accident if you use it to your advantage. There are no mistakes - there are only lessons to learn and apply. Of course, it is easier said than done, and most of the time it is difficult to see the big picture when you are caught in the middle. Film and dance are about movement. And movement is about evolution, about change. In my personal and professional life, what matters most to me is trying to make this world a better place. And for that, you need to move.
What would you say has been the most meaningful experience in your life that has helped you connect with the world of filmmaking and dance?
Many experiences have led to who I am and what I do today. But if there is one moment, that ‘Eureka’ moment, it is when I saw Blush by Wim Vandekeybus and The Cost of Living by Lloyd Newson for the first time. Two very different approaches to dance film narrative, by the way. It was at that particular moment that I realised - this is what I wanted to do and where I needed to be. To this day, I am immensely thankful to these two amazing artists for shaping my life in such a positive way. Fun fact, both creators received Choreoscope’s Honorary Award: Lloyd Newson in 2016 and Wim Vandekeybus in 2021.
What was the main reason for starting Choreoscope Film Festival?
Causality had a lot to do with me starting the festival. It was not something premeditated but rather a burst of need. On the one hand, I felt the need for a place to showcase all the amazing artists and their work in the field of screendance, more specifically, dance films. On the other hand, I felt the need to “move the world”: to use the knowledge and experience I have gained over the years to contribute as much as I can to make our world a better place – for our present and generations to come. My contribution is but a grain of sand, but I hope the butterfly effect does the rest. I feel very much identified with this philosophy in your project, Curation Hour, so I am very thankful we collaborate.
What were some of the challenges you faced getting it off the ground, and how did you overcome them?
Choreoscope has faced and still faces many challenges: economic, professional, social, etc. But the biggest challenge is and will always be to be able to overcome my inner saboteur, that little devil sitting on my shoulder and telling me that Choreoscope is pointless, useless, unnecessary and above all has not and will not make any actual difference. There is a reason why they say that we are our own worst enemies. And it is not easy to overcome the obstacles we put in our way. There is no formula for that. But here is something that helps: dancing.
“ Film festivals have not only the responsibility to showcase and promote artists and their work, but they (must) also have a fundamental social and political impact.”
What is different about Choreoscope? Can you lead us through the film categories of the festival?
Choreoscope is a film festival; focused on dance and movement, but it’s a film festival. The narrative is what drives our programming. Stories told by the body and through movement are stories nonetheless. It would be the main difference with other screendance festivals, which might program a broader selection of dance made for the camera, for instance, a video dance.
Before Choreoscope, there were other screendance proposals in Barcelona. What differentiated us was our main interest in defining it as a film genre and showcasing dance from a cinematographic perspective. It has not been done before in Spain. I am a story-driven person, and I believe stories connect with people. Dance films have an amazing potential: it seems that everything has already been said and done, but then comes this layer of dance, of non-verbal language added to it, and you discover not only a new approach to what you think you already knew, but it also touches you on a deeper level, as it connects with your essence as a human being.
What were some of your favourite submissions from these past years?
All the submitted films that are selected are amongst my favourites. Then again, some submitted films I very much liked yet were not selected due to screening time limitations. It pains me. I love all the selected films, not only in this past edition but in our ten years of existence. Each and one of them is special, has its personality and has contributed to what Choreoscope is and means today. And I am forever thankful to all those amazing artists and their amazing works because, in their search for sense and purpose, they gave the festival sense and purpose.
Uprooted. By Khadifa Wong. Winner: Portrait of a Generation Award
With a long list of short film festivals worldwide, what do you consider to be the essential value they should bring to the industry? And while you are running this project, do you have any golden rules that you stick to when it comes to Choreoscope?
The first is a difficult question, and the second will get me in trouble.In my opinion, whatever we do in life has to have meaning and reason. I’m not talking about winning a Nobel prize, Pulitzer, or maybe, an Oscar. We have a responsibility to ourselves, society and the world we live in. We are part of something much bigger, an ecosystem. Film festivals have not only the responsibility to showcase and promote artists and their work, but they (must) also have a fundamental social and political impact. To educate, to contribute to critical thinking, and to be politically incorrect to shake up and question certain imposed values and censorships. The film is not only a tool, and the dance is not only an aesthetic accessory. They are a weapon of resistance, an instrument of change, and they can move the world.
One of the golden rules of Choreoscope is not charging a submission fee. It is a very “unpopular” thing to do, as most film festivals nowadays charge the creators fees to submit their work. I don’t think it is fair. Especially when it comes to short films, many artists work with a very tight or inexistent budget. They finish their work, realising that the difficult part was not to make it but to distribute it, to reach the audience. It is where film festivals come into place; one of our most important responsibilities is connecting these artists and their works with the audience and the industry. But without films, there are no film festivals. Charging the artist for giving you the content that makes your festival exist is just something that I disagree with.
After Yang. Choreography: Celia Rowlson-Hall. Winner: Best Dance Sequence for a series or a film opening.
Have you been noticing any particular trends in the industry?
I try to avoid following trends because I don’t want to feel and give the feeling of something that can be seen or experienced elsewhere. Also, these past three years have just been crazy, the pandemic shifted the paradigm, and right now, I feel like we are in a transition phase… though not sure where to.
How do TikTok and Instagram reels influence the short film niche, especially in revelation to dance-related content?
I still miss seeing the translation of TikTok and IG to film, at least in terms of dance films, which is strange, given the amount of content that has been created. I sense many young creators feel comfortable on these social media platforms and don’t consider switching to another medium. I have also seen the opposite: when a content creator approached the cinematic language, the result became much more “conservative”. But there is so much talent out there, and so many amazing things are being created.
Anima Animae Animam. By Julieta Gasroc, José (Putxa) Puchades Martínez. Winner: Best International Short Dance Film
Can you pick one short film from the 2022 selection that is among your favourites from the festival and tell us what stood out to you?
I will pick a short film, but just to be clear: I love all of them, and they are all my favourites.
Our international jury granted the Best International Short Dance Film Award to a local production, an amazing short film called Anima Animae Animam, by first time-directors Julieta Gasroc and José (Putxa) Puchades Martínez. It is one of the most original proposals I have seen in the dance film, merging fiction and documentary, humans (dancers/puppeteers) and puppets. The film is a tribute to those who dedicated their lives to sharing their souls with people who never had it. It gives their voices to objects that had so much to say, and to the puppeteers, who due to their profession, were not allowed to be buried in cemeteries, as they were considered soulless. The film has been selected by over 40 festivals worldwide. Now, it has won 15 awards, including our festival. The film, in its quest for the soul, manages to put you into perspective. It is a love letter to what most matters in life: life itself.
Loránd János is part of the Curation Hour network member. See who else is part of it here.