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The Pandemic Dances

It's lockdown - we cried, we laughed, we stressed, we cooked. A pandemic narrative is suggested in five short dance films: A Dance for A; Zooming; Nature Morte; Turbulence; and Test Kitchen. Employing at-hand technology - computers, iPhones, portable lighting, green screen - all films are shot in a single apartment. Awards: Best Quarantine Film; Best @home COVID-19 Short; Best New Media Dance Film; Best Experimental; Best Short; Best Director Cell Phone Films; Best Art Film and many more.

  • Richard Daniels
    Director
    Dancing Sondheim, Dances for an iPhone, silently, a bloom..., Reuven Does the Neighborhood One Last Time
  • Richard Daniels
    Producer
    Dancing Sondheim, Dances for an iPhone, silently, a bloom..., Reuven Does the Neighborhood One Last Time
  • Richard Daniels
    Key Cast
    "Dancer"
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Music Video, Short, Web / New Media, Other
  • Genres:
    Dance on Camera, Pandemic Life
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    October 15, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    6,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, Mobile Phone, Computer
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • New York Neorealism Film Awards
    Rome
    Italy
    September 10, 2021
    Italian Premiere
  • Art Film Awards
    Skopje
    Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of
    December 2, 2021
    Finalist - Quarantine Film
  • The Pandemic Dances at SAGE
    New York
    United States
    October 22, 2021
    World Premiere
  • Anatolia International Film Festival
    Istanbul
    Turkey
    September 9, 2021
    Turkey Premiere
  • Prague International Film Awards
    Prague
    Czech Republic
    October 16, 2021
    Czech Premiere
  • Golden Wheat Awards
    Istanbul
    Turkey
    December 31, 2021
    Best Experimental
  • Medusa Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    October 31, 2021
    California Premiere
    Best Short
  • Beyond the Curve International Film Festival
    Paris
    France
    October 15, 2021
    France Premiere
    Finalist
  • Monthly Future of Film Awards
    Ohrid
    Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of
    June 2, 2022
    Honorable Mention
  • Multi Dimension Independent Film Festival
    London
    United Kingdom
    November 25, 2021
    UK Premiere
    Exceptional Achievement Best Low Budget Film
  • EdiPlay International Film Festival
    Paris
    France
    November 6, 2021
    Award Winner Quarantine Stories
  • Pure Magic International Film Festival
    Amsterdam
    Netherlands
    November 3, 2021
    Netherlands Premiere
    Honor Award, Best Short Film, Best Director, Best Experimental - Film Producer, Actor, Cinematography, Editing, Score, Locations
  • MegaFlix Film Awards
    Gloucester
    United Kingdom
    August 5, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Festival Angaelica
    Los Angeles
    United States
    December 21, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Airflix Film Awards

