Every so often something wonderful comes to me from an unexpected source. Sometimes I’ll see something on Facebook, or I’ll accidentally stumble on a link that directs me to an unlikely place at the end of a short I’ve viewed on Youtube, or a friend will point me in some new direction and there it will be, an unexpected gem of a dance short. And I always feel as if I’ve just discovered buried treasure.
Such was the case with Mine, an extremely clever, upbeat and inventive short dance film made for Nowness by Tell No One. I was directed to it by my talented Spanish filmmaker friend Caitlin O’Rorke as a source of inspiration and it is very much that.
Created as a fashion film, the original “shoppable” version of Mine that’s viewable on Nowness features pieces by some wonderful designers including Haider Ackerman and Rick Owens, and is interactive. As you press on one of the dancers whizzing by in a beautiful gown or elegantly tailored dress shirt, a number appears but the video continues. Upon completion of viewing, your selections direct you to websites where you are able to purchase the pieces.
The dancers – Amber Doyle, Travis Knight, Airen Koopmans, Sonoya Mizuno, and Louis McMiller – are all beautiful in both face and form as well as in their execution of the fine choreography by Paolo Mangiola. What I love about this is the visceral excitement, and sheer joy of the movement captured by the camera, the clever transitioning of the clothes from one body to another, and the simple elegance of the film as a whole, which succeeds as an elegy to and as pure appreciation of the beauty of fashion, physicality, and youth. And need I say that I absolutely love the fact that it was shot in a gym, and not in an abandoned warehouse?
Enjoy.