KEEPING LONDON MOVING
by Amanda Lomonaco

Review of the short film MOVING LONDON.
Played at the September 2015 WILDsound FEEDBACK Film Festival.
http://www.wildsoundfestival.com/september_2015_film_festival.html

As part of the “Moving Cities” series of short films, WILDSound Feedback Film Festival last month showed the film that started it all; Moving London. This series incorporates such an amazing number of things, I often have trouble understanding all the different things it makes me feel. This film series is a celebration urban spaces, public life, dance, motion, & freedom, among so many other things. It demonstrates how the movement of our everyday lives somehow simultaneously clashes & fuses with the mechanics of the metropolis, while also illustrating how well dance mimics the pattern of our daily lives.

For those who need traditional plot lines and story-telling techniques the “Moving Cities” can be a bit tough to swallow. However, even at the most superficial level it’s impossible to not appreciate the graceful movements of the dancers or even the music itself. It’s not hard to find the connection, or perhaps even the contrast, between the dancers and ourselves, in how we each move through urban space. Just like our own individual lives and personality, each of the dancers moves through their own space differently. The dancers that are grouped together or paired seem to simulate the repetitiveness of our daily actions, both on a daily routine basis, and in how large groups of people in a city will follow the same patterns without even realizing.

The freedom, or even the indifference, with which the dancers perform in these urban spaces while life moves on around them, not only generates a beautiful and impactful image, it emphasizes our indifference towards each other as individuals in a society in urban centres. As an entire film series it’s interesting to see how the cultural, and architectural elements of each of the different cities impacts the dancers’ movements. The contrasts between these movements within the same kind of film structure emphasizes the concept of “similar differences” between every culture in major urban centres; emphasizing the humanity of all different cultures, regardless of their cultural differences. Moreover the fluid, flexible motions of the dancers also contrast with the rigid, mechanical movements of the cars, trains, bicycles, and other modes of transport that surround them. Rather than override each other, however, the film illustrates how well these elements coexist by juxtaposing them in beautifully composed moving images.

As you can tell a lot can be said about the “Moving Cities” series as a whole, and there’s plenty to be interpreted and extracted from each of the films. Even if artistic, or dance films aren’t quite your thing, the series is definitely worth a watch, if nothing else for a small burst of inspiration or distraction. Much like all the different art forms that come together to compose these films, I’m quite sure each individual who watches these films will extract something very unique out of it; regardless of whether of not you’re able to put it into words.

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video of MOVING LONDON:

Deadline TODAY to Submit your Short Film, Screenplay, Novel, Story, or Poem to the festival: http://www.wildsound.ca

Watch recent Writing Festival Videos. At least 15 winning videos a month: http://www.wildsoundfestival.com