Dance on Film: BBC Introducing Arts (2020)

The Gold Rush

A gold prospector in Alaska struggles to survive the elements and win the heart of a dance hall girl.

Carne

After a dreadful incident coupled with an ungovernable paroxysm of violence, a butcher will fall into a downward spiral that will burn to the ground whatever dignity still remained in him.

From Our Family to Yours

A granddaughter brings joy on Christmas morning by mending her Filipina grandmother’s beloved Mickey plush and decorating her house with Filipino Christmas lanterns ‘parols’; reviving a family tradition and evoking memories of Christmas past. In partnership with Make-A-Wish. Featuring "Love Is A Compass" by Griff.

Footloose

When teenager Ren and his family move from big-city Chicago to a small town in the West, he's in for a real case of culture shock after discovering he's living in a place where music and dancing are illegal.

In the Absence

When the MV Sewol ferry sank off the coast of South Korea in 2014, over three hundred people lost their lives, most of them schoolchildren. Years later, the victims’ families and survivors are still demanding justice from national authorities.

Family Plan

Nine years ago, high school girl Jeongmin suggested a bizarre plan to her same-sex lover, Yoonseong, that they have a child who looks like both of them. Jeongmin’s wedding, scheduled in a few days, is just the start of that scheme.

Run(a)way Arab

A queer Arab boy, Nazeem, looks up to his Muslim mother with awe. Later in life, it is only through being a drag queen that he holds on to their lost and fraught connection.

Brotherly

Based on a true story of two brothers in 1970's Ohio. It tells of their abandonment by their alcoholic parents and how the brothers turned to each other for support.

Antoine and Colette

Now aged 17, Antoine Doinel works in a factory which makes records. At a music concert, he meets a girl his own age, Colette, and falls in love with her. Later, Antoine goes to extraordinary lengths to please his new girlfriend and her parents, but Colette still only regards him as a casual friend. First segment of “Love at Twenty” (1962).

The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat

A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.

Helium

A young boy, Alfred, is dying, but through the stories about Helium, a magical fantasy world, told by the hospital's eccentric janitor, Enzo, Alfred regains the joy and happiness of his life, and finds a safe haven away from daily life.

Shelter

Shelter tells the story of Rin, a 17-year-old girl who lives her life inside of a futuristic simulation completely by herself in infinite, beautiful loneliness. Each day, Rin awakens in virtual reality and uses a tablet which controls the simulation to create a new, different, beautiful world for herself. Until one day, everything changes, and Rin comes to learn the true origins behind her life inside a simulation.

The Christmas Gift

A son's letter to Santa for Christmas turns his father's evening into a thriller he did not ask for.

Amor

Based on the story "The monster in my room" by Miguel Angel López, a girl recounts living with her mother and a monster that stalks her at night.

Private Photos

A sweet couple invite a third person over for the night, who brings a lustful energy to spice things up.

Flashdance

Alex Owens, a young woman juggling between two odd jobs, aspires to become a successful ballet dancer. Nick, who is her boss and lover, supports and encourages her to fulfil her dream.

Cotton Wool

A single mother suffers a devastating stroke leaving her teenage daughter and 7-year-old son to care for her, testing the family's strength to hold things together as their roles are reversed.

The Dam Keeper

In a desolate future, one small town has survived because of a large windmill dam that acts as a fan to keep out pollution. The dam's operator, Pig, works tirelessly to keep the sails spinning and protect the town, despite abuse from classmates and an indifferent public. When a new student joins Pig's class, nothing will be the same again.

Pachyderm

As every summer, Louise is entrusted to her grand-parents for a few days of vacation in the country. The green grass of the garden, the swimming in the lake, the fishing with Grandpa, everything seems as sweet as Grandma's strawberry pies. Yet this year, the snow will fall in summer and a monster will die.

What We Don't Tell

Jeremy, a twenty-two-year-old drifter, goes on a search for the man who abused him as a child.

Puparia

Something is about to change drastically, and the only thing to do is to witness it.

Song of the Swan

A vivid dream exploration of Moira Shearer's heart and mind, just before and after she agreed to star in Powell and Pressburger's beloved cinema classic "The Red Shoes", a decision that would change her life forever. Celebrating the original film but also shining a light on the uncanny parallels between Moira Shearer and her tragic alter ego Victoria Page. Revealing a complex and defiant young woman who ultimately chose life over fame.

Riot at the Rite

In the spring of 1913, Parisian businessman Gabriel Astruc opens a new theater on the Champs Elysées. The first performance is the premiere of Igor Stravinsky's 'The Rite of Spring', danced by the Ballet Russes. The rehearsal process is extremely fraught: the orchestra dislike Stravinsky's harsh, atonal music; the dancers dislike the 'ugly' choreography of Vaslav Nijinsky. The volatile, bisexual Nijinsky is in a strained relationship with the much older Sergei Diaghilev, the Ballet Russes' charismatic but manipulative impresario. Public expectation is extremely high after Nijinsky's success in 'L'apres-midi d'un faune'. Finally, 'The Rite of Spring' premieres to a gossip-loving, febrile, fashion-conscious Parisian audience sharply divided as to its merits.

