Break

Director’s Notes - Shona McCullagh

"The film originated with the choreographic idea of a suspension of the natural laws of gravity. It occurred to me that yearning was the emotional equivalent of a suspension of a body in time and space. Devising a story where a character yearned to leave but was compelled to stay provided the emotional and movement tension I needed to explore this idea.

All of my films have begun in a similar way, a simple movement idea teased out to reveal characters and a problem that must be resolved. Again I wanted the movement alone to tell the story and in this film I have enjoyed the innocence a child’s body reveals, even in stillness and his placement in relation to adults.

The child in one scene “plaits” his playful movement amidst the ghastly argument of the parents – I was interested in the different physical levels we live in.

The film’s ideas and rigging techniques were developed over a long period of time with the dancers and rigger Scottie Anderson."