Igniting new dialogues with our audience base in Italy and building connections within Québec are just two regions MDFP has been focusing on. In fall 2023 we participated in industry networking meetings towards exploring new film+digital market potential to increase visibility of MDFP through Artist Talks, curated screenings, and delivered workshops.
// VENICE — MDFP participated in a four-day event PROjecting /(DIS)playing MEMORY conceived through the curatorial excellence of Ariadne Mikou and hosted by Teatro Ca’ Foscari a Santa Marta in collaboration with CSC Casa della Danza di Bassano / Operaestate with a focus on memory and the relationship between dance, choreography, movement and the screen. Screenings also included work by Claudia Kappenberg and a workshop by visual & dance artist Jacopa Jenna. Montreal-based Marlene Millar and Sandy Silva then led body percussion + screendance workshops to a group of performing arts students and young community members at Ca’ Foscari — introducing them to the concept of Silva’s unique choreographic style and the intricate camera language involved in telling stories through screendance.
//BOLOGNA — MDFP’s Millar, Silva and creative producer, Kathy Sperberg, continued their engagement opportunities in Bologna at ZED Festival Internazionale Videodanza — ATTO II. The team participated in a public presentation at MAMbo — Museo d’Arte Moderno di Bologna with collaborators from the Department of Art of the Universitá di Bologna.
In both Venice + Bologna MDFP’s presentations offered an intimate look into MDFP’S creative DNA — its genesis, insights into selected films and launched the new Procession—Creative digital Hub, a community-making initiative (Montreal edition). Workshops in body percussion and screendance challenged participants out of their comfort zones — in parallel to inspiring our own team. Connections also made with curators and festival directors will seed new ideas for creation but also new perspectives in audience development, fuelling a continued sense of discovery. Relationship building is a fundamental component of MDFP’s continuum of creation.
“…through [Silva and Millar’s] long collaboration shape an embodied ritual of place-making, remembering, and community building that informed their recent iteration and evolution of PROCESSION—CREATIVE workshops in Italy.”
— Ariadne Mikou, Curator of (DIS)playing MEMORY event (Venice).
These initiatives were made possible through our Italian partners and with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ).