"POLINA DANCES ME" When a choreographer becomes a film director. What is the secret to success as a director in a different industry?

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2017.10.30Hiroaki Saito

"POLINA DANCES ME" synopsis

--Russia

Polina, a Russian girl who started ballet at the age of 4, dreams of becoming a ballerina in the Bolshoi Ballet. Although she grew up in a poor family environment, her passion for ballet was stronger than anyone else's, and she was trained from an early age under her strict teacher Bozinski. After that, Polina went to the Bolshoi ballet school, continued to practice and grew into a promising ballerina. Although she is troubled by her parents' financial problems, she successfully passes the audition to join the Bolshoi Ballet, which she admires, and falls in love with French dancer Adrien. However, one day, just before he was about to join the company, his fate was about to change dramatically due to his encounter with contemporary dance. Unable to suppress the emotions that well up within her, Polina abandons the bright career she was promised and, against her parents' wishes, goes with Adrien to a contemporary dance company in the south of France (Aix-en-Provence). make a decision.

--Southern France/Aix-en-Provence

When they arrive, under the strict guidance of the famous choreographer Lilia, they are faced with a new challenge, even though they are confused by the dance style, which is different from their previous styles. However, what awaited him in his new world were days of conflict between dreams and love. Polina, whose thoughts are all in vain, ends up injuring her leg during practice, and before she knows it, she starts to run into each other with Adrien. Afterwards, although he recovers from his injuries, Lilia points out that his dance is beautiful but doesn't make you feel anything, and he is finally removed from the role. Polina is abandoned by both dancers and lovers, and has lost everything. In search of a new place to live, he landed alone in Antwerp, Belgium.

--Belgium/Antwerp

Deciding to survive on her own, Polina spends her days auditioning and looking for work. Time passes without any results, and he ends up in a situation where he can't even pay his hotel bill. Unable to tell her parents The Truth, Polina hits rock bottom, but finally gets a part-time job at a bar and starts dancing again. One day, by chance, I happened to notice Karl, a dancer who teaches dance to children. Inspired by his improvisational dance, Polina finally discovers the joy of dancing in her own way. Then, at Karl's suggestion, the two of them decided to take on the challenge of participating in the Montpellier Festival as choreographers, and decided to take a new step...

Index

There are many cases of people entering the movies based on stage experience.

What kind of occupation did he have before directing movies? It is common to see people who have been involved in the film industry, such as actors, cinematographers, screenwriters, producers, and editors, transition to directors.

Similarly, people often enter film from other artistic fields. There are many similar patterns in photography and performing arts.

Famous photographers who have also become film directors include Stanley Kubrick, Anton Corbijn, Larry Clark, Mika Ninagawa, and Kazuaki Kiriya. Stage directors and playwrights who have made inroads into film direction include Sam Mendes of " American Beauty " and Stephen Daldry of " Billy Elliot " in the UK, and in Japan, Yukio Ninagawa, Koki Mitani, and Amon Miyamoto. The act of "directing" has many things in common between stage and film. It is understandable that some directors would want to challenge themselves with the new medium of film in search of a different form of expression than on stage.

A somewhat unusual but surprisingly common pattern is that of a choreographer becoming a film director. Even if you go back in the history of film, you'll find Jerome Robbins in ` `West Side Story ,'' Bob Fosse in `` Cabaret '' and ``All That Jazz,'' Susan Stroman in `` The Producers ,'' ` `Hairspray ,'' `` Adam Shankman of ``Rock of Ages '' and others. It is unique to a choreographer that his signature work is a musical film (Fosse has also directed non-musicals such as `` Lenny Bruce '' and Shakman has directed `` The Wedding Planner ''). All of them also had careers as dancers and choreographers working on Broadway and other musicals. If the film is based on a work that he himself choreographed for the stage, the transition to becoming a director will be even smoother.

Videos and production methods unique to choreographers