From a French aerialist’s gender euphoria journey to a Canadian dancer’s fight against colorism and a Colombian queer refugee’s silenced asylum struggles, globally renowned drag, circus, and dance artists come together to share powerful stories of resilience in captivating manifestos. Part documentary of a creation residency, part video art, they articulate their histories through visceral movement and words, inviting viewers to contemplate the beauty of human strength.
Director’s statement:
Resilience intertwines cinematography and performing arts, each serving the other. It amplifies voices typically marginalized in the arts, aiming to contribute to discussions on respect, empathy, and inclusivity. A collaboration between choreographer Claire Campbell and me, this project stems from a creative research endeavor in Montreal, Canada, that involved anthropologists, cultural mediators, curators, and the migrant community. This led to an artistic residency with invited performing artists, yielding a cinematic production. Comprising a prologue and seven manifestos presented as episodes, it forms a revealing dance documentary exploring the lives and works of its protagonists. These artists, distinguished by their unique approaches and artistic trajectories, express ideas aligned with the transformative power of movement arts. They aim to foster more diverse and inclusive societies while sparking reflections on systemic racism, invisible barriers faced by visible minorities, new diasporas, diverse identities, and more. As a refugee filmmaker based in Canada, I’ve navigated the challenges of marginalization. My own body has borne bureaucratic limbo and forced displacement. This was a significant impetus in the creation of Resilience, a project that aspires to amplify the voices historically marginalized by institutional verticality.
- Juan David Padilla Vega
Director’s statement:
Resilience intertwines cinematography and performing arts, each serving the other. It amplifies voices typically marginalized in the arts, aiming to contribute to discussions on respect, empathy, and inclusivity. A collaboration between choreographer Claire Campbell and me, this project stems from a creative research endeavor in Montreal, Canada, that involved anthropologists, cultural mediators, curators, and the migrant community. This led to an artistic residency with invited performing artists, yielding a cinematic production. Comprising a prologue and seven manifestos presented as episodes, it forms a revealing dance documentary exploring the lives and works of its protagonists. These artists, distinguished by their unique approaches and artistic trajectories, express ideas aligned with the transformative power of movement arts. They aim to foster more diverse and inclusive societies while sparking reflections on systemic racism, invisible barriers faced by visible minorities, new diasporas, diverse identities, and more. As a refugee filmmaker based in Canada, I’ve navigated the challenges of marginalization. My own body has borne bureaucratic limbo and forced displacement. This was a significant impetus in the creation of Resilience, a project that aspires to amplify the voices historically marginalized by institutional verticality.
- Juan David Padilla Vega
Also presented:
43rd International Festival of Films on Art, Canada (2025)
43rd International Festival of Films on Art, Canada (2025)
| Assistant director | Rhys Kristensen |
| Script | Juan David Padilla Vega |
| Director of Photography | Max Machado |
| Scenarisation | Dianny Moreno, Ricardo Vargas |
| Artistic Direction | Claire Campbell |
| Editing | Juan David Padilla Vega |
| Director | Juan David Padilla Vega |
| Sound mixing | Juan David Cataño |
| Music | Juan David Cataño, Simon Rivet |
Production
Juan David Padilla Vega
Juan David Padilla Vega is a Canadian-Colombian queer refugee and transdisciplinary artist and filmmaker whose work spans cinema, experimental documentary, photography, and video installation, often intertwined with circus, dance, drag, and music. With a Bachelor in Audiovisual Communication and a Master’s degree in Cultural Management, his hybrid practice explores the experiences of visible and invisible minorities, emerging diasporas, inherited memory, migration, and the poetics of human movement.
His debut documentary Resilience (2024), supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, premiered at the International Festival of Films on Art (Le FIFA) in Montreal. His most recent multimedia installation, Titre de voyage (2024), which appraises the personal impact of Canadian refugee processes, premiered at the Montreal Arts Council and was later exhibited by the City of Montreal, the Maison de la culture Claude-Léveillée, the LatinArte Festival, and during Latin American Heritage Month, reaching over 38,000 spectators.
Other notable works include the short documentary Betty, la voz del litoral Pacífico, centered on Afro-Colombian opera singer Betty Garcés, and the queer photography series Nostos, Urniator & Dor, featured at Cali’s International Dance Biennial and in galleries across the Americas and Europe.
Before relocating to Montreal, Juan spent over a decade as Head of Audiovisuals at Colombia’s Ministry of Culture, producing nationally broadcast series such as Cultura al Aire and Colombian Faces of Culture. He is now the founder and artistic director of Insondable Studio, a production company that celebrates the cultural diversity of the Americas through compelling audiovisual stories and artworks. He also contributes to commercial music and film projects, notably with Spotify and the music label Secret City Records, and serves as Director of Development for the LatinArte Festival.
Biographical notes provided by the film production team
His debut documentary Resilience (2024), supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, premiered at the International Festival of Films on Art (Le FIFA) in Montreal. His most recent multimedia installation, Titre de voyage (2024), which appraises the personal impact of Canadian refugee processes, premiered at the Montreal Arts Council and was later exhibited by the City of Montreal, the Maison de la culture Claude-Léveillée, the LatinArte Festival, and during Latin American Heritage Month, reaching over 38,000 spectators.
Other notable works include the short documentary Betty, la voz del litoral Pacífico, centered on Afro-Colombian opera singer Betty Garcés, and the queer photography series Nostos, Urniator & Dor, featured at Cali’s International Dance Biennial and in galleries across the Americas and Europe.
Before relocating to Montreal, Juan spent over a decade as Head of Audiovisuals at Colombia’s Ministry of Culture, producing nationally broadcast series such as Cultura al Aire and Colombian Faces of Culture. He is now the founder and artistic director of Insondable Studio, a production company that celebrates the cultural diversity of the Americas through compelling audiovisual stories and artworks. He also contributes to commercial music and film projects, notably with Spotify and the music label Secret City Records, and serves as Director of Development for the LatinArte Festival.
Biographical notes provided by the film production team
Titre de voyage (2024)
Betty Garcés, the voice of pacific littoral (2020)
Betty Garcés, the voice of pacific littoral (2020)
