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Dance News: World Premiere of LA CHANA, Documentary on Spanish Gypsy & Self-taught Flamenco Dancer, Antonia Santiago Amador

A Film of Dance and Empowerment

The Dance Enthusiast is proud to announce that LA CHANA, a documentary film we supported and introduced to New York during our Enthusiastic Event Dance As Empowerment in April 2015, is ready for its World Premiere. We send our  congratulations to our friend director Lucija Stojevic, and our admiration to the soulful and inspiring Antonia Santiago Amador, La Chana.

After four and a half years in the making, the all-female team behind the feature documentary film LA CHANA is thrilled to announce that the film will have its World Premiere in the Panorama section of the prestigious International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, Netherlands (IDFA) in November 2016. LA CHANA is one of 102 films out of 3,495 submissions selected to premiere at IDFA. The film was nominated for the IDFA Alliance of Women Film Journalists' EDA Award for Best Female-Directed Documentary. LA CHANA was also selected as one of 8 projects, nominated by heads of studies of European Training Initiatives, to be presented at DOK LEIPZIG 31 OCTOBER – 6 NOVEMBER 2016. Flamenco Biennale/Amsterdam will present LA CHANA in January, 2017. 

Director Lucija Stojevic with LA CHANA's protagonist. Photo: Samuel Navarrete, 2015.

LA CHANA tells the story of a woman’s incredible drive and love for her art despite deep, personal struggles. In the 1960’s and 70’s, Spanish Gypsy, self-taught flamenco dancer Antonia Santiago Amador, known as La Chana, was a star in the flamenco world, appearing with Peter Sellers in the Warner Brothers' film THE BOBO and touring the world. Then, at the peak of her career, she disappeared from the scene. As La Chana returns to the stage after 23-years, she reveals the secret behind her sudden disappearance: for 18 years she was the victim of abuse at the hands of her ex-husband. This feature length documentary is a powerful story of determination and the triumph of creative passion over turmoil. 

From left to right: Christine Jowers, Lucija Stojevic and David Leventhal at The Dance Enthusiast's ENTHUSIASTIC EVENT! in April, 2015. Photo: Ben Gabbe/bengabbephotography.com
 

The film is a Spanish, Icelandic, US co-production, produced by Noon Films S.L (Barcelona, Spain) and co-produced by Bless Bless Productions (Iceland).

An Excerpt from La Chana ( originally part of the film's Indiegogo campaign)