Congratulations to Lucy Walker, Jonathan Monaghan and Kalup Linzy on their inclusion in the Sundance 2016 New Frontier program! Aktionsart had the enormous pleasure of working with these off-the-chart talents for Black Box 2.0 (Monaghan, Linzy) and Amfest Moscow (Walker).
If you haven't yet seen THE LION'S MOUTH OPENS (Walker), we can't recommend enough that you catch it on HBO. Walker's first foray into virtual reality, A HISTORY OF CUBAN DANCE, premieres this week at Sundance.
Presented at Black Box 2.0, ESCAPE POD (Monaghan), is also showing at Sundance and was highlighted by The Telegraph as their favorite installation in New Frontier.
Linzy, who premiered three new works at Black Box 2.0, brings his multi-platform melodrama QUEEN ROSE FAMILY (DA STORIES) to Sundance.
Lucy Walker
A History of Cuban Dance
Still from A HISTORY OF CUBAN DANCE (2016).
Organic, spontaneous, sexy dances progress chronologically through Afro-Cuban Santería rumba, mambo, cha-cha-chá, salsa, breakdancing, and reggaeton, with optional audio tracks reflecting the broader story of Cuban history as revealed in the moves. Palpable and transporting, this live-action virtual reality documentary was filmed on location in Cuba and features Ballet de la Televisión Cubana.
Kalup Linzy
Queen Rose Family (Da Stories)
Still from QUEEN ROSE FAMILY (DA STORIES).
Kalup Linzy (Sweet, Sampled, and Left Ova, 2010 Sundance Film Festival) returns to the Festival, bringing this outrageously campy, multi-platform world where tragedy strikes the Queen Rose family. Conversations Wit De Churen X: One Life To Heal and Conversations Wit De Churen IX XI XII: Dayz of Our Egochronicle the story of Taiwan Braswell’s disappearance. Amidst the musings and melodrama saturating all reaches of his family tree, Taiwan performs his signature tune "Asshole" from beyond the human dimension (manifested via the Pepper’s ghost installation). This mash-up of fine art, music video, and trashy daytime soap opera features an ensemble cast including Tunde Adebimpe and Michael Stipe.
Jonathan Monaghan
Escape Pod
Still from ESCAPE POD.
This seamlessly looped 20-minute computer-animated film invites you to join a golden deer as it traverses glossy, surreal environments of wealth, power, and authority. Composed of one continuous tracking shot, this visually fantastic journey imagines a new reality devoid of human bodies, left only with material desires and ambitions of power.