    United Kingdom
    December 3, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Robinson Film Awards
    Naples
    Italy
    December 12, 2021
    Best Dance Short
  • Amsterdam International Film Festival
    Amsterdam
    Netherlands
    December 18, 2021
    Best Visionary Filmmaker
  • 4 Seasons Film Festival Spring
    Barcelona
    Spain
    December 31, 2021
    Best Actor
  • Lonely Wolf Film Festival
    London
    United Kingdom
    December 15, 2021
    Semi-Finalist
  • Alternative Film Festival
    Toronto
    Canada
    December 22, 2021
    Semi-Finalist
  • 5th Music Film Festival
    Toronto
    Canada
    December 29, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Le Prince International Film Festival
    Caracas
    Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of
    December 22, 2021
    Official Selection
  • World Cine Fest
    Porto
    Portugal
    February 6, 2022
    Honorable Mention
  • French Duck Film Festival
    Paris
    France
    June 13, 2022
    Finalist
  • Consonance Music & Dance
    Los Angeles
    United States
    January 19, 2022
  • 8 & HalFilm Awards
    Rome
    Italy
    January 15, 2022
  • Star Film Fest
    Barcelona
    Spain
    January 31, 2022
    Finalist
  • BIMIFF-Brazil Intl Monthly Film Fest
    Rio de Janeiro
    Brazil
    July 15, 2022
  • Golden Bridge Istanbul Short Film Fest
    Istanbul
    Turkey
    January 30, 2022
  • 8th Findecoin
    Anzoategui
    Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of
    February 22, 2022
  • Reykjavik Independent Film Festival
    Reykjavik
    Iceland
    February 22, 2022
    Iceland Premiere
    Best Mobile Phone Short
  • South Italy International Film Festival
    Barletta
    Italy
    March 10, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Only the Best Film Awards
    Miami
    United States
    April 12, 2022
    Special Award Covid Film & Jury Award Mobile Film
  • Europa Film Festival
    Barcelona
    Spain
    March 31, 2022
    Finalist
  • International Cosmopolitan Film Festival of Tokyo
    Tokyo
    Japan
    April 20, 2022
    Semi-Finalist
  • The Gladiator Film festival
    Istanbul
    Turkey
    May 31, 2022
    Official Selection
  • SounDance Film Festival
    Barcelona
    Spain
  • Symbiotic Film Festival
    Kiev
    Ukraine
    June 16, 2022
    Ukraine Premiere
    Nominee
  • Level Up Film Fest
    Bangalore
    India
    July 30, 2022
    India Premiere
    Best Experimental Short
  • MegaFlix Film Awards
    Gloucester
    United Kingdom
    September 4, 2022
    Bronze - Best Art Film, Best Experimental, Best Low-Budget
  • Montreal Arthouse Film Festival
    Montreal
    Canada
    October 14, 2022
    Semi-Finalist
  • Synergy Film Festival
    Los Angeles, California
    United States
    September 30, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Tokyo Film Awards
    Tokyo
    Japan
    October 5, 2022
    Honorable Mention
  • Arthouse Festival of Beverly Hills
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    November 11, 2022
    Semi Finalist
  • French International Modern Film @ Script Festival
    Paris
    France
    September 5, 2023
    Honorable Mention - Best Covid-19 Film
  • Imaginary Mind Film Contest

    October 28, 2023
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Richard Daniels

"The Pandemic Dances” is a product of the times and limitations through which we’re living. This series is made with at-hand elements: smart phones, portable lighting, computers, green screen, and shot entirely within the confines of my apartment. The series aims to capture elements of the experience of this time through close-up footage of body movements and gesture work, and is a natural outgrowth of my previous Dances for an iPhone films. Yet this will be a first effort in capturing autobiographical work on film. In the brief time in which the series has been released, it has already been accepted into 14 film festivals and won 6 awards.

“The Pandemic Dances” follow two other award-winning documentaries by Richard Daniels. “Reuven Does the Neighborhood One Last Time,” is a short about Reuven's last journey around his first neighborhood before moving away to a new one. Places he used to love, things he used to do, where he would eat and play, memories and curiosities about his origins explored together with his parents, blend together to shape up Reuven's universe, defining the first six years of his childhood. 8 Film Festival Awards; 17 Film Festivals

"silently, a bloom...," is Mr. Daniels’s short 2016 documentary on the work of artist photographer Stanley Goldberg. The film follows Mr. Goldberg as he finds inspiration in two gardens, prepares work for an exhibition, and allows us to him accompany to the opening. 6 film festival awards; 13 film festivals

Daniels is perhaps best known for his series of Dances for an iPhone Apps, which used technology as a medium in order to transmit modern dance to the general public and which contain 28 short dance films by Richard Daniels. Its volumes have acquired more than 18,000 downloads in over 110 countries. The award-winning DANCING SONDHEIM (Volume 4) encompasses 7 short dance movies with choreography by Daniels and Christopher Caines, all employing the music of Stephen Sondheim.

Dances for an iPhone's Apps and short dance movies were celebrated in public events at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Lincoln Center Dance on Camera Festival, and others. Dancing Sondheim was given an Award of Merit for Dance, Drama, Entertainment and Variety at the IndieFEST Film Awards, the Award of Merit for Choreography at the Accolade Global Film Awards, Honorary Mention Award at the Colortape International Film Festival (Australia), and an International Award of Excellence from the International Film Festival for Peace, Inspiration and Equality. Its movies have also been screened in 15 film international film festivals.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

"The Pandemic Dances” flows from my previous dance-on-camera pursuits. Sheltered at home due to pandemic, miles apart from and grappling with my mother’s final days, I created a small dance for her utilizing at-hand elements of lighting, sound, set. This first film is leading into a series seeking to capture the character of the moment in which we're living through intimate dances in interior settings - my first effort to capture autobiographical work on film in movement and imagery.