The Specials (2026) Fantasia 2026

A group of hitmen are assigned to masquerade as dancers in order to get close to their target.

This mix of crime, comedy and dance shouldn't have worked. Certainly one would not have expected the hard edge to a story in Hollywood hand would have been a feel good family film. On the other hand the film keeps it real enough that we can't be certain what is going to happen.

Bouyed by aa firest rate cast and direction that always keeps the film tonally on target, THE SPECIALS grabs us early and pulls us along. The truth of the matter is the film makes us think this isn't going to work and we are a good way in before we realize we are fully invested.

What an absolute delight.

Try it.

Brief thoughts on10's Across the Borders (2025) NYAFF 2026

This is a look at Ballroom and Voguing across Asia

This film is full of motherfucking life. 

It is raw. Its is jagged. It is imperfect. It has dancing. It has real people you want to hang out with in it. It is one of the most alive films I've ever seen. Life run through and bleeds out it. 

It made me smile and feel good.

I have nothing more to say, other than buy a ticket and take the trip.

The Symphony of Dance (2026) Tribeca 2026

This is a portrait of Dancing with the Stars’ Derek and Hayley Hough as they battle back to perform their SYMPHONY OF DANCE show after Hayley collapses and is rushed to the hospital.

This is a wonderful portrait of the Houghs. Its the great story of a couple very much in love struggling to remain together.  I say this as a guy who went into the film purely to kill some time. I was just filling a small gap of time between my main choices and instead I ended up staying to the end and reconfiguring my schedule.

This film is a delight and I can't wait to see it again.

Obsessed With Light (2024) opens Friday at the Quad

If you ever wonder who thought of dances where the dancer manipulates long sleeves of fabric into billowing tornadoes of waves of color the name of the person was Loïe Fuller, who changed popular culture as we know it with her serpentine dances. This film is a look at the life of Fuller as well as an exploration of the influence she has on dance and performances from then until now.

This is a glorious film filled with wondrous things. There are great stories here and even more amazing images. Watching all of the performers turn simple cloth into jaw dropping images is just beyond words.

To be honest I was not going to cover this film but Unseen Films founding member Eden asked me if I saw the film because it sounded interesting. If Eden says something is interesting I instantly take notice and I pursued getting an opportunity to see it. I’m glad I did because the film really knocked my socks off.

I can’t recommended this film enough. Yes it has some great stories, mostly it has just some cool things you’ll want to see.

Recommended.

FRONT ROW (2024) DOC NYC

Ballet dancers from Ukraine come together in Denmark in order to form a dance company.  While they are feeling guilty for fleeing to safety, they are using their art to  bring awareness to the conflict and the tragedies that are unfolding back home.

This is a good little film about the power of art to heal in the time of war. It’s another in a growing line of films about how art is helping to keep the spirits of Ukrainians afloat.

If I were to quibble I would ask that the film be a bit longer. While we get a good amount of dance in the film, I wish we had gotten even more time with the dancers and their families. Still it’s a quibble and the film is worth a look.

ANIMALIA PARADOXA (2024) Fantasia 2024

If you love weird and off kilter films this is for you. This tale of amphibious humans is like a waking dream. While there is a loose narrative thread this is more a collection of sounds and images that burn themselves into your psyche.

What is is like? Imagine the works of the Quays mashed  with E. ELias Merhige's Begotten, mixed with Bill Morrison and some of the more avant garde Eastern European genre films. The movements are more dance than normal motion. Live action mixes with animation and experimental imaging.

You can't go into the film expecting a typical film, you have to go expecting an experience. You can't fight it, rather you just let it wash over you. There is magic here and you have to be open to it.

I'm not going to lie and say it all works. There are bits that didn't work for me. However at the same time so much of it worked that I am looking to see it again when I can sit in the dark and let the take me some where else.

Highly recommended for the adventurous

EN EL BRONX PART 2 (2024) Tribeca 2024

EN EL BRONX PART 2, is a continuation of the story, taking the lovers closer to their wedding.

While I aid I wasn't going to review music video at Tribeca, this is an exception. The reason being is that this is an old school cinematic dance number that will knock your socks off. Sure there is a plot here but that isn't what you are going to remember. That is going to be the large scale dancing which will make you want re watch the film over and over again.