Hairspray

Pleasantly plump teenager Tracy Turnblad auditions to be on Baltimore's most popular dance show - The Corny Collins Show - and lands a prime spot. Through her newfound fame, she becomes determined to help her friends and end the racial segregation that has been a staple of the show.

Roving Mars

Join the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity for an awe-inspiring journey to the surface of the mysterious red planet.

Military Dog

New to BDSM, military officer Lee Jun Zhong meets DT, master of human dogs. One late night, Lee calls DT. Given a task to prove his loyalty to the master, will Lee be able to overcome his doubts and fear?

The Perfect Gentleman

Jonathan is poised to marry the daughter of a wealthy tycoon. The couple appears picture perfect, until the eve of their engagement party, when an unexpected guest threatens to destroy Jonathan's plans for the future.

Thread: My Rose

Thread: My Rose is the 1st part of the Sequel: Thread

Garden of Remembrance

An untidy room. Empty beer tins, empty wine bottles, a half-empty glass of whisky... A girl is getting up absent-mindedly and starts preparing herself. YOUR morning starts. Lazy and hard-to-wake-up YOU. The emoticon is ME watching over YOU. I play tricks on YOU, while YOU are playing the guitar and drinking. One day, in town, YOU walk past THE CHILDHOOD FRIEND who is buying an Anemone I liked, and remembering that I liked them, YOU rush out to buy them. THE CHILDHOOD FRIEND displays the Anemone with care. One day, years after I died, YOU hear noise from the closet. Opened, YOU see MY garden right in front of YOU. Overflowing emotions of ME and YOU. When exiting from the room with memories, a picture of the Anemone that YOU painted is displayed in YOUR new room.

The Neolith

On the moors of a desolate land where the silence of the wind reigns, a mysterious man challenges four bloodthirsty savages responsible for a horrible crime.

White Room

A man wakes up in an endless white void, unable to remember how he got there, he soon encounters an A.I. who takes the man through old memories of himself until he realizes his tragic purpose in the white room.

Living all of Life

After a lifetime together, Susana has been abandoned by her husband. She is in denial and holds on to the past. One day, she needs the help of her neighbor, Gloria, a free-spirited woman that she can’t stand. But the friendship that emerges between them awakens Susana's desire to live in the present.

Desert Dancer

Inspirational true story of Iranian dancer Afshin Ghaffarian, who risked his life for his dream to become a dancer despite a nationwide dancing ban.

Zombies

A journey between hope and dystopia in a hallucinated Kinshasa, from the culture of the hair salon to futuristic solitary clubbing, from an urban parade to a dictator's sense of glory to a modern western in the style of Takeshi Kitano.

Steamed Poultry.

To try to get to know him better, a young man invites his reluctant friend to an impromptu lunch.

Australia: Land Beyond Time

Australia: Land Beyond Time takes viewers on a breathtaking journey back in time to witness the birth and evolution of a mysterious land that harbors remnants of Earth's earliest life and many of it's strangest creatures that exist nowhere else on the planet.

Sun of the Soil

Acclaimed artist Abdou Ouologuem delves into the legend and legacy of the richest person in the history of the world, the 14th century Malian king Mansa Musa, who has been almost entirely wiped from recorded history.

Indak

This song-and-dance musical follows the journey of an island girl with a natural gift for dancing as she navigates through life in the city to follow her dreams and find love along the way.

The Lonely Island Presents: The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience

The Lonely Island spoofs Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire in this visual rap album set in the Bash Brothers' 1980s heyday.

The Emissary

A mysterious interplanetary diplomat arrives at a post-apocalyptic planet earth in order to facilitate the adoption of a member of an ancient royal family.

Erection

Can Dean get an erection in time to save his relationship?

Songs From the Sky

After Phyllis discovers that her daughter Cecilia can read, she’s torn between abiding to her slave owner’s commands or encouraging her daughter that reading is a pathway to their freedom.

Madonna: Truth or Dare

From the rains of Japan, through threats of arrest for 'public indecency' in Canada, and a birthday tribute to her father in Detroit, this documentary follows Madonna on her 1990 'Blond Ambition' concert tour. Filmed in black and white, with the concert pieces in glittering MTV color, it is an intimate look at the work of the icon, from a prayer circle before each performance to bed games with the dance troupe afterwards.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Isolated bell-ringer Quasimodo wishes to leave Notre Dame tower against the wishes of Judge Claude Frollo, his stern guardian and Paris' strait-laced Minister of Justice. His first venture to the outside world finds him Esmeralda, a kind-hearted and fearless Romani woman who openly stands up to Frollo's tyranny.

Center Stage

A group of 12 teenagers from various backgrounds enroll at the American Ballet Academy in New York to make it as ballet dancers and each one deals with the problems and stress of training and getting ahead in the world of dance.

Zorba the Greek

An uptight English writer traveling to Crete on a matter of business finds his life changed forever when he meets the gregarious Alexis Zorba.

Totems

An excellent example of how sometimes dialogue is not necessary, Totems is a visual display of our inner animal disposition. A lumberjack is working in a forest when a tree falls down and his leg gets stuck. As he is trapped in a beautiful but cruel environment, the despair awakens his primal instincts.

Paris

Pierre, a professional dancer, suffers from a serious heart disease. While he is waiting for a transplant which may (or may not) save his life, he has nothing better to do than look at the people around him, from the balcony of his Paris apartment.