At the Portland Dance Film Fest 2022, the choreographic film project "Herbarium" received another - the third since its premiere - Audience Award! The Polish Dance Theater's production has already received its awards from the audience of the International Choreographic Festival in Blois, France, and the Classical Arts Film Festival in Napa 2022, California.
"The Herbarium" has also received other honors around the world - the main prize of the RIFF International Film Festival: R.E.D in Eina, Norway, the award for best short dance film at the Door Kinetic Arts Festival in Baileys Harbor, USA, an award at the International Dance Film Festival in Jakarta/Indonesia, the best director award for Iwona Pasinska and an honorable mention in the "best dance film" category at the XII Encuentro Para Cinéfagos (Festival de CineArte en la Frontera) in San Cristóbal, Venezuela. It was included in 11 official selections - including two prestigious British festivals: the Aestetica Short Film Festival 2022 in York (November 1- 6, 2022) and the Leeds International Film Festival (November 3- 17, 2022).
Portland Dance Film Fest is an international festival, building its program from short and feature-length dance films, as well as documentaries and animations. The organizers are looking for original solutions, cinematic innovations and unique choreographies. The October festival presented 29 carefully selected films from 12 countries around the world.
Recall that Polish Dance Theater's fifth choreographic film project, "Herbarium," directed by Iwona Pasinska, leads viewers into the world of flora. The fairy-tale episode, sprinkled with Bergson's élan vital, allows us to explore a day in the life of plants from awakening through bloom to a warmly nostalgic end. It is a remarkable example of a "moving image" inseparably integrated with music. The dancers give the impression as if they were floating above a painterly canvas, with their sliding movements drawing micro-stories of love on the plane. Emanating warmth, the film image, masterfully handling changes of mood, invites one to immerse oneself in the beautiful world of flowers and leaves, suggesting a non-obvious analogy between the life cycle of plants and humans.
