L E   F I F A
L E   F I F A
Navigation
Award for Best Canadian Short Film, FIFA 2021

Navigation is the sixth film in the Migration Dance Film Project by filmmaker Marlene Millar and choreographer Sandy Silva. Set in the spectacular Burren region of the west coast of Ireland, this work explores how we navigate unknown terrain, through which emerge themes of survival and perseverance, departure and renewal. Rhythms, movement, vocals, landscape, and silence define and embody this exploration, featuring the performances of ten dancers/​singers and an Irish community choir of 40 participants, whose deeply collaborative relationship is palpable. A powerful cinematographic journey filmed in black and white, shaped by the nuanced dynamic, emotion, and precision of this percussive dance.
Jury Recommendation Award — Rollout Festival, Macao, (2021)
Best Film Prize — Moving Body Festival, Bulgaria, (2020)
Best Group Performance Award — InShadow, Lisbon, (2020)
Best Film Award — Bucharest International Dance Film Festival (2020)
Best Film Award & Audience Award — Fuori Formato, Stories We Dance, Italy, (2020)
Jury Mention — Screen.dance, Scotland, (2020)
Director Marlene Millar
Participation Lismorahaun Singers
Editing Jules De Niverville
Choreography Sandy Silva
Cast Sandy Silva, Bobby Thompson, Kimberly Robin, Hélène Lemay, Isaac Endo, Afia Douglas, Dominic Desrochers, David Cronkite, Sonia Clarke, Andrew Bathory
Sound mixing Félix Boisvert
Cinematography Kes Tagney
Music Jean Fréchette, Sandy Silva

In Partnership with

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Production

Marlene Millar

Marlene Millar

For over 30 years filmmaker Marlene Millar has created dance films, documentaries and experimental media productions. In 2019, her expansive career was honoured at a retrospective solo-exhibit at Threshold Artspace, Perth, UK. The process-driven continuum of the Migration Dance Film Project series (including Pilgrimage, Traverse, Navigation), produced/​directed by Millar and produced/​choreographed by Sandy Silva, has garnered over 25 awards and prizes internationally. Their films come to life as Millar and Silva transpose the choreography to the screen and Millar creates a poignant visual language that reveals the intricacies of these issue-driven, performative stories. Since 2000, Marlene has co-created a critically acclaimed collection of dance media work with Philip Szporer through their company, MOUVEMENT PERPÉTUEL. Their award-winning films have been widely circulated at events including: Festival International du film sur l’art – Hommage à Mouvement Perpétuel : 20 ans de création (FIFA 2020), World Exhibition in Shanghai, 2010 Cultural Olympics. Millar’s installation works explore alternative forms of screens, capturing metaphoric histories and docu-fiction resonances — notably in the recent video installation WITNESS. A prolific educator and mentor, Millar has taught filmmaking across continents at institutes such as Centre Imagine (Burkina Faso), Malakta (Finland), Impulstanz (Vienna) and throughout Nunavut in the Canadian Arctic.
Selected films:
Wamunzo en paroles, Wamunzo en creation (2019)
Traverse (2018)
Bhairava (2017)
Pilgrimage & Move (2017)

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