InterState (2018)
Co-director, Choreographer, Editor, Performer
This short dance film is an investigation of identity, migration, and displacement, set against the backdrop of America's most dramatic and dynamic landscapes. From Seattle and St. Louis to Mt. Rushmore and variously magnificent national parks, InterState explores the connection (or lack thereof) between living organisms and habitat, at every turn questioning the idea of a "natural environment." Each new location provides an opportunity for the soloist to unearth a symbiotic way of moving in relation to the environment while simultaneously maintaining a sense of self, physically holding onto idiosyncrasies regardless of place, space, or time.
Screenings:
St. Petersburg International Film Festival: Russia (Jury Award)
Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema: Boulder, CO (Audience Choice Award, Honorable Mention)
Front and Main Film Festival: Temecula, CA (Audience Choice Award)
LA Underground Film Forum (Honorable Mention)
ScreenDance Festival Sweden: Stockholm
Braga International Video Dance Festival: Portugal
Light Moves Festival of Screendance: Limerick, Ireland
Thessaloniki Cinedance International Festival: Greece
Mexico City Videodance Festival
LA Dance Shorts Festival: Los Angeles
Benicia Film Festival: CA
EnCore Dance on Film 2018: Atlanta
Jacksonville Dance Film Festival: Museum of Contemporary Art, FL
Toronto's Alternative Film Festival (Finalist)
Featured in WomenCinemakers magazine: https://issuu.com/women-cinemakers/docs/vol.30
Discarded (2023)
Director, Choreographer, Editor, Performer, Costumer
A solo dancer (wearing a costume made from the plastic trash she generated over four months) embodies simultaneously both a woman and planet Earth reckoning with the impact of humans on the environment. Through her dancing body, we see Earth’s resiliency and ability to adapt to accommodate outside forces, but also its vulnerability when fighting certain sustained assaults. Glacier National Park provides the backdrop for this short film, creating visual dissonance with the introduction of plastic trash to this pristine and majestic environment.
Screenings:
Festival de Cine-Arte en la Frontera (Best Dance Video Award): San Cristóbal, Venezuela
Portugal Indie Film Fest (Best Dance Short)
Tallahassee Film Festival (Audience Choice - Best Art Short Film): FL
MECA - Mostra Encantos de Cinema Ambiental: Santa Catarina, Brazil
Mostra Internacional de dança - Imagens em Movimento – Videodança: São Paulo, Brazil
Short To the Point: Bucharest, Romania
Bratislava International Film Awards: Slovakia
Inheritance Film Festival: various cities, Ireland and Great Britain
Climate Future Film Festival: Providence, RI & touring
Manifest Dance Film Festival: Pondicherry, India
Greenwich Film Festival: London, England
Nature and Culture Film Festival: Copenhagen, Denmark
Moving Images Festival: Nicosia, Cyprus
Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Fest: Malaysia
Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema: Boulder, CO
Metaxu (2022)
Co-director, Co-choreographer, Performer
This short film, created as artists-in-residence at the Nautilus Chamber in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, is an exploration of longing, barriers, and connection through separation. The title references a term used by philosopher Simone Weil to describe intermediaries, simultaneous contradictions, and bridges to connection.
Screenings:
La Noche Del Patrimonio Festival in Spain, World Heritage Cities of Spain/UNESCO
ZERO PLUS International Film Festival: Tyumen, Siberia
Vienna International Film Awards: Vienna, Austria
Mostra Internacional de dança - Imagens em Movimento – Videodança: São Paulo, Brazil
Ketchikan Dance Film Festival: Ketchikan, AK
Frame x Frame Film Fest: Houston, TX
Mezcal Art: San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
Convergence (2014)
Director, Choreographer, Editor, Co-cinematographer, Performer
In this experimental short dance film, the discordant image of train tracks within a redwood forest serves as the backdrop for the investigation of mankind’s relationship with nature. The fragile balance and the precarious quality of our connection are explored as we follow the journey of two lives converging in this magical landscape.
Screenings:
Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema: Boulder, CO
International Screendance Festival at the American Dance Festival: Durham, NC
Movies by Movers Film Festival: Boone, NC
DesArts/DesCinés International Videodance Competition: Saint-Étienne, France
Outlet Dance Project Film Festival: Hamilton, NJ
Dance Film Day at Performance Works NW: Portland, OR
World Dance Alliance Digital Dance Concert: Honolulu, HI
Opening Doors Film Festival: Seattle, WA
Tampa Bay Arts and Entertainment Film Showcase: Tampa, FL
Fledgling (2015)
Co-director, Co-choreographer, Co-editor, Performer
Commissioned by Victor and Faye Morgenstern in conjunction with Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School and Camp in Steamboat Springs, CO
Fledgling arises from the discovery and growth that occur every summer at historic Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School and Camp. Founded in 1913, it is the oldest continuously operating performing arts camp in the country. A host of famous dance luminaries have graced its soil, including the likes of José Limón, Agnes de Mille, Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman, Hanya Holm, Merce Cunningham, and Louis Horst. Ilana’s experiences as a student, and later, a teacher, at Perry-Mansfield informed the narrative for the film. The viewer sees Perry-Mansfield through the eyes of a young girl as she wanders through its magnificent campus. The dancing figures that appear and disappear like ghosts embody the legacy and history of Perry-Mansfield, as well as signify the future potential of this young dancer.
Screenings:
Tampa Bay Arts and Entertainment Film Showcase: FL
19th Annual California Independent Film Festival
Amarcord Chicago Arthouse Television and Video Festival
Dance on Film Series at the Bud Werner Memorial Library: Steamboat Springs, CO
Dance Teacher Magazine - Video of the Month for December 2016
Give & Take (2017)
Choreographer, Editor
This is a screendance version of the duet Give and Take, which was originally performed at a showcase for selected choreographers working under the mentorship of Doug Varone. The duet derives inspiration from the role of chance in the creative process and the way that movement generated spontaneously can be shaped to create meaning. This parallels the way that serendipity often impacts the development of life’s relationships, but conscious choices and manipulations come into play as they evolve.