MOVIE MONDAYS: LEG, ARM, HEAD
Late last year, after a Q&A event with the director of Butter on the Latch, Josephine Decker, I met the ingenious Scout Stuart for the first time. Scout is a Manchester based filmmaker whose work I had come across a couple years earlier, unknown to me at the time. At one of the then Cornerhouse's Filmed Up event that showcased short films made by filmmakers in the North West of the UK, I watched the very weird but oddly captivating film, The Pig Child - a film whose script was co-written by Scout. And now I have the pleasure in giving you a sneak peek at her narrative directorial debut: Leg, Arm, Head.
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Selected to be screened at the 2016 BFI Flare festival (which runs from 16th - 27th March), Leg, Arm, Head is a short film about a dancer who contemplates the notion of movement beyond the constraints of ballet in terms of precision and technique. My knowledge of ballet is limited to the few years I spent at dance school with the dream of becoming a prima ballerina (not fully grasping what that actually meant) which was later quietly destroyed when my weight came into question. However, I never stopped imagining of a world where I could soar across stage-after-stage with an abundance of grace and command the attention of those watching me with perfectly executed grand jetés here and a series of awe-inspiring pirouettes there. Anyway, back to Leg, Arm, Head....
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'Leg, Arm, Head' Trailer (2016) fromScout Stuart on Vimeo.
After watching the film it occurred to me that although very little is said verbally, we, the audience, are still taken on a journey into the angular world of someone that tentatively entertains the idea of fluidity; you definitely get a glimpse of the emotions that the main character is feeling. Being a film that uses dance as a medium of expression you may expect the soundtrack to be centre stage alongside the main characters but funnily enough, for Leg, Arm, Head we are able to appreciate the value and presence of silence and background noise. Starring Hannah Buckley, Etta Fusi and some dancers associated with Yorkshire Dance company, this artistic film is one you should see if you get the chance to (screens at BFI Flare Festival in March) regardless of if you have a history with dance or not. It serves as a reminder that sometimes you just need to loosen up and embrace being be off pointe... yep, I went there. Ha!
Mo x
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