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MABOUNGOU: Being in the World

This 48-minute-long documentary delves into the resonant universe of Montréal-based dancer, choreographer, and philosopher Zab Maboungou, of Franco-Congolese origin. For over thirty years, the artist has galvanized the contemporary dance scene with her radically regrounded conception of time, the body, and the self. Maboungou masterfully transforms sites of identity and being, observing and altering the timeless moments that define our place in the world. Her personal and political history, her artistry, and her pioneering research of rhythm-cultures are acts of empowerment that have created a sense of place for other African dance artists in Canada and abroad.

  • Marlene Millar
    Director
  • Philip Szporer
    Director
  • Philip Szporer
    Writer
  • Marlene Millar
    Writer
  • Dr. 'Funmi Adewole Elliott
    Writer
  • Michael Wees
    Cinematographers
  • Peter Krieger
    Cinematographers
  • Lucy Fandel
    Research
  • Siam Obregón
    Visual Research
  • Mark Durand
    Editor
  • Maritza Grégoire
    Assistants
  • Judith Gruber-Stitzer
    Music Composition
  • Judith Gruber-Stitzer
    Sound design
  • Kara Blake
    Animator
  • Marlene Millar
    Producer
  • Philip Szporer
    Producer
  • Zab Maboungou
    Key Cast
  • 'Funmi Adewole Elliott
    Key Cast
  • Karla Etienne
    Key Cast
  • Elli Miller Maboungou
    Key Cast
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    MABOUNGOU: Being in World
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Documentary, Art documentary, Dance documentary
  • Runtime:
    48 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 31, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    75,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Full HD; Framerate 23.976
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • FIFA
    Montreal
    Canada
    March 18, 2023
    North American Premiere
  • Peloponnisos Internatioanl Documentary Festival
    Kalamata
    Greece
    March 13, 2024
    World Premiere
  • Yorkton
    Yorkton
    Canada
    May 25, 2023
    Nomination
  • African Film Festival
    Dallas
    United States
    June 1, 2023
  • Black August
    Pasadena
    United States
    August 19, 2023
  • ARTS X SDGS Festival
    Nairobi
    Kenya
    June 15, 2023
  • kNOwBOX Dance FIlm Festival
    Dallas
    United States
    October 15, 2023
  • dance made in canada | fait au canada
    Toronto
    Canada
    August 16, 2023
  • Lane Doc Festival
    Jackson
    United States
    October 7, 2023
  • Abuja International Film Festival
    Lagos
    Nigeria
    October 30, 2023
  • FilmArte
    Berlin
    Germany
    October 2, 2023
    Special Jury Award
  • ReFrame Documentary Film Festival
    Peterborough
    Canada
    January 26, 2024
Distribution Information
  • Vidéographe
    Distributor
    Country: Worldwide
Director Biography - Marlene Millar, Philip Szporer

Mouvement Perpétuel is an award-winning Montreal-based independent film, video, and new media production company specializing in arts programming. Co-directors Marlene Millar and Philip Szporer create impressionistic dance-media films, arts documentaries and multi-channel video installations, feature expansive choreographies and portraits of some of Canada/Quebec’s leading contemporary dancers and choreographers and from across cultures within the Americas, Europe and Asia. Viewers are invited into a deeply intimate tracing of the curvatures of rich human experience.

Marlene Millar and Philip Szporer met in 1986 dancing in the work of New York choreographer Charles Dennis. Subsequently a friendship developed and their professional talents merged once more ten years later when they embarked on the first sketch of what was later to become the video series Moments in Motion/Au fil du mouvement. They shared a Fellowship for the Dance/Media Project at the University of California, Los Angeles, developing new ideas, and producing work in the United States. Their return to Canada saw the creation of Mouvement Perpétuel in 2001.

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Director Statement

As dance filmmakers, we, Marlene Millar and Philip Szporer, are always looking to work with dance artists who are as articulate with their words as they are in their bodies. Zab Maboungou is such an artist. As she explains, “movement and thought reside in the body. We move, we think; they are one and the same.” Maboungou is a profound artist and engaged subject, and we are drawn to her ability to work at the forefront of current expression, inherently challenging the norms and preconceptions surrounding what is often referred to as "African dance," always embracing a constantly evolving culture.