Recommended

XIXI (2024) Hot Docs 2024

After graduating from film school in Europe director Fan Wu decided to travel across Europe instead of taking the good girl track. While at a dance festival in Berlin she discovered Xixi a Chinese improvisational dancer. They became friends and after several years Wu turned her correspondence and footage into a portrait of the dancer.

This is as close to a subject as you are going to ever get in a film. From the opening moments we are “in the face” of Xixi. At the start it is literal as we go with her to pick up her daughter and later we are tied to the hip as we go through her days.  The result is a enlightening film  that truly lets us walk in the shoes of another.

I really liked this film a great deal. While the seeming lack of boundaries can be a bit jarring, I love that the film doesn’t shy away. We really get to know Xixi and everything about her life.

And we also get to know about Fan Wu as well. Its clear that the two women are sisters and have a connection to each other. Listening to them speak to each other this is not a relationship of biographer and subject but just two friends hanging out. It is this closeness that allows us to get so close to Xixi and what makes this film something special.

Worth a look.

Wendy Feinberg on Call Me Dancer (2023) which opens Friday

Opening theatrically on 12/15, CALL ME DANCER, has already won numerous awards at film festivals around the world. After watching this most endearing and inspirational film, I can see why it has stood out as the “best of many fests”. 

The film tells the story of Manish, a poor self-taught Indian hip hop dancer from Mumbai, who aspires to make something of himself in the dance world. He wanders into the ballet studio of 75 year-old Israeli-American dance master, Yehuda, who soon becomes Manish’s mentor and close friend. Over time, we see their relationship develop into one of a grandfather and grandson.

Manish’s dreams of becoming a professional ballet dancer are not supported by his parents and Manish’s mom believes that dance is a hobby for rich people.

His parents are depending on him to get an education and support them. With Yehuda’s help, they relent and let Manish follow his passion. Yehuda, a tough but lovable loner with a passion for dance, sees something in Manish and takes him under his wing to help refine his dance skills.  He is alone in India teaching at a dance studio after having a successful dance career and is trying to find himself. His connection to Manish leads him to find a greater purpose in his life and also assists him in developing a stronger connection to a strange land.

Although it hurts to see him go, Yehuda helps Manish get an internship at the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Co. in Israel. This ultimately leads to an invitation for Manish to join the Peridance Co. in New York City and many more opportunities. No matter where they are, the bond between Yehuda and Manish is never broken. Whether in person, on the phone or through the internet, Yehuda is always there for Manish.  

This film is the total package! It is an extremely heartwarming, beautiful story that is artfully told by directors Leslie Champagne and Pip Gilmour. It is more than a film about a dancer. It’s a story about hardship, perseverance, hope, compassion and love. It brought tears to my eyes in many places, but especially when Manish says goodbye to Yehuda before leaving for New York City. I loved this film and highly recommend for all to see!

CALL ME DANCER   has already won numerous awards at film festivals around the world. After watching this most endearing and inspirational film, I can see why it has stood out as the “best of many fests”.

Obsessed With Light (2023) DOC NYC 2023

If you ever wonder who thought of dances where the dancer manipulates long sleeves of fabric into billowing tornadoes of waves of color the name of the person was Loïe Fuller, who changed popular culture as we know it with her serpentine dances. This film is a look at the life of Fuller as well as an exploration of the influence she has on dance and performances from then until now.

This is a glorious film filled with wondrous things. There are great stories here and even more amazing images. Watching all of the performers turn simple cloth into jaw dropping images is just beyond words.

To be honest I was not going to cover this film but Unseen Films founding member Eden asked me if I saw the film because it sounded interesting. If Eden says something is interesting I instantly take notice and I pursued getting an opportunity to see it. I’m glad I did because the film really knocked my socks off.

I can’t recommended this film enough. Yes it has some great stories, mostly it has just some cool things you’ll want to see.

Recommended.

THEN COMES THE BODY (2023) Tribeca 2023

"First comes the heart then comes the body"

Glorious documentary about a ballet school in  Lagos, Nigeria. The founder of the school knew nothing about ballet and self-taught himself and his students. When a video of one of them dancing in the rain went viral he school was put on the map and suddenly his charges were being accept into schools across the globe.

