Doha Film Institute (DFI) Cinema will hold a special film showcase around the theme of “Rhythm and Flow” from tomorrow until September 23 at the Museum of Islamic Art auditorium.
The six-day “Rhythm and Flow” series will screen six award-winning films and two shorts from around the world that illustrate the lasting impact of musical film as a collaborative art form that interlaces dance and narrative, with the power of musical composition to deliver a unique viewer experience beyond the confines of language and culture.
DFI chief executive Fatma Hassan al-Remaihi said: “Since the advent of sound pictures, musical film has developed as a stand-alone genre within the film industry ranging from musical adaptations to feature-films and modern classics.”
“The unique combination of movement and music define the film-goers experience and leave audiences with a deeper emotive connection to the characters,” she added. “We look forward to introducing audiences to classic and contemporary filmmaking talent that has contributed to a renaissance of musical film over decades.”
The showcase will kick off tomorrow at 7pm with Summer Interlude (1951) by Swedish director, writer, and producer Ingmar Bergman.
A poignant depiction of isolation and the inescapability of the past, the cinematic masterpiece follows Marie, an ageing ballerina, who reminisces a tragic love affair that occurred 13 years prior.
With its artistic use of close-up and unique directorial style, the film is widely regarded to mark the beginning of a new epoch in Swedish cinema.
On the night, it will be preceded by the Scandinavian short-film Birds in the Earth (2018), a ballet-based commentary on the Smi peoples territorial rights.
Damien Chazelle’s award-winning global favourite La La Land (2016) will be screened at 7pm on Thursday.
A screening of Lars von Trier’s Dancer in the Dark (2000) will follow at 7pm on Friday.
The soundtrack for the film was written by Bjork, an Icelandic musician who also stars in the film’s title role of Selma Jezkova, an immigrant factory worker and single-mother.
As she slowly loses her eyesight, classic Hollywood music and dance films provide the only sustenance to her unfulfilled realisation of the American dream.
Sidney Lumet’s fantastical adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, The Wiz (1978) will be screened at 7pm on Saturday.
Featuring some of the greatest musicians of its time, including Diana Ross and Michael Jackson, the film has established itself as a cult classic among global audiences as it explores the essential African American experience against the backdrop of theatrical adventure and composition.
Screening on Sunday, The Red Shoes (1948) will whisk viewers into a timeless story of torn passions when a young performer must choose between the man she loves and a budding career as a prima ballerina.
Closing the showcase, Lil’ Buck: Real Swan (2019) will screen on Monday (September 23).