Cinequest 2019 – Moving Stories
Six diverse dancers from an acclaimed New York dance company travel the world to work with at-risk youth, teaching them the tools of choreography so that they can tell their stories through dance. As they prepare to perform in public in only a week, both students and teachers are transformed, unlocking feelings and stories in wellsprings of creativity.
Interview with Writer/Producer Cornelia Ravenal
Watch Moving Stories on Tubi, Vudu, Prime Video and Vimeo on demand
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
As a former journalist, when I first heard about the work that the Battery Dance company was doing with young people around the world who’d experienced war, poverty, sexual exploitation and severe trauma as refugees, I thought, “This is a story that has to be told.” And as a trauma survivor myself, I knew firsthand the power of the arts to heal. I was fortunate that the filmmaking team – producer-editor Mikael Södersten, director-editor Rob Fruchtman, and producer Wendy Sax – felt the same way.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
The stories in it are fascinating, moving and inspiring. The film follows the dancer-teachers to India, where they work with girls rescued from sex trafficking and gender violence; to Romania, with Roma (gypsy) kids from one of Europe's worst slums; to South Korea, with young North Koreans who risked their lives to escape; and to Iraq, where they work with a gifted young Muslim dancer, fighting to survive. It sounds like it could be grim, but it’s fun to watch, even though there are moments that bring tears to peoples’ eyes.
There’s also a ticking clock. The kids have just one week to create dances to perform, often in big theaters with costumes and lights. That means there's less than a week to teach the tools of choreography and collaboration to kids who may be enemies, who may have been abused, who may be suspicious and fearful. But as they prepare to perform in public in what seems an impossibly short time, both students and teachers experience surprising transformations.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Rob Fruchtman, our director, put it best when he said, “Dance is an art form like no other. It’s both a way in and a way out. It can help unlock secrets, emotions and yearnings, whether we’re trained dancers or ordinary bi-pedal beings. It also provides an opportunity to explore important issues viscerally and emotionally through the best language on the planet, the movement of the body. No words. Just expression that comes from mind and body talking to each other, connecting the inner life to the outer world. As we return to this basics of human relationships, something transcendent is communicated that breathes hope for a better, more humane future. It is an exploration, and because of that, it’s thrilling, a bit scary and ultimately deeply rewarding for those who come along with us for the ride.”
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
Moving Stories is a cinéma vérité documentary, so there’s no “script” in the conventional sense. As the originating producer, I conceived of it as three interwoven stories. But there was no way to predict the specifics of those stories till they were filmed. Rob did a masterful job of interweaving in the initial and subsequent edits. The decision to include a fourth story though, presented a challenge. We all weighed in with ideas. As the writer, I moved pieces around like building blocks. Mikael and I came up with ideas together for re-editing sequences, using principles and techniques from narrative filmmaking. He also worked closely with the film’s composers. Overall, from the first cut to the final version, the film changed significantly.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Audience are moved, surprised, engaged and inspired. At one point near the end, there’s always a collective gasp. Psychology Today called it "a brilliant new documentary that shows dance as a soft power supporting people that political and social failures have hurt." People have said that as they watch the film, they see people whom they previously regarded as "the other" in a whole new way. The film has also won awards, including a Best Documentary, a Humanitarian Award and an Impact Doc Award, whose judges cited it as “heart-breaking and heart-warming with beautiful craft.”
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
It’s what we all hoped for, and more. We’re gratified that the film seems to move both young and old, as well as people who have no prior interest in dance.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
We hope people will watch the trailer… and seek out the film. We’d like to see it broadcast on public television in the US and on television stations internationally.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We'd love to hear from buyers and distributors. Also journalists and educators. We also hope film festival directors continue to invite the film. We try to go to as many festivals as we can, joined by the film's subjects, to do Q&As and workshops.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
After every screening, people are inspired to ask how they can spread the word. We'd like to see it continue to spread its message, both here and abroad. Battery Dance has had Dancing to Connect Workshops in over 70 countries, as well as hundreds in schools in NY. Ultimately, we'd like to see both the film and the Dancing to Connect program multiply in communities everywhere.
Would you like to add anything else?
As race, religion and ethnicity divide people the world over, our film shows how we can connect with each other through something we all share: movement. As one of the dancer-teachers says in the film, “I don’t have to speak dance in English. I don’t have to speak dance in Arabic. I don’t have to speak dance in Romanian. It becomes the same language.”
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I’m developing a dramatic thriller called On the Blade, based on the true story of a brutal hazing at an elite school, which Mikael will direct. Meanwhile, he’s writing the script for a documentary based on the international bestseller 1947: Where Now Begins, with Stellan Skarsgard. Rob Fruchtman co-directed a documentary called The Cat Rescuers, which just began its festival year. Wendy Sax is developing several projects on cutting edge nutrition and the food industry.
Interview: March 2019
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. 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
Moving Stories
Six diverse dancers from an acclaimed New York dance company travel the world to work with at-risk youth, teaching them the tools of choreography so that they can tell their stories through dance. As they prepare to perform in public in only a week, both students and teachers are transformed, unlocking feelings and stories in wellsprings of creativity.
Length: 1:25:00
Director: Rob Fruchtman
Producer: (Wilderness Films)Mikael Södersten, Cornelia Ravenal, Wendy Sax
Writer: Cornelia Ravenal
About the writer, director and producer:
ROB FRUCHTMAN is a Sundance and Emmy award-winning director, producer and editor. His documentaries explore the arts, history, world cultures and social justice issues and have aired around the world. He's also won three Emmys and several nominations for his work with PBS and HBO. Other documentaries include SWEET DREAMS, about a Rwandan drumming group made with his sister Lisa Fruchtman, SEEING PROOF, about Cambodia's brutal Khmer Rouge regime and its lingering effect on Cambodia's society, and SISTER HELEN, Best Director Doc winner at Sundance 2002. His latest film is THE CAT RESCUERS.
CORNELIA RAVENAL has had work performed at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center and regional theaters, published in magazines in Asia and the US, and screened at over 25 international festivals. She's written scripts for Lars von Trier's company Zentropa and for Charlie Wessler (GREEN BOOK). As a journalist and cultural critic, she's written for The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The New York Post, and Art Asia Pacific and was a US Correspondent for India Today, India's leading newsmagazine.
WILDERNESS FILMS develops original projects with international partners and works with Sweden’s leading film and television producers in every area from script development to production. RAVENAL is an award-winning filmmaker and producer whose credits including the NY Times Critics Pick “Nirbhaya.” SÖDERSTEN is a filmmaker and dramaturg who's worked on over 70 Nordic productions. SAX was Artistic Director of the IFP Market and co-produced “Particle Fever”.
Key cast: The founders and teaching artists of Battery Dance: Jonathan Hollander, Tadej Brdnik, Robin Cantrell, Mira Cook, Sean Scantlebury and Clement Mensah with Adel Euro
Looking for: distributors, journalists, film festival directors, buyers
Facebook: Moving Stories
Twitter: @MovingStoriesWF
Instagram: @movingstoriesdoc
Website: www.movingstoriesfilm.com
Other: IMDB
Funders: NYSCA (New York State Council of the Arts); Logan Foundation; over 300 individuals
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Cinequest/San Jose CA - March 16; Sebastopol Doc Film Festival/Sebastopol CA - March 29; Martha's Vineyard Film Festival / Chilmark MA - March 24; Marlene Meyerson JCC/New York NY - April 16