LA Dance Film Festival - VAGALUME (Firefly)
Dancing with light
Interview with Director Alois Di Leo
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
We wanted to make a film that in a simple way would explore the relationship between light and dance. We combined this idea with the paper lamps that were made by our producer and ended up making this beautiful film.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Vagalume is a duet between dance and light, its instrumental soundtrack (piano) conducts where the dancer moves and the luminous pendants, making it a simple yet beautiful dance that I hope will find its audience and grace them a bit.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Universal themes inspire us as artist, and personal experiences and interpretation trim this experiences into specific artistic manifestation. We have to embrace the world and then filter it through our minds and bodies to create our emotional representations.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?
We had one goal, to make a duet between the paper lamps and the dancer. We didn’t have a clear script of performance because we wanted to see what would happen. So we created this world on hanging lamps and then had our dancer interact with them. The film and the performance unfolded very naturally.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
So far so good, people love the simplicity, the performance, the music…
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
No doubt it was surprising. All the answer were positive, far better than expected.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
All films have a soul, a life of their own. They depend on their audiences to be alive. I just hope this one find its audience, people to love it back, share it and be inspired by it.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
The audience. Anyone who loves this film can make it better by sharing it, showing it, talking about it. That’s when the real magic begins.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
In a very deep way, we want people to reflect on their relationship with everyday objects such as light. There is a simple yet strong beauty in everything we see and interact with. Most of the time this beauty escapes our eyes and perception, but when we actually take the time, we can find beauty and meaning in everything and that is what we hope for. A world with more beauty, love and meaning.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
It is a simple film, made with paper lamps, in an almost improvised situation. When people come together to make art the result can be unexpected. I hope to inspire a debate on improvisation and film production. Not everything needs to be complicated or utterly scripted to render a coherent result.
Would you like to add anything else?
Yes, a big thank you for the opportunity to showcase our film!
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
At the moment I am working on my next short film, and our producer is working on developing more paper lamps. The film brought to her an interest for paper made lamps and she is developing the idea further.
Interview: January 2017
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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VAGALUME (Firefly)
Dancing with light
Length:
2min
Director:
Alois Di Leo
Producer:
Caroline Gonzaga
Writer: (original idea) Alois Di Leo
About the writer, director and producer:
Director: Alois Di Leo was born in Lima, Perú and lives in São Paulo Brazil. His films have played in all major festival including Cannes, Annecy, Hiroshima, Clermont Ferrand, Chicago, etc. His work has been showcased all around the globe as well as on some of the most important online platforms such as Vimeo Staff Picks, IDN, AWN and Short of the Week.
Producer: After graduating from design and art school in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Caroles Gonzaga worked for three years in production, creating objects and scenes for stop motion and animated films. Later she worked in art direction and production for advertising campaigns. These experiencesled her to unite two passions: paper and light. Out of these two passions was born Iluminoo.
Key cast:
Marcela Costa (dancer)
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists):
Funders:
Collaborative
Made in association with:
ILUMINOO + SINLOGO ANIMATION + A VOZ DO BRASIL
Where can I see it in the next month?
We’ll find out soon :)