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London-based doc specialist Taskovski Films has acquired the world sales rights to Irish director Pat Collins’ feature doc “The Dance,” which is running in the Documentary Competition at this week’s London Film Festival.
Produced through Irish prod cos Harvest Films and South Wind Blows with support from Screen Ireland and RTE, the observation documentary claims to give an insight into the creative mind of choreographer Michael Keegan Dolan as he stages a new international dance and theater work.
A fusion between soloist and ensemble, classical and traditional the show “Mám” was a collaboration between 12 international dancers, seven musicians from European collective Stargaze and the Irish traditional concertina player Cormac Begley.
Filmed in 2019, the West Cork filmmaker’s feature follows the process of making the complex production over eight weeks, from the first day of rehearsals to the opening night performance of “Mám” at the Dublin Theatre Festival.
On picking up “The Dance” Taskovski Films chief executive Irena Taskovsk said: “We were taken by the ability of giving such a gentle and precise insight into the creative process of performing arts from the first rehearsal to the final stage performance.”
Prolific director Collins has made over 30 films in the past 25 years, including “Song of Granite” and “Silence.” His last feature documentary “Henry Glassie Fieldwork” premiered at Toronto Film Festival two years ago.
An admirer of Keegan Dolan’s work since his 2012 show “Rian,” Collins kept in touch with the acclaimed choreographer for eight years until an opportunity arose to film him action.
He said on his vision for the film: “I wanted to make a film that was an accurate and creative document of the process and personalities involved, purely observational, listening to the various engagements between Keegan Dolan and his actors, dancers, musicians, costume, lighting and technical crew.
“The Dance” receives its worldwide premiere at LFF this evening at the Curzon Soho and screens again tomorrow during the festival at the Odeon Luxe West End.
