2 min | 2004 | Canada
Director : Daniel Conrad | Choreographer: Paul-André Fortier
7 Universal Solvents explores the complex theme of human transformation. Dancers dissolve and recrystallize in a series of solvents—broadly defined real ones like water, alcohol and paint, and metaphorical ones like fire, air, children and tigers. The film was shot, then rewound and re-exposed to create rich superimposed layers. A critic for the Georgia Straight hailed this work as a "powerfully seductive montage…startlingly clever and seamlessly constructed."
Vancouver Filmmaker Daniel Conrad has Masters degrees in cinema and molecular immunology. He is recognized for his work with leading choreographers in filming dance for the camera. Collaborations with outstanding choreographers include Aszure Barton, in Afternoon of the Chimeras; Paul-André Fortier, in 7 Universal Solvents; and Crystal Pike, in Subways: 5 Variations on a theme by Rilke (Der Panther). He has shot in locations ranging from wilderness on Canada’s northwest coast to the subways of Prague.
Festival screenings include Locarno, Montréal World, London Int'l, Hamburg, Valladolid, Seattle Int'l (Best of Fest Shorts Special Screening), New York Dance on Camera (2 Silver Awards), Golden Prague (Dagmar & Vaclav Havel Prize), Toronto Moving Pictures (Audience Choice Award), Palm Springs, IDFA, Denver Int'l, Vancouver Int'l, and San Francisco Film Arts. Sales include PBS, the CBC, CFCF, SCN, TVE, Ovation, ARTV, Knowledge, Bravo, the Portland Art Museum's series: Icons, Rebels and Visionaries; and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
