Fot. Damir Jusupow.
We are pleased to inform that The Dancer directed by Stéphanie Di Giusto will be released in Polish cinemas on 23 December 2016 (distribution: Solopan). The film is based on the life and artistic activities of one of the most prominent modern dance pioneers (pre-modern) Lo?e Fuller (1862-1928), who became the veritable icon of those days. This American dancer used equally originally lighting and costume in her stage performances.
We have prepared for our readers double invitations to the preview showing of the film in two Warsaw cinemas: Elektronik (15 December 7 pm) and Luna (20 December 7.30 pm). You only have to answer the question: what was the name of the dance Lo?e Fuller created and why? The answers should be sent to the following email address: julia.hoczyk@taniecpolska.pl
About the film:
Born in the American Midwest, nothing in her background destined farm girl Lo?e Fuller to become the toast of Europe?s Belle Epoque cabarets, even less to dance at the Paris Opera. Hidden behind metres of silk, her arms extended by long wooden rods, Lo?e enthralled her audiences with her revolutionary Serpentine dance.
Dazzling the capital, she quickly became an icon, the blazing symbol of a generation. Her veiled stage movements, embellished with the lighting effects had a vital influence on the fine arts and not only. Eminent admirers fell at her feet: Toulouse-Lautrec, the Lumi?re Brothers, Auguste Rodin. Even if the physical effort risked destroying her back, even if the glare of the stage lights seared her eyes, she would never falter in the quest to perfect her art.
But her meeting with Isadora Duncan ? a young prodigy hungry for glory ? would lead to the downfall of the legend…
From the director:
It all began with a black and white photograph of a dancer hidden in swirling veils and floating above ground with a caption at the bottom: ?Lo?e Fuller: icon of the Belle Epoque.? I was curious about the woman behind the long swathes of fabric, and her story blew me away. I loved the fact that she became famous by concealing herself. With her Serpentine Dance, Lo?e Fuller literally revolutionized the stage art at the end of the 19th century. Yet no one, or almost no one, remembers her.
The struggle of this farm girl from the American Midwest for recognition as an artist seemed particularly inspiring to me. She didn?t possess any of the ideals of beauty that were fashionable in her day. She had the strong, sturdy build of a farm girl and felt like a prisoner in her body. Yet instinctively, she invented a move that would carry her across the world. She would reinvent her body on stage, she was reborn.
I also wanted to capture the emotion of the struggle. She turned her inhibitions into movement, her uneasiness into energy, a wildly defiant explosion of life. It?s a strange blend of strength, willpower and fragility.
Ste?phanie Di Giusto
From the reviews:
Dance sequences are breathtaking and knee bending.
Ben Croll, The Wrap
The film is visually magnificent. Soko was able to paint a picture of the whole spectrum of her heroine?s emotions.
Brogen Hayes, Movies.ie
An exhilarating portrait of an artist ?from the inside?.
Zhuo-Ning Su, The Film Stage
Energetic and moving ode to creativity and resistance.
Joseph Owen, The Upcoming
Stunningly beautiful costumes and music of Max Richter and Nick Cave make this project a particularly successful one.
Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter
An intelligent and well thought-through biography.
Tim Grierson, Screen Daily
AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
2016 ? the Cannes Film Festival, Golden Camera, Queer Palm, Un Certain Regard (nomination) section prize
2016 ? The Cabourg Film Festival, Grand Prix (nomination)
2016 ? The Champs-Élysées Film Festival
2016 ? The Munich Film Festival
2016 ? The New Zealand Fil Festival
2016 ? Le Festival du film francophone d’Angoul?me
Stéphanie Di Giusto is a Paris photographer, stage designer, designer and a first-time director. She studied art and designee in the prestigious École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs. Then she started working in Orange corporation advertising department. She has created stage designs for TV programmes, videos for such celebrities as Elsa Lunghini, Camille, NYPC or Brigitte Fontaine. She has also cooperated with Vanessa Bruno creating video installations and short films promoting her collections. The Dancer is Di Gusto?s full-length film debut, which she also co-created the screenplay for.
Filmography:
2016 The Dancer / La danseuse
Creators:
Screenplay: Ste?phanie Di Giusto, Sarah Thibau
Photography: Benoît Debie
Editing: Géraldine Mangenot
Scenography: Carlos Conti, Lise Péault
Costumes: Ana?s Romand
Producers: Alain Attal, Artemio Benki,
Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne,
Vincent Maraval, Delphine Tomson
Cast:
Soko: Lo?e Fuller
Gaspard Ulliel: Louis
Me?lanie Thierry: Gabrielle
Lily-Rose Depp: Isadora Duncan
Franc?ois Damiens: art dealer
Louis-Do de Lencquesaing: Armand
Amanda Plummer: Lily
Denis Me?nochet: Ruben