This is a magnificent celebration of the school, the students and dance itself. Seriously there are images here which are going to hang with you forever…and possibly put the film in the running for an Oscar next year.

Highly recommended.

Orphea in Love (2023) Fantaspoa 2023

One of a kind musical dance romance drama is for anyone who doesn’t want your typical Hollywood style film.

A retelling of the story of Orpheus gender flipped and set in the modern day the film focuses on a dancer and a singer who fall passionately in love.

This film let’s you know early on when Orphea is working at her job in a call center and her  boss comes over and shifts from yelling at her in sentences to pure jibberish. Soon after that people are bursting into song and others are dancing. Everything has a heightened sense of reality that you only get in theater. Its an effect that causes us to lean in and go along with the story because we get the feeling that anything is possible  and we want to see what that entails.

This is pure cinematic magic, and while there are some missteps, most of this is just glorious and delight.

Recommended

The Severing (2022) is getting special screenings 3/31(NYC) and 4/6(LA)

Mark Pellington's THE SEVERING is a 70 minute gut punch.  A dance film for those that like disturbing things it is a film I wish I had seen on a big screen where it's images wold have been all encompasing and inescapable.

The film is a series of dances usually by a single dancer moving to an electronic soundtrack. Its like watching some one convulse from a nightmare for an hour. There were things where I wondered how they did that only to realize that it was all the twisting body of one woman. I know that ay sound like a no duh statement, but at the same time in an age where everything is computer altered its atypical to see something as troubling as some of these images that isn't computer enhanced.

While I readily admit the film probably a little bit too long I still wouldn't cut a thing even if I knew how you can trim a dance.

Before you go vaulting into this film be aware there is a chance this may not work for you. The style of the dance has been likened to Pina Bausch who I know isn't for everyone. This is people who who want to connect with the darker side and be troubled by things other than blood and guts.

Highly recommended for those who like the experimental, dance or off Hollywood.

Screening March 31 in NYC at Alamo Drafthouse Lower Manhattan **Mark Pellington in attendance for Q&A **

Screening April 6 in LA at Brain Dead Studios,Followed by a Dance Performance by Nina McNeely **Mark Pellington in attendance for Q&A **

The film will also play at various Laemmle locations in LA on 4/17 and 4/18

INVICTA, A FILM BY BRETON TYNER-BRYAN (2022) Dances With Films NYC 2022

"Set in New York City amongst the mansions of Riverside Drive, 7 mafia wives from across the country convene at the request of an unknown blackmailer, only to see their united front quickly crumble, exposing romantic relationships, alliances, and ultimate betrayal."-La Jolla International Fashion Film Festival

I am quoting the synopsis at the top because without it this film is just something that exists as a dance/fashion film that is pretty to look at, but doesn't fully come together.  However if you do read the synopsis you will love the film.

I watched INVICTA without reading the synopsis. If you know me you know I tend to do that with many since I want to see the films knowing as little as possible.  Yes I will try to have some idea but I don't want details that will give the plot away.

I watched the film the first time and I liked it as a dance/fashion film but I didn't fully appreciate it. Once I found out what the plot was everything clicked and it came together. Knowing the plot I loved the film even more. After ward I was talking to a friend who loves dance. She told me  with dance you can't go in blind, you need the synopsis to truly understand what was going on. My mistake.

This is a nifty little dance film. Recommended.

DELUSIONE (2022) DANCES WITH FILMS 2022

Beautiful dance film has two women dancing in a bar.

I hate films like this because they are impossible to review. How do you write up a wordless dance? How I see the movement is not necessarily how you see it. How you react may not be how I react. Worse not being a dance student I don’t have the words to fake a review that sounds deep and meaningful.

On the other hand I love a film like this because it is a delight for the eye and ear. The motion of the dancers matched with the framing by the camera and music result in a film that is a visual feast. It is a look at two souls entwining and it is wonderful

Recommended.

The House of LaBeija (2022) Tribeca 2022

Ten minute cinematic tone poem about the dance group The House of LaBeija which has been going strong for 50 years and has acted as a place where LGBT people could be safe.

