Eadweard, the psychological drama about pioneering photographer Eadweard Muybridge is set to open London’s Frame Dance Film Festival on Thursday 9th June at the Rose Theatre in Kingston, the town where he was born. Michael Eklund (Watchmen, The Call, TV’s Bates Motel) plays the famous photographer focussing on the notorious events that led him to murder his wife’s lover. The film marks the directorial debut of Kyle Rideout, it also stars Sara Canning (The Vampire Diaries) as Flora, Muybridge’s wife, with Christopher Heyerdahl (TV’s True Blood and Gotham, Hell On Wheels), Charlie Carrick (TV’s The Borgias) and Torrance Combs (TV’s Reign, The Tudors).
“We couldn’t believe Eadweard’s story had never been told on film, his influence spreads to all art forms and we wanted the world to know who he was”, says director Kyle Rideout. “It has long been a dream to find the perfect spot to present this film to Kingston, Eadweard’s birthplace. The film has travelled the world playing major festivals such as Beijing, Edinburgh, Stratford Canada, Munich and Oaxaca but I can’t imagine a more important place to share the film with.”
Evocatively shot, it captures the mood of the late 19th century as well as recreating some of his acclaimed photography. Rideout and screenwriter/producer Josh Epstein had previously acted together on a stage show about Muybridge. They optioned the play called Studies in Motion – the Hauntings of Eadweard Muybridge by Electric Company Theatre.
Festival director Joe Bateman says, ‘We’re delighted that Eadweard opens this year’s FRAME Dance Film Festival and it seems wholly appropriate that we can screen it in the town of his birth which continues to celebrate his lasting legacy to both dance and film’.
BalletBoyz Michael Nunn and William Trevitt, Artistic Directors for the Festival say “We are thrilled holding the inaugural Frame Festival on BalletBoyz’ own turf in Kingston. The Festival has been designed to include events for everyone, from opportunities for creative talent in the arts, dance and film worlds to events for the wider public to enjoy the best that dance and dance film offer. This year’s opening night film looks at the later days of world-famous Eadweard Muybridge, a progenitor of movement on screen, which seems an incredibly apt start to a brand new dance film festival”.
FRAME: The London Dance Film Festival runs 9th to 12th June 2016. The full programme is set to be announced in May.
Watch the Eadweard trailer here –
FRAME will screen a selection of new and classic feature films that celebrate dance and movement, including a tribute to Gene Kelly. The festival has also teamed up with the bi-annual dance film competition, dancescreen, organised by the IMZ International Music + Media Centre. This will be the 14th edition of dancescreen.
Complementing the many screenings are industry panel discussions, workshops and seminars aimed as much at the practitioners and newcomers as the broadcasters, exhibitors and programmers. All events will provide an opportunity for those who enjoy the arts and those who want to promote them further, to experience the wealth of film talent that exists in dance.
