Theseus: Black Sail, White Sail
a 2024 Nominee, "Best Mood Film", Yeti Film Fest, Iceland
a 2022 Grand Jury Award Winner, Oniros Film Awards, New York
"Best Black and White Design Award", 2022 Black and White Feedback Film Festival
an Official 2022 Selection of the International Fine Arts Film Festival
Best Erotic Short, 2021 Austin International Art Festival
a 2021 Dubai Independent Film Festival Finalist
a 2021 Niagara Falls International Short Festival Finalist
a 2021 Berlin Shorts Award Semi Finalist
a 2022 Arthouse Festival of Beverly Hills Semi Finalist
The poetry of the short dance film "Theseus: Black Sail, White Sail" is based on the end part of the "Theseus and the Minotaur" story from Greek Mythology at the point where Theseus sails from Crete back home to mainland Greece, after killing the Minotaur to free his lover Ariadne.
Sailing in distress, Theseus forgets to hoist a white sail to signal to his Father, Aegeus (who is watching for Theseus' ship from a cliff) that he is alive.
Instead, a black sail is flown by mistake and tragedy ensues.
Original Music by Tibetan- Singing- Bowl Master, Emile de Leon.
Filmed in in two locations in Greece: the Parthenon in Athens and at the sea almost directly underneath the Temple of Poseidon in Sunion, where according to the myth, is exactly the place where Theseus' ship arrived.
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Taso PapadakisDirector
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Robyn NisbetKey Cast"Theseus / Ariadne / Aegeus"
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Robyn NisbetKey Cast"Choreographer"
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Taso PapadakisProducer
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Robyn NisbetProducer
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Taso PapadakisCinematographer
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Taso PapadakisEditor
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Emile deLeon / Temple SoundsOriginal Musical Score
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Project Type:Experimental, Short
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Runtime:5 minutes 20 seconds
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Completion Date:August 1, 2021
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Production Budget:0 USD
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:Greece
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Shooting Format:Digital, 1080p
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Black & White
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
Taso Papadakis, Director / Cinematographer:
Taso Papadakis is a commercial art photographer and filmmaker.
He currently makes images for LA Opera and UCLA Opera. His photo work is often published in the LA Times.
Taso’s motion film work is in the collection of the Joseph Campbell Foundation.
His fine art photography has been featured as decor on TV sets, including the sets of the show “Sons of Anarchy".
He has also worked on photo documentaries including assignments in El Salvador, in order to directly benefit the remote communities there.
Among the highlights in his documentary work , was an opportunity to be close to and photograph the Dalai Lama.
He has a degree in Religious Studies from the University of Southern California and is a large-scale painter for the sake of movement and celebration.
Robyn Nisbet, Starring / Choreographer:
Robyn Nisbet is a dance and visual artist based in Los Angeles. She has a lifelong relationship with a yoga based breath-centered philosophy. Robyn is also a practitioner of Ifa, a West African spiritual tradition. Introduced to this through practice Afro-Brazilian dance, which has its roots in West African Orisá (deity) devotion, Robyn continues to investigate what it means to be in synergy with energies driven by rhythm, spirit, and community.
Robyn’s performance work has been deeply influenced by personal studies with post Butoh based artists, Dana and Shinichi Iova-Koga. The work emphasizes complete presence of the body in relationship to time, space, and the environment. Robyn continues to travel to Senegal where she shares these ideas with fellow dancers and musicians, experimenting within the tradition of the dance and drum circle. For Robyn, the circle teaches the importance of being seen as an individual as well as witnessing the individual from the collective perspective. She also draws inspiration from the martial art of Capoeira and Afro-Brazilian dance.
Robyn currently works in Los Angeles in development of creative approaches and material with a core group of performance artists and musicians. She regularly performs with Ijo Emi, Rachel Hernandez’s Afro-Brazilian dance company, and also plays the Surdo drum for the Samba band, Baté Batuque.
This film is simply composed and performed with complete focus and commitment by Robyn Nisbet. I hope you enjoy the movement, pictures and freedom-style poetry of this short dance film.