Sink or Swim | Official Selection @ Nosakhari Film Festival 2023
A solitary dancer’s balletic struggle with depression. Director Louis-Jack and choreographer Charlotte Edmonds dive into the mind of a person struggling with depression in this film supported by the mental health charity Mind.
The film stars world-renowned ballet dancer Francesca Hayward in an unprecedented underwater performance inspired by a self-portrait of the painter Ian Cumberland, in which he is pictured submerged in a bath of water.
Louis-Jack is an artist-filmmaker who has absorbed as much moving image as arthouse cinema. His films are known for their dreamlike, otherworldly quality whilst also dealing with the complex psychology of high stakes performance and the realities of mental health struggles. He has created narrative shorts, film essays, dance films, and creative documentaries – always seeking to carve his own path with his distinct poetic style.
Credits for Sink or Swim include:
Dancer FRANCESCA HAYWARD, Director LOUIS-JACK, Choreographer & Executive Producer CHARLOTTE EDMONDS, Producer LOUISE JONES, Director of Photography MATTHEW J SMITH, Editor JAMES STUBBS, Music by MATT DUNKLEY, Art Director- Underwater ALICIA HOWITT, Set Dresser- Studio EMIL SCHEFFMANN, Set Dresser- Studio THOMAS WATSON, Costume Stylist- Underwater EMILY DAVIDSON, Costume Stylist- Studio EMILY-ROSE MAXIS, Costume OTHER SHOP, Makeup Artist HOLLY FOWLES-PAZDRO, Hairdresser STEFAN BERTIN, Paramedic DARYL FRANCIS, Transportation FILM UNIT BUSES, Stills Photographer- Underwater ZAC MACAULAY, Stills Photographer- Studio ALICE, PENNEFATHER, Colourist LAURA HEWETT, Sound Designer FRED PEARSON
Based on the painting by lAN CUMBERLAND