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Versus

A collaboration between British director Fiona Jane Burgess and German choreographer Franka Marlene Foth, Versus documents two female dancers moving through the external corridors and open courtyards of the Hofgarten estate in Berlin, a modernist concrete maze.

Electronic composer Frank Bretschneider provides a futuristic soundtrack that exploits reversals, glitches and ambient sounds. New York-based cinematographer Htat Lin Htut moves dynamically through the built environment, obscuring and revealing the dancers bodies, which are themselves clad in a muted palette styled by Elizabeth Fraser-Bell, senior fashion editor at Dazed.

The choreography is concerned with the process of everyday life as a woman, a dancer, and a creative - impulsive and powerful, but also, at times, sloppy and slow. It's a study of contrasts: sexy and ugly, heavy and light, strong and soft. It’s about trying to find balance and synchronicity. There is a characteristic violence lingering beneath the surface of this startlingly simple and carefully formed new work by this emerging filmmaker.

  • Fiona Jane Burgess
    Director
  • Franka Marlene Foth
    Choreographer
  • Cora Berndt-Stühmer
    Producer
  • Htat Lin Htut
    Director of Photography
  • Elizabeth Fraser-Bell
    Stylist
  • Myriel Welling
    Key Cast
  • Amalie Stitz
    Key Cast
  • Patrick Morgan
    Steadicam Operator
  • Ashton Green
    1st Assistant Camera
  • Thanh-Long Vo
    2nd Assistant Camera
  • Julia Barde
    Make-up Artist
  • Safiye Gray
    Runners
  • Michael Mönnich
    Runners
  • “Antenne” by Frank Bretschneider + Ralph Steinbrüchel
    Music
  • Greg Hayes at Whitehouse Post
    Editor
  • Simona Cristea at Coffee&TV
    Colourist
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Dance, Choreography, Music Video
  • Runtime:
    4 minutes 9 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 22, 2018
  • Production Budget:
    4,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    Germany
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    4:3
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Sledgehammer Film Screening
    Amsterdam
    Netherlands
    November 14, 2018
    European Premiere
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Fiona Jane Burgess

Fiona Jane Burgess is a film director from Kendal, The Lake District. She graduated with a 1st in BA Drama and Applied Theatre from Central School of Speech and Drama and a 1st in MA Performance Studies from Kings College London.

Burgess began directing films for her band Woman’s Hour. Signed to Secretly Canadian record label (Bon Iver, Major Lazer, ANONHI) she toured internationally playing headline shows and supporting acts including Metronomy, Lykke Li and Anna Calvi. She also directed Seeing Voices – a live performance combining music and Sign Language that toured the UK and was supported by the Arts Council England.

She has since directed commercial and narrative films for brands and editorial platforms such as Burberry, Nowness, Adidas, Fiorucci, Secretly Canadian and Virgin EMI.

Her experience as a performer and a musician is integral to her filmmaking. Burgess also works as a creative director for stills and moving image. She is interested in blurring the lines between documentary and fiction and incorporates movement and dance as a central motif.

As a proud feminist, she is drawn to projects that empower women and provoke debate. Aside from filmmaking, Burgess also runs regular workshops in an adolescent psychiatric unit as a drama and arts facilitator.

She is London based but a Northerner at heart.

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