Movement Pieces
Movement Pieces celebrates the visual poetry found in moving image art. It features short films that convey meaning through non-verbal modes of communication, like gesture and musicality, in lieu of dialogue.
This year’s programme is supported by the Québec Government and curated by guest programmer Philippe U. del Drago, who has served as Executive and Artistic Director of the International Festival of Films on Art in Montreal since 2018.
Showing 9 of 22 Special Focus films
By Simon Vermeulen
Shot in a former asbestos mine, this film features a dancer’s interactions with his sculpture, a symbol of man-made structures that can both elevate and confine.
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À BRAS-LE-CORPS (GOING ON STRIKE)
By Chélanie Beaudin-Quintin
Seeking to re-imagine collective action, Chélanie Beaudin-Quintin collaborates with dancers to deconstruct familiar images of protest often rooted in aggression.
By Édouard Lock
A lone ballerina dances with her reflection in Écho, a film made by renowned choreographer Édouard Lock, in response to feelings of isolation during lockdown.
By Kaveh Nabatian
A reaction to social unrest, as told by renowned dancer Axelle Munezero through "waacking,” an African-American street dance born in Los Angeles in the 1970s.
By Caroline Monnet
By putting the spotlight on Indigenous women as they express their spirituality in dance, Caroline Monnet presents authentic representations of them onscreen.
Explore Other Festival Sections
Opening Film
Magellan is an intimate portrait of the 16th century Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan, starring Gael García Bernal in the titular role.
Art History, Co-authored
Art History, Co-authored presents films that explore seminal moments in art and film history.
Artist Films
Presenting films made by artists, this year includes an emphasis on early documentaries by Southeast Asian practitioners and a full-length movie independently made during the Marcos regime in the Philippines. National Gallery Singapore commissioned the digital restoration of two artists’ films on 16mm, Virgilio “Pandy” Aviado’s 1978 Footages and Briccio Santos’ Damortis, which are world premiering at Painting with Light.
Exhibition Readings
Exhibition Readings presents film programmes conceived in response to the art in the Gallery’s ongoing exhibitions.
Special Focus
The Special Focus section presents films that speak to the issues of the day. This year’s programme features the work of women filmmakers and artists who advocate for ways of being that are informed by an ethics of care. Bold, innovative, and profoundly relevant, these films ask the enduring question at the heart of artistic endeavour—what does it mean to be human?
Southeast Asian Shorts
Southeast Asian Shorts presents short films on the stories of Southeast Asia. This year’s programme is co-curated by independent programmer Viknesh Kobinathan, and festival curator Pauline Soh.
Closing
We Are Toast is an expanded cinema performance by Mark Chua and Lam Li Shuen that utilises multiple 16mm film projectors to create a live film.