Single channel film (5.1 surround sound)

Synopsis

Combining poetry, dance, music, and archival audio, Danse Macabre paints a portrait of the human psyche, drawing on the work of Dr Carl Jung. The film explores the different aspects of the conscious and unconscious minds which are represented through character performances from dancers, singers, unseen voices, and musicians.

Underscoring the film is the wisdom of ancestral memory, depicted via the embodied knowledge of the Yoruba Egúngún masquerade. The work is an inquiry into the human condition, exploring the parallels between modern psychology, aspects of Yoruba culture, and east Asian understandings around life force and energy.

The work is a play on performance, synthesising styles from a range of geographies, including references of Yoruba dance, songs and proverbs; contemporary electronic music; Ingmar Bergman’s “The Seventh Seal”; Hector Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique”; and the work of Marina Abramovic.

“Table of Contents” – Director’s Statement

Chapter I: The Danse Macabre: Did we ever leave the Dark Ages?

Chapter II: Nationalism as a Manifestation of Collective Ego 

Chapter III: The Shadow of the Institution 

Chapter IV: Sharing Space, Extending Time: A Manifesto on Embodied Living 

Chapter V: Talk talk, Talking Drum 

Chapter VI: Measuring the Frequency of Love 

Chapter VII: Responsible Privilege: Making Consciousness a Life Practice