The Manifest Dance-Film Festival launched in 2022 showcases the contemporary trans-disciplinary art of dance-film. While any film whose subject is dance qualifies as a dance-film, the festival’s focus is to explore a niche genre that experiments with dance as the primary narrative tool and involves close collaborations between dancers and filmmakers.

The aim of the event is to provide Indian audiences the opportunity to view a wide range of contemporary international dance-films. Along with screenings, there are talks, interviews and panel discussions on the genre, in an effort to facilitate critique. To compensate for some amount of the costs involved in filmmaking, financial aid and awards are given out in categories such as Outstanding Film, Choreography, Cinematography, Direction, Editing, Music and Sound Design. There is a special focus on films from the Global South, especially dance-films based on heritage Asian forms.

The festival also includes the Manifest Dance-Film Incubator, a pioneering effort that develops short dance-films, from ideation to exhibition stage. It provides state-of-the-art equipment, expert mentoring and technical skills for original dance-film projects based on Indian forms. While the first edition focussed on Indian forms of dance, the second edition has been expanded to include both Indian and international mentors and participants. Its purpose, according to the organisers, is to "promote the production of dance-filmmaking."

A total of 40 films from 20 countries were screened at the inaugural edition. Andrea Boll (Switzerland), Beatriz Mediavilla (Canada), Hyunsang Cho (South Korea), Justyne Li and Tan-Ki Wong (Hong Kong), Kendra Epik (Canada), Kimmo Leed (Finland), Martina Faux (Argentina) and Penny Chivas (UK) were among the dance-filmmakers whose works were shown at the Manifest Dance-Film Festival.

The festival will be held between 26 July to 03 August in 2024.

Check out other multiarts festivals here.