Private Project

Dastak: Fire

Dancing amidst the scorched, post-uprising ruins of Minneapolis following the murder of George Floyd, Guggenheim awardee, choreographer Ananya Chatterjea and her fierce company of BIPOC women, push against injustice to invoke fiery love in the community.

  • Darren Johnson
    Director
  • Ananya Dance Theatre
    Key Cast
  • Ananya Chatterjea
    Choreographer
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Dance, Social Justice, Black Lives Matter
  • Runtime:
    7 minutes 15 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 24, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    2,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital 4k
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • In / Motion - Chicago's International Dance Film Festival
    Chicago, Ill
    United States
    January 23, 2021
    Special Curated Screening
  • Silk Road Film Awards Cannes
    Cannes
    France
    August 30, 2021
    Best Social Justice Film
  • Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema
    Boulder, CO
    United States
    September 24, 2021
    Official Selection
  • London International Screen Dance Festival
    London
    United Kingdom
    September 24, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Greensboro Dance Film Festival
    Greensboro, North Carolina
    United States
    October 30, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Toronto Independent Film Festival of Cift
    Toronto
    Canada
    December 18, 2021
    Best Short on Social Justice
  • Berlin Shorts Award
    Berlin
    Germany
    December 18, 2021
    Best Ensemble Acting
  • Flatlands Dance Film Festival
    Urbana-Champaign
    United States
    January 22, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Paris International Short Film Festival
    Paris
    France
    January 20, 2022
    Finalist
  • Sydney Indie Short Festival
    Sydney
    Australia
    December 20, 2021
    Semi-Finalist, Best Women Empowerment Film
Distribution Information
  • Darren Johnson
    Country: United States
Director Biography - Darren Johnson

A multi-disciplinary artist working primarily in film and poetry, Darren Johnson’s films span subjects from implicit bias and social justice to music and performing arts. Most recently, his films have screened at the Harlem Film Festival, Lincoln Center’s Dance on Camera Festival, and In/Motion, Chicago’s International Dance Film Festival. His spoken word poetry releases include the audiobook, Conundrums of Indignant Bliss and a live jazz album Poetic Explorations with the Whitewashed Conundrums.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

In trying to find a way out of a plethora of global crises, and to spark empathy for what is unknown and not fully understood, I have come to believe in the power of art - whether dance, film, song, painting, photograph or poem - to reach across our learned cultural barriers, challenging us to think “outside of our box” and imagine our worlds differently. Capturing and creating moments both extraordinary and resonant, art succeeds when it touches our deepest emotions and sensibilities, reflecting and illuminating issues we struggle with, engaging us and provoking questions about where we are as a species, where we’ve been and where we might go.