Composed of letters written by members of the group the film is a celebration of the group and the members. It’s a loving portrait that will make you want to lean in and hang out with everyone on screen.

Recommended

LIFT (2022) Tribeca 2022

 

LIFT is will make you feel good.

Shot over ten years the film is the story of dancer Steven Melendez who returns to the Bronx homeless shelter where he spent several years as a child and where he was introduced to ballet in a workshop. Nearing the end of his dancing career Melendez  felt it was time to mentor the next generation.  We also get a peak into the lives of several children who go into the same program.

Transcending the subgenre of films about arts making a difference in peoples lives in order to reach the rarified air of truly great films of any sort, LIFT manages to move our heart strings by not only showing us a lot of things we’ve not run across before but also managing not to fall into the trap of cliches. It is also a killer portrait of the kids we meet along the way.

While the film is very much focused on the dancing the film is also laser focused on the problem of poverty and homelessness.  Melendez and the kids we follow grew up in shelters. As much as dance is an escape the homeless life leaves scars. When Melendez returns to the shelter for the first time in years he faints from the emotion of returning to a place and a time in his life of great stress and trauma. It’s a moment that transcends the typical homeless doc since it makes clear the damage not having a place to live causes.  We also get to see how Melendez’s interactions with the children help him heal and how his return to the shelter gives the children hope that they too can escape.

I was moved.  I was moved not because the film manipulated me but because I fell in love with everyone on screen. It was a joy to spend time with them and watch them grow and change.  While I could say I wanted to know a bit more about Melendez away from the dance world, it’s a minor quibble from a dyed in the wool nitpicker.

LIFT is one of the great joys of Tribeca and recommended

Move Me (2022) Reel Abilities 2022 Full Frame 2022

MOVE ME is the story of the film’s co-director Kelsey Peterson, who dove into Lake Superior and ended up paralyzed.  Kelsey was a dancer struggles however now she finds she is forced to get around in a wheelchair. As she is trying to figure out which way she wants to go she is given a chance to choreograph a new piece for herself.

While there have been a number of films  on people dealing with a disability, few films have been this intimate. There is no fourth wall. Peterson is simply there, right there, living her life discussing everything. There is no filter and we are better for it. If films like MOVE ME want to show us what life is like then the need to learn to filter less.

I was moved. I fell into Peterson’s story. I love how we see not only her journey but that of her friends and family as well. We come to understand the ripple effect the accident had on everyone around Peterson.

This is a super film and is recommended when it plays Full Frame and Reel Abilities.

The Severing (2022) Slamdance 2022

Mark Pellington's THE SEVERING is a 70 minute gut punch.  A dance film for those that like disturbing things it is a film I wish I had seen on a big screen where it's images wold have been all encompasing and inescapable.

The film is a series of dances usually by a single dancer moving to an electronic soundtrack. Its like watching some one convulse from a nightmare for an hour. There were things where I wondered how they did that only to realize that it was all the twisting body of one woman. I know that ay sound like a no duh statement, but at the same time in an age where everything is computer altered its atypical to see something as troubling as some of these images that isn't computer enhanced.

While I readily admit the film probably a little bit too long I still wouldn't cut a thing even if I knew how you can trim a dance.

Before you go vaulting into this film be aware there is a chance this may not work for you. The style of the dance has been likened to Pina Bausch who I know isn't for everyone. This is people who who want to connect with the darker side and be troubled by things other than blood and guts.

Highly recommended for those who like the experimental, dance or off Hollywood.

Aliey (2021) opens Friday

 

Portrait of choreographer Alvin Ailey, his company and his influence in the world of dance and beyond.

This is a very good documentary about a man I knew nothing about and whose company I've enjoyed over the years. I loved that this film opened my eyes about a whole bunch of things I never knew. I never knew about Ailey. I only kind of understood what he was doing with his dancing. I love it when I see something that truly opens my eyes to something.

If you are interested in Ailey you are going to love this film. If you love dance you are going to love this film.

If I have any complaint about this film its that the telling isn't anything special. Sue me the structure of the film is kind of run of the mill, and while that might work for someone of a lesser stature than Alvin Ailey with a man who changed the form of dance and how we see  the world I was hoping I was hoping  something more.

Still this is a super film and worth a look.