Transparent: by Siobhan Davies & David Hinton

Transparent is a new film work by myself, Siobhan Davies, and film director David Hinton. The work will be both a study of a choreographer and a piece of choreography.

Transparent is one of the last works I will make and I am so glad that I am going to do that with my close friend, the film director David Hinton. It is the third film that David and I have worked on together. We both wanted it to be a personal unfolding of what it has meant for me to be involved in dance for 50 years.

It is called Transparent because it is an attempt at looking through myself, to see deeper into the wonder and complexity of being involved in dance. It uses voices, texts, notebooks, scores and images to explore a meshwork of inspirations and influences, showing how dance, as I understand it, is connected to the visual arts, the human sciences, the natural world and everyday experience.

We are making something which brings together different disciplines, materials and processes. I am not trying to design or make meaning when I choose different combinations of images, but to look and learn from the relationships which occur between them.

Transparent is a work I want to be remembered by. I view it as a truthful new take on the traditional dance archive.

Our team consists of: myself and film director David Hinton as joint co-directors of the film, Animation Editing by Noriko Okaku, Sound design by Chu-Li Shewring, Music by Matteo Fargion, Producer Pinky Ghundale, Production Assistant Rosa Manzi Reid and with the kind support of Siobhan Davies Studios.

We are currently in production. The film consists of three chapters which are being made so that they can be shown either together or separately. We have edited chapter one and are in the process of assembling the material for chapters two and three. Our intention is to complete the film by the end of 2021, subject to funds being raised.

The funds we are trying to raise are essential to complete the pulling together of the many strands and layers of images, animations and sounds the film is made from. In order to finish the film we require additional funding to complete the sound recording and sound design, for creating visual effects, pay for the music and archive images and final editing. The additional funds will also be used to cover post production of the work to ensure the best picture and sound quality for the film in order to screen and distribute the work across a number of platforms. We plan to show the film at museum and gallery venues, film festivals, dance and educational institutions worldwide.

This will be one of the last works I will make, one which will encapsulate a vast body of my work over the last 50 years. It draws on everything that I have learned in a lifetime of collaborating with others to make dance. I see myself as part of a history and a community, involved in a constant exchange with a meshwork of other artists. I want to leave something behind which keeps strong the idea of artists as constant explorers and dance as an extraordinary medium to explore with. It is a personal undertaking but will speak to every viewer about the inseparability of mind and body and the miraculous subtlety of everyday action. I am excited to be creating a piece of work which challenges conventional filmmaking which digs deeper into the digital manipulation, experimentation and layering of images. I want the work to reach a wider audience and for it to be easily accessible.

Every donation, big or small will help. If you’re not able to donate you can still play a part in supporting the film by sharing my campaign which helps build attention. Thank you so very much in advance.

Siobhan Davies, DBE

Choreographer