Cover GAL5aw by Galaw.Co Dance Theater (Photo: Justin Bella Alonte)
GAL5aw by Galaw.Co Dance Theater (Photo: Justin Bella Alonte)
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Fifth Wall Fest, the country’s first and only festival dedicated to the craft of dance film, will return this October for its 4th annual edition. Here’s a sneak peek of what’s to come.
Fifth Wall® presents the 4th edition of its annual festival, returning with another celebratory experience of dance in all of its varied forms, bridging gaps between creative disciplines, and engaging spectators with multi-dimensional, mesmerising thrills.
The 11-day festival will run from October 5-15. Audiences can expect a lineup of in-person dance performances in addition to screenings of dance films from local and international filmmakers.
They will be able to experience the full spectacle in SM Megamall, Archivo 1984, J Studio, Apotheka, Kino, 1F Projects, and online.
Read again: Fifth Wall Fest 2022: Celebrating Dance From All Angles
Above The official poster of FIFTH Wall Fest Edition IV
Above Madge Reyes, founder and director of FIFTH WALL (Photo: courtesy of FIFTH WALL)
The official poster of FIFTH Wall Fest Edition IV
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Founder Madge Reyes had been dancing all her life until a serious injury forced her to shift focus towards the realm of visual arts and filmmaking. She would always find a way to incorporate her first love of dance through these two art disciplines.
She received a grant from the Asian Cultural Council (ACC), which relocated her to New York and allowed her to study dance filmmaking practices. She arrived back in the Philippines right before the first phase of the COVID-19 lockdown and, initially, did not have any plans of opening up a festival, though she figured it was the best time to initiate this project. She launched Fifth Wall’s first dance film festival in 2020.
Regarding the ambiguity behind this multifaceted celebration, she states, “Personally, I like how people don’t know exactly what we are. I don’t like being boxed in or labelled. I think this festival finds strength in that... anything and everything ‘dance’, we love doing.”
Above PINA, dancers of the Pina Bausch Company © NEUE ROAD MOVIES GmbH (Photo: Donata Wenders)
PINA, dancers of the Pina Bausch Company © NEUE ROAD MOVIES GmbH (Photo: Donata Wenders)
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Above Romance (2023) by Samantha Shay (Photo: courtesy of FIFTH WALL)
Above Romance (2023) by Samantha Shay (Photo: courtesy of FIFTH WALL)
Romance (2023) by Samantha Shay (Photo: courtesy of FIFTH WALL)
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The festival will commence at SM Megamall with an IMAX 3D screening of Pina (2011), a documentary directed by Wim Wenders. It focuses on the ingenious career of Pina Bausch, a pioneer of German dance theatre, and features captivating performances by the dancers of the Wuppertal Tanztheater. The event is free to the public and open to all.
Fifth Wall boasts a lineup of dance films from both local and international auteurs. They will be screened in both small and large-capacity theatres across Metro Manila. Some will be accessible for home viewing through Fifth Wall's digital platform.
Watch out for cinematic gems like Romance (2023) by Samantha Shay, Urban Genesis (2023) by Fu Le, this year’s Fifth Wall Fest Competition winner, and A Strange Loop (2022), which features the musical score of Filipino violinist Alfonso Coke
Bolipata.
The event will culminate with Cunningham (2019), directed by Alla Kovgan, which is “an exhilarating testament to documentaries as a boundless form of art” focused on the artistry of American choreographer Merce Cunningham.
Above Frustration de la Danse by Nunoy Revlon (Photo: courtesy of FIFTH WALL)
Above Frustration de la Danse by Nunoy Revlon (Photo: courtesy of FIFTH WALL)
Frustration de la Danse by Nunoy Revlon (Photo: courtesy of FIFTH WALL)
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The festival will feature live performances in which audiences can freely step into a world of movement, existing beyond the stage.
Attendees can anticipate performance pieces by Galaw.Co Dance Theatre, choreographer Nunoy Revlon, artist-anthropologist Jared Jonathan Luna, and Fifth Wall founder Madge Reyes.
Watch out for captivating performances like Dance Dance Emoji by Jared Jonathan Luna, a TikTok-focused and researched-based piece that transcends physical and virtual worlds; Frustration de la Danse by Nunoy Revlon, aptly created out of frustration with the valour of Dance in the Philippines; Material by 1F Projects, choreographed by Madge Reyes; and the interactive GAL5aw by Galaw.Co Dance Theatre.
Above Bulaklakaw by Archie Geotina, Paraluman, and FIFTH WALL (Photo: courtesy of FIFTH WALL)
Bulaklakaw by Archie Geotina, Paraluman, and FIFTH WALL (Photo: courtesy of FIFTH WALL)
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Festival-goers can explore the intersections of dance, visual arts, and sound through immersive instalments.
On view at J Studio from October 6 to 12 is ‘Bulalakaw’, a multisensory art installation named for the portmanteau between bulaklak (flower) and bulalakaw (meteor). Created with Archie Geotina and conceptual florist Paraluman, ‘Bulalakaw’ will entail a vivid journey to a radioactive flower garden.
Select programs will also feature live in-person Q&A sessions between artists and audiences, to be held in the Black Box, Fifth Wall Fest’s designated space for engagement and dance education. These artist talks will include conversations with Jared Luna for Dance Dance Emoji and Myra Beltran for A Strange Loop.
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Julianna has been interested in leading a literary life since she first read Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess at eight. Before working with Tatler, she was an archive intern at The Center for Fiction in Brooklyn, New York. She is a textbook Pisces who devotes most of her spare time to her crochet projects, watching classic films, and going through her never-ending pile of unread books. She studied creative writing, global literature and art history at Sarah Lawrence College, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2022. Toni Morrison, Nora Ephron, Clarice Lispector and Jia Tolentino are among her all-time favourite writers.
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Julianna writes about fashion, beauty, sustainability, and the arts. She is always keen on conducting interviews with talented women who are changing the game in their respective fields.
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