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DANCE FILM OPEN CALL

UNTIL FEBRUARY 15, 2023

ID-entity

Sara Ezzell & Pascal Schmidt
Saturday 4. Nov 2023
16:00 GMT+1
Metropolis Kino
  • Dance Film
Germany

| Synopsis

ID-entity is a surrealist, short movement film examining origin, identity, and self-awareness in the face of transformation. Painted through the landscape of Hamburg, Germany, the film draws from the reservoir of an original installation, musical score, and performance. From a historic butchery in the artist quarter of Gängeviertel to the Böberger Dünen, the film moves with the expanding body of the protagonist, constriction catalyzing a journey of surrender and ultimately, a return to nature. Co-Directed by Sara Ezzell and Pascal Schmidt, with music created for the film by Irish composer Ruairí Len.


-ID-entity first premiered in Hamburg at the Galerie LADONS, Gängeviertel, in June, 2021. The whole project of ID-entity is originally both a live movement performance and a separate film/photography exhibition. The live performance is a 20-minute looping interaction between human and constant change, with Sara Ezzell moving in suspension and instability with the precarious and ever-shifting balance of Pascal Schmidt’s installation made from recycled cattle ropes.


The film “ID-entity” was created using the original installation and score of the live performance, while expanding the reach of the project’s vision through film. The physical dynamic and intimacy of the Schmidt’s installation within the gallery was combined with the textures and symbolism of local, public Hamburg locations. The final film, “ID-entity”, was presented at the Galerie LADONS alongside Schmidt’s photography exhibition with images taken from the whole ID-entity creation period.

Funded by the Dorit & Alexander Otto Foundation.

| Credits

Co-Directed by:
Sara Ezzell & Pascal Schmidt

Performance & Concept:
Sara Ezzell

Cinematography, Editing & Installation:
Pascal Schmidt

Original Score:
RuairĂ­ Len

Costume:
Dietrich und Kock, Hamburg

Technical Assistant:
Winnie Dias

Presented at Video Art Festival Turku, Finland, 2022.

Funded by Dorit and Alexander Otto Stiftung.

Sara Ezzell & Pascal Schmidt

| Biography

Pascal Schmidt (they, them) is a gender fluid, PoC, freelance artist of Nepalese origin raised in Germany, Jamaica, and now based in Hamburg. Their expression utilizes photography, film, visual art, textiles, dance, and choreography. After a five-year career as a dancer and choreographer with the Bundesjugendballett and Hamburg Ballet, Schmidt became a freelance artist in 2019. They specialize in intersectional and Queer art. Schmidt is a co-creator and artist of the Collective “House of Brownies”, and in 2022 completed a LAFDK residency for “BEcunting”, a multimedia dance performance advocating for awareness and the transformation of violence towards trans women.

Sara Ezzell (she, her) is an American/Cypriot movement artist, choreographer, and director based in Hannover. Her work draws inspiration from diverse collaborations and structured improvisation. After six years of working as a professional ballerina and choreographer for the Stuttgart Ballet, Bundesjugendballett, and Hamburg Ballet, Ezzell became a freelancer in 2019. Her creative practice has taken her to create, direct, and perform everywhere from the abandoned Heilstätte Grabowsee to the Berlin Philharmonic. She is active in creating interdisciplinary projects with a social initiative, and in bringing people to connect with their bodies, emotions, and their own great capacity through her work.

| Biography

Pascal Schmidt (they, them) is a gender fluid, PoC, freelance artist of Nepalese origin raised in Germany, Jamaica, and now based in Hamburg. Their expression utilizes photography, film, visual art, textiles, dance, and choreography. After a five-year career as a dancer and choreographer with the Bundesjugendballett and Hamburg Ballet, Schmidt became a freelance artist in 2019. They specialize in intersectional and Queer art. Schmidt is a co-creator and artist of the Collective “House of Brownies”, and in 2022 completed a LAFDK residency for “BEcunting”, a multimedia dance performance advocating for awareness and the transformation of violence towards trans women.

Sara Ezzell (she, her) is an American/Cypriot movement artist, choreographer, and director based in Hannover. Her work draws inspiration from diverse collaborations and structured improvisation. After six years of working as a professional ballerina and choreographer for the Stuttgart Ballet, Bundesjugendballett, and Hamburg Ballet, Ezzell became a freelancer in 2019. Her creative practice has taken her to create, direct, and perform everywhere from the abandoned Heilstätte Grabowsee to the Berlin Philharmonic. She is active in creating interdisciplinary projects with a social initiative, and in bringing people to connect with their bodies, emotions, and their own great capacity through her work.