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.
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Fiona Jane BurgessDirector
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Franka Marlene FothChoreographer
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Cora Berndt-StühmerProducer
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Htat Lin HtutDirector of Photography
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Elizabeth Fraser-BellStylist
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Myriel WellingKey Cast
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Amalie StitzKey Cast
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Patrick MorganSteadicam Operator
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Ashton Green1st Assistant Camera
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Thanh-Long Vo2nd Assistant Camera
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Julia BardeMake-up Artist
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Safiye GrayRunners
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Michael MönnichRunners
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“Antenne” by Frank Bretschneider + Ralph SteinbrüchelMusic
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Greg Hayes at Whitehouse PostEditor
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Simona Cristea at Coffee&TVColourist
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Project Type:Short
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Genres:Dance, Choreography, Music Video
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Runtime:4 minutes 9 seconds
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Completion Date:October 22, 2018
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Production Budget:4,000 GBP
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Country of Origin:United Kingdom
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Country of Filming:Germany
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:4:3
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:No
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Sledgehammer Film ScreeningAmsterdam
Netherlands
November 14, 2018
European Premiere
Official Selection
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.