92Y Announces The Third Annual Mobile Dance Film Festival

92Y announces the third annual 92Y Mobile Dance Film Festival - the only dance film festival featuring works shot entirely on mobile devices - premiering July 25 at 8 pm ET through August 31. The Festival explores the magic that happens at the intersection of choreography, camerawork and editing-revealing new dimensions in movement and offering intimate access and up-close perspectives on the physical and spatial dynamics of dance.

An international jury of dance filmmakers chose 30 films as Official Selections out of more than 152 submissions from around the world, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Russia, Sweden, Uruguay and the US. The Official Selections include the Festival's first-ever animated mobile dance film.

New to this year's Festival: 13 "Quarantine Screen" selections. The submission period for this year's Festival was still open when COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns began and out of necessity, filmmakers needed to utilize social-distancing practices and techniques such as Zoom and FaceTime, Tik Tok's "Don't Rush" challenge, and split-screen dueting. MDFF creator Andrew Chapman realized it would be difficult to measure these films against the more "traditional" techniques available to pre-pandemic artists and created a separate category.

"Even as film and dance artists face some of the most difficult times during the pandemic when it comes to creating, they have not let these difficulties stand in the way of their need or ability to work," notes Chapman. "They have done what creative people do: taken what they have available and made art. We are honored to showcase these artists and their work."

The Festival also includes a separate screening of the new documentary Bent But Not Broken starring dancers with scoliosis, shot on mobile devices during the pandemic. This is the first documentary for the Festival and is followed by a discussion with the film's director Paige Fraser, choreographer Rena Butler and MDFF creator Andrew Chapman.

The MDFF premieres on July 25 at 8 pm ET and runs through August 31, with five programs of screenings, all available for $5.

Official Selection Program I
8 Official Selections. Runtime: 40 minutes

Official Selection Program II
11 Official Selections. Runtime 40 minutes

Official Selection Program III
11 Official Selections. Runtime 40 minutes

Quarantine Screen Selections
13 Selections. Runtime 60 minutes

Bent But Not Broken Mobile Dance Film Documentary Screening + Discussion
Runtime 60 minutes

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