Digress to Progress

Digress to Progress - A Dance Film
An office worker is feed up with the monotony of sitting behind a desk, so she breaks out of her daily routine. She dares to explore her downtown neighbourhood, dancing to music only she can hear. Filmed in the historic Gastown neighbourhood of Vancouver, Canada, this film shows sometimes you need to look within to be able to move forward in life.

  • Obediya Jones-Darrell
    Director
  • Sarah Russell (Dance Choreography)
    Writer
  • Obediya Jones-Darrell
    Producer
  • Micheal Berz (Videographer)
    Producer
  • Bevin Poole-Leinweber (Dance Choreography)
    Key Cast
  • Jaclyn Dang (Dance Choreography)
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Music Video, Short
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    April 10, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    1,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Obediya Jones-Darrell

Obediya is a Film Maker, Producer, Composer, Musician & Storyteller. He composes music for Film, Musical Theatre, Opera, and Radio. In Canada, his Radio Drama productions have been recognized with multiple national awards for excellence. Internationally his music has been showcased in film festivals in Brooklyn, Atlanta, Hollywood, and Leipzig, Germany.

After many years of contributing music to other people's productions, this is his first time producing, directing and composing music for his own film.

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Director Statement

As a storyteller who often focuses on the spoken word (Radio & Opera composer), I started this project thinking telling a story with out words would be a challenge. This is the first film I wrote, produced and directed by myself. Focusing on music and dance, this film forced me to take my creativity in a new direction. Once all of the artists came together, we shared experiences from our lives that showed we all could relate to the theme of the film. Each person had something important to add, and the story began to take a life of its own as each person added their own creative touches. The camaraderie we built during the creative process helped us all to see something new in each other, and I will always treasure that. Especially, since our videographer, Micheal Berz, is no longer with us. He passed away before this project was completed. Finishing this film allows the memory of him to live on in the minds and hearts of our audience.

This production brought people from all walks of life together to tell a story of self reflection. We are honoured to bring our creative process to you, the audience, so you can share in our journey inward as we Digress to Progress.