Movement as Cinematic Storytelling
“Cinematic storytelling is the art of audiovisual choreography. It’s emotions in motion.
In my work as a filmmaker, I aim to use movements as an aesthetic tool to dramatise the story – and as a tool that can sharpen our sensitivity to the world and to one another. When I use movements it is not only in the sense of body movements, but writing the script is to choreograph the movements of the camera as well as the movements in front of it: Actions of stilness, moving shadows, transformations of color, change of light, sound and silence.”
During the evening Maja will share her movement method and choreographic approach to cinematic storytelling by showing excerpts of her previous work as well as sharing the work in progress of her new project, a VR-experience, “Requiem for corals”.
Requiem for corals is a poetic and musical journey into a microscopic world of corals at the very moment of exposure to climate change impacts, where these colourful moving creatures live on the verge of dying. A visual and ethereal dance macabre of current times’ reality in a world beyond imagination and beyond our field of view.
It will be an evening with a lot of film examples and with a discussion of the use and potentials of movements in films – with or without dance.
Based on the work on her VR-project, where she studies and choreographs the movements and natural behaviours of corals, she will talk about the process of creation and discuss how movements and visual storytelling can be used as an artistic tool to communicate climate scientific matter, that can bring sense of clarity.
About Maja Friis (DK)
Maja Friis is a film director with a passion for dance and movements. Throughout many years she has been interested in exploring ways of how movements and choreography can act as the main language in visual storytelling.
Her debut film ‘Ballerina’, a poetic dance documentary, which she directed and choreographed, was nominated for ‘Best Danish Documentary’, and was awarded by The Danish Art Council.
Maja has a Master’s degree in Film Studies at University of Copenhagen with elective courses in dramaturgy and in the aesthetics of dance. In addition she studied dance films at La Cinémathèque de la Danse in Paris. The topic of her final thesis was “Motion as cinematic narrative”. www.majafriis.dk
CHOREOGRAPHY IN ACTION
A program where artists share thoughts about artistic work through conversations, installions, performances and films. New artist every Monday. The program is primarily adressed to the artists in the field but open to all with an interest.
It is in English, Free Entrance.