Snake Dance

It’s a long and intriguing journey from a mental asylum in Germany after the First World War to the New Mexico desert at the time J. Robert Oppenheimer was working on the atomic bomb; from there on to the Belgian Congo and then to contemporary, post-Fukushima Japan. However, Snake Dance, the new doc from Belgian filmmaker Manu Riche and English writer Patrick Marnham, draws some surprising and very provocative links between all these very different worlds.

As Snake Dance reveals, in1895, German art historian and anthropologist Aby Warburg had visited New Mexico. He became fascinated by the rituals of the Indians, who would dance with rattlesnakes to master the power of lightning.

Five documentaries as well as two projects from Flanders have been selected for this year’s 25th IDFA. The five docs are Rain by Gerard-Jan Claes and Olivia Rochette, The Sound of Belgium by Jozef Devillé, Expecting by Fabio Wuytack, Snake Dance by Manu Riche and Patrick Marnham, and The Wave by Sarah Vanagt and Katrien Vermeire. Projects from two Flemish documentary makers –The Shadow World by Johan Grimonprez and White Elephants by Kristof Bilsen – are also selected for the IDFA Forum.

Rain by Gerard-Jan Claes and Olivia Rochette features in the First Appearance competition and follows a ballet production from initial auditions right up to opening night. Producer is Bart Van Langendonck for Savage Film. In Expecting (pictured left), which is selected for the IDFA Panorama, director Fabio Wuytack portrays an Afghan-Kosovan refugee couple as they struggle through their daily lives. The Sound of Belgium by Jozef Devillé and produced by Visualantics is part of the Music Documentary competition and explores the rich, untold story of Belgian dance music.

Five documentaries from Flanders as well as five co-productions are selected for this year's 25th edition of IDFA (14-25 November). The five are: Rain by Gerard-Jan Claes and Olivia Rochette, The Sound of Belgium by Jozef Devillé, Expecting by Fabio Wuytack, Snake Dance by Manu Riche, and The Wave by Sarah Vanagt and Katrien Vermeire. Projects from two Flemish documentary makers, The Shadow World by Johan Grimonprez and White Elephants (working title) by Kristof Bilsen, can also be found in the IDFA.

Rain by Gerard-Jan Claes and Olivia Rochette features in the First Appearance competition for first documentaries. On 25 May 2011, the world-renowned Ballet de l’Opéra national de Paris presented Rain, in its first ever performance by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. Olivia Rochette and Gerard-Jan Claes followed the rehearsal process from the auditions to the opening performance. Producer is Bart Van Langendonck for Savage Film.

Snake Dance, Manu Riche and Patrick Marnham’s documentary about the invention of the atomic bomb, has been awarded the Buyens-Chagoll Award, worth CHF5,000, at Switzerland’s Visions du Réel festival (20-27 April). The jury praised the film’s exceptional originality, its ethical and aesthetic values, and its unusual approach in tackling a subject like nuclear power without using any archive footage.

Snake Dance, which received its international premiere at Nyon’s Visions du Réel fest, revolves around the choices modern man has to make if he wishes to survive.

This week, the Open Doek Festival (20 – 29 April) kicked off in Turnhout, while Leuven is getting ready for the 8th edition of the International Documentary Festival DOCVILLE (27 April – 5 May). Both programs house a large selection of Flemish titles, ranging from Daniel Lambo’s Dry Branches of Iran to Berlinale attendees Anton Corbijn Inside Out andAsparragos.

For the eighth consecutive year, DOCVILLE highlights the best documentaries and awards prizes in various sections. This year, Flanders is well represented in its national competition with more than ten short and feature-length film titles.