"The Cell" a short dance film produced by B.DANCE's choreographer Tsai Po Cheng (蔡博丞) and filmmaker Ho Meng Hsueh (何孟學), has been selected for the seventh edition of The Aleph Festival of Arts and Science. The film will have its Mexican premiere on May 19 and 20, with both artists in attendance for a post-screening Q&A session, where they will discuss the concept behind their creative collaborations.
Originally conceived as Tsai's fifth full-length dance production in 2022, with the cooperation of Ho, "The Cell" underwent a transformation into a mesmerizing dance film due to the challenges posed by the pandemic. Inspired by the feelings of loneliness and social isolation during the pandemic, the film portrays ten dancers navigating a maze of white walls, symbolizing the disconnection between individuals and the surge of frustration. These themes beautifully resonate with the festival's overarching theme, "Between the Frontiers of Violence and Peace."
Acknowledging the film's success in various international film festivals, the Taiwan Ministry of Culture and the Taiwan Academy of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles commend "The Cell" as a testament to Taiwanese artists' remarkable ability to transform performing arts into visually stunning works. In addition to the two film screening events, Tsai will also lead a master workshop for the dancers of Danza Juvenil Universitaria.
UNAM is the largest public university and was ranked the best in Latin America. Since 2017, The Aleph Festival of Arts and Science has been an annual event in May hosted by UNAM. "The Aleph" pays homage to the story written by the renowned Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges and reflects the core idea of The Aleph Festival of Arts and Science’s theme: to dialogue with science through artistic manifestations.