SDI- PROJECT MICHIGAN
Submissions open June 15 and close August 1, for SDI- PROJECT MICHIGAN, an adjudicated screening of dance films created exclusively by Michigan dance filmmakers, scheduled for SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2020, in the detroit Film Theater at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
The SDI- PROJECT MICHIGAN screening will proceed SDI's regularly scheduled screening of international dance film shorts from around the globe, which also takes place on September 13, 2020.
We are excited to host and support the expanding dance film community of Michigan, and invite Michigan dance filmmakers of all levels of experience to submit their work. We are interested in a wide range of movement forms including: urban street dance, modern dance, post modern dance, contemporary dance, world dance, ballet, dance theatre, jazz, experimental dance, animation, tap dance or other forms of movement considered of interest to the filmmaker.
SDI is in its third year of collaboration with Detroit Dance City Festival and ArtLab J, bringing international and national dance film shorts and artists to Detroit. At the intersection of dance, film, music, and the visual arts, SDI aims to stretch the imagination through adjudicated dance film shorts that are sometimes serious, sometimes funny, but always timely and inspiring. Founded by Joanna McNamara of JMc/Productions, this year's SDI program honors and celebrates the extraordinary life and work of Marcus White, of White Werx, whose artistry and passionate commitment to dance film and dance film programing provided the inspiration and prototype for Screen Dance International.
BLACK LIVES MATTER
Screen Dance International stands by our Black colleagues/artists and filmmakers, and both acknowledges and condemns all forms of systemic racism, as well as both regional and national brutality towards Black people. We consider dance film, and the arts in general, to be an extremely powerful platform for expression and we welcome ALL voices and ideas. We are saddened and outraged by the murders of Blacks by police and hope that the current demonstrations and protests taking place in the United States, and around the world, will be a catalyst for deep changes in the infrastructures of big, bureaucratic boxes. In our commitment to supporting Black artists, half of the proceeds for SDI-PROJECT MICHIGAN will be donated to Detroit's Sidewalk Festival. We also welcome feedback through email or a face-to-face meeting, in regard to any detected form of racism in our organization, and we commit to making changes as needed to create an embracing, fair, and positive platform for all people.
SDI COVID-19 UPDATE
SDI/DDCF have a backup plan in place in case we are not yet allowed to gather in large groups this September. Rather than postponing, we have decided to either live stream or broadcast the SDI program, with the assistance of the Detroit Institute of Arts technicians and staff. Although nothing will ever outweigh the lived experience of gathering together for a screening festival, we are excited about the possibility of reaching an even bigger audience if we must resort to our backup plan.