Video of the Week
Documentary “Pol Pot Dancing” interweaves the stories of classical Cambodian dance and the violent Khmer Rouge regime through the lineage and multigenerational legacy of star dancer Chea Samy.
Bay Area-based master dancer Charya Burt introduced the film during SFDFF’s in-person screening in October 2024. During her mesmerizing introduction, Charya demonstrated hand movements symbolizing the circle of life through gestures that symbolize the life stages of a tree.
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Each week, we’re unveiling a new video from our archives, featuring everything from insightful Q&As with filmmakers to live dance performances, Co-Lab films, and trailers from past festivals.
Our YouTube channel combines SFDFF-produced content with that of past festival filmmakers, bringing you an abundance of videos to enjoy at your own pace.
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Video of the Week Archive
Dancing Through the Lens Co-host Chris Ouellette discussed Irish Dance and the 2022 documentary “Steps of Freedom: The Story of Irish Dance” with Riverdance performer Morgan Bullock.
“Steps of Freedom” reveals how Irish dance was shaped over centuries through interactions with many cultures as it evolved from a simple folk dance to become a global phenomenon loved by millions around the world.
Happy Women’s History Month!
Choreographer Jane Comfort emerged in the late 1970s with experimental fusions of text, rhythm, and movement that spoke to the social issues of her day. We chatted with Jane and director Alexandra Nikolchev about their film on Jane’s expansive career, “Breaking Form”.
“I don’t think she was ahead of her time… she was her time.”
Check out our YouTube playlist “Women Making Moves” – featuring all films made by women.
Wild by Lindsay Gauthier and Fogbeast (Melecio Estrella and Andrew Ward) was a part of our Co-Laboratory program, which organizes a unique collaboration between choreographers and filmmakers, who then create a short dance film in a week.
Happy Black History Month! SFDFF Co-Lab film “Dear Black Girls” explores the following questions: How do we pay homage to black revolutionary women? How do we inspire people to take action? How do we know if people truly care to see real change?
SFDFF 2025 submissions are OPEN! The festival continues to seek groundbreaking work and welcomes submissions of all dance-based works. All forms of dance are welcome. Take a look at one of our most popular festival trailers on YouTube!
Submit your film today at FilmFreeway.com/SanFranciscoDanceFilmFestival!
To kick off Black History Month, we are sharing some valuable insight and knowledge from our 2024 Raising Voices filmmakers. Raising Voices is one of our annual programs, spotlighting the work of traditionally underrepresented artists and amplifying their powerful messages of social justice and belonging.
A true “time capsule from the past”, we flashed back to a time of Standard Definition, 4:3 screen formats, and 1” reel-to-reel videotape with our screening of the PBS series “Alive From Off Center”. Hear from Ellen Bromberg, Joe Goode, Margaret Jenkins, and Brenda Way on their historic dance films made for national public television in 1989 and 1991.
Embodiment Project serves to uplift the ancestral and primordial power of dance as an act of resistance, collective healing, and social transformation. The group performed at SFDFF’s Locals Night last fall!
Documentary feature “Obsessed with Light” by Zeva Oelbaum and Sabine Krayenbühl chronicles the career and legacy of the early 20th-century artist. Fuller pioneered the ingenious use of electric light for the stage and immediately understood the importance of protecting her ownership of these innovations. With a strong will toward self-empowerment, her avant garde representations of the body resonate through history. After the screening of Obsessed with Light at SFDFF, Zeva Oelbaum discussed the process of making the film with us.