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DANCE NEWS: Marquee TV Announces Its Second Annual Summer Shorts Festival

Marquee TV to Premiere 30 Curated Short Films for FREE in August 2021

Marquee TV, the world’s leading performing arts streaming service offering opera, dance, theatre, and music on demand, announced today that its annual Summer Shorts Festival will return this August 2021. The second edition of the Summer Shorts Festival, will highlight dance, opera, and theatre, celebrating new short performances from some of Marquee TV’s existing partners as well as unique short-form projects from independent artists. This is the first multi-genre performing arts short film festival from Marquee TV. 

"Interconnected." Photo © San Francisco Dance Film Festival

During the Summer Shorts Festival, Marquee TV will unveil 30 short films from around the world that will be free for all viewers on its platform. The films will be available to view starting August 1. The editorial team at Marquee TV carefully curated the film selections and partnered with renowned organizations including, LA Opera, The Washington Ballet, Platform Presents, Scottish Ballet, Orchestra of the Age of the Enlightenment, Fly On The Wall, and San Francisco Dance Film Festival. 

Highlights include:

• The Washington Ballet: “Unbound” is a site-specific pas de deux filmed in front of Washington National Cathedral.
• LA Opera:  “The Five Moons of Lorca,” “The West is a Land of Infinite Beginnings,” “Brown Sounds,” “Death,” “The Zolle Suite,”, “Gallup” and “Let Me Come In,” featuring the incomparable soprano, Angel Blue, are seven selections from LA Opera’s Digital Shorts commissions featuring collaborations from today’s most in-demand composers and visual artists. 
• Platform Presents: There will be five shorts films available from the 2020 Platform Presents Playwright’s Prize. Plays include “My Dad's A C*nt,” “Burn,” “Burning Falling Rising Monster,” “Is Edward Snowden Single?,” and “Stripped”, starring a diverse range of acting talent, from George McKay, star of Sam Mendes’ 1917 to Sex Education’s Aimee Lou Wood (BAFTA Winner for Best Female Comedy Performance, Sex Education).
• Fly On The Wall: Viewers will be able to experience a series of intimate portraits of soloists winding down after performances or just playing for their own pleasure, including cellist Alban Gerhardt and pianist Boris Giltberg.
• Orchestra of the Age of the Enlightenment: Inspired by famous music videos, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment will premiere “Handel” inspired by Radiohead's No Surprises; “Purcell - Dido's Lament” inspired by Coldplay’s The Scientist; and “Purcell - What Power Art Thou” inspired by Goyte’s Somebody I Used To Know.
• San Francisco Dance Film Festival: The international selection of short films from artists across Europe and the Americas include “The Air Before Me,” “Quiet Hearts,” “Human Habitat,” “Dear Black Girls,” “Amen,” “Interconnected, “Being,” and “L’entretien,” featuring Amandine Albisson, star dancer at Paris Opera Ballet and 2021 winner of Prix Benois de la Danse.

Photo © Orchestra of the Age of the Enlightenment

“Short form works are an opportunity to be a little experimental and perhaps a bit daring. Viewers will see that in this year’s Summer Shorts, which showcases an amazing breadth of talent across multiple artistic genres - from Pulitzer Prize winning composers to SAG and BAFTA award-winning actors and Internationally renowned ballet dancers. We are so proud to launch this year’s selection of films. They are full of beautiful visuals, quirky stories, and innovative juxtapositions of classical and contemporary styles,” said Kathleya Afanador, co-founder of Marquee TV and Head of Content.

For all new visitors to the platform, Marquee TV will be offering a three-month subscription for the cost of one month, from August 1.