Shana Simmons Dance Annual Pittsburgh International Dance Film Festival Returns
This festival not only brings international artists to Pittsburgh through the screen, but brings Pittsburgh's cultural works of art to a larger stage.
By: A.A. Cristi Mar. 06, 2025
Shana Simmons Dance will present the annual Pittsburgh International Dance Film Festival(PIDFF).
This festival not only brings International Artists to Pittsburgh through the screen, but brings Pittsburgh's cultural works of art to a larger stage through the Constructed Sight Category. Other categories include: Panelist Picks, Official Selections, and Student/Emerging.
The Constructed Sight Category portion of the festival features 8 films:
- STOP at Strawberry Way: Pittsburgh, PA, Directors: Shana Simmons & Jennifer Keller, artwork - “Rainbow Road” by Shane Pilster and Max GEMS Gonzales with 37 students from CAPA
- Delirious: Germany/Sweden, Directors: Hanna Kortus, Felicia Nilsson (Student/Emerging) Ruins Within Ruins: Greece, Director: Lefteris Parasyris
- Kucha: China, Director: Chenglong TANG
- Odeon: Canada, Director: Meghann Michalsky
- Carrying Wood: Ireland, Director: Linda Schirmer
- Les Couers Simples: France, Director: Maxime Mathieu Quiroga
- Beyond the Plaques: United Kingdom, Director: Joeley Gibson
The 11-day festival kicks off with an in-person Opening Night Event featuring curated selections from the pool of international applicants plus Shana Simmons Dance company members dancing live for pre-show. The Opening Night Event will be presented at The Oaks Theater in Oakmont, PA, plus be live streamed to a YouTube audience.
“I find it so interesting to see how screendance themes shift year to year. It is one of the most relevant genres of dance reflecting current topics and cultural themes. This year we have selected 19 films, each from a different country that highlights exciting elements of dance and location. The Opening Night Event is a fantastic opportunity to connect with others and be immersed in other worlds,” Shana Simmons, Founder & Artistic Director of Shana Simmons Dance.
PIDFF will be available through a Vimeo playlist for ticket buyers' viewing at their leisure. Films in the online festival run under 20 minutes with a total viewing run time of 2 hours 30 minutes.
Audience Votes: Audience members via the online festival can vote/like their top three films to help decide who the cash prize winners will be.
Online Artist Meet & Greet Event: via Zoom, a selection of artists from the festival gather to get to know one another and their approaches to their film and the filmmaking process. This is open to the public and offered for FREE.
SSD has received 79 International submissions which a panel of 4 judges actively curated to select who is a part of the festival and who will be chosen as our “Panelist Picks.” The panel has created four categories for viewing:
- Panelist Picks: a category that truly highlights outstanding creative voices and high quality films
Constructed Sight Category: films inspired by public works of art or site specific locations General Festival: films from all over the world with strong artistic vision and commitment Student/Emerging Artists: younger, less established artists new to dance film that promise vision and creativity
PIDFF is a platform that was originally created by Shana Simmons, Jamie Erin Murphy, and Brady Sanders during the Covid-19 pandemic entitled Constructed Sight. Company members have continued to carry the torch through generating their own dance film shorts based on Pittsburgh spaces and public works of art.
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