Survival in the favelas by way of the ballet? That’s what the Film Movement folks are proposing this summer as they become the official dance partners with Beadie Finzi’s favela-set documentary film which appears to contain a rags-to denouement (see the well-crafted trailer) and could easily mimic the popularity of Mad Hot Ballroom.
Only When I Dance follows two young teenagers, Isabella and Irlan as they strive to realize an extraordinary dream. One girl, one boy. Both black and poor and living in a lawless community on the outskirts of Rio. Irlan and Isabella both want to dance – to dance ballet and their ambition is to leave Brazil to join one of the great companies in the North. On our very first shoot, the pair won the Brazilian national championships and qualified to compete in Switzerland & the USA where the major talent scouts would be waiting to select their new young apprentices. We would be with them and their families the whole way, on what would prove to be a life-changing year.
‘Only When I Dance’ is ‘Billy Elliot’ meets ‘Mad Hot Ballroom’, set in the favelas of Rio. A story where the gulf between success and failure would be everything, a story demonstrating both the privilege and price of talent.
