Movies

‘Moonlight’ Reimagined

By  · Published on February 15th, 2017

Watch a 2-minute dance version of the 2017 Best Picture nominee directed by ‘The Fits’ filmmaker Anna Rose Holmer.

Indie film fans rejoice – two of the best films of 2016 have come together through the art of dance. Today, Nowness released a stunningly choreographed and gorgeously realized interpretation of Nicholas Britell’s Moonlight score as a dance routine, the newest installment in their “Just Dance” series.

The routine is directed by none other than Anna Rose Holmer, known by us here at Rejects and our readers for her ferocious directorial debut The Fits, which was also released last year. The musical quality and discipline of that film, which follows a young girl (Royalty Hightower) as she comes of age in the world of dance, no doubt prepared Holmer for this short film. Not only does she perfectly capture the movement and rhythm of her performers, but she finds a way to funnel the story and weight of Barry Jenkins’ melancholic mood piece into a wordless and seemingly effortless two minutes of movement. The combination feels even more right when one considers the similarity between the two directors and their work: Jenkins’ and Holmer’s films were both powerful examinations of black identity and gender in a lonely and alienating world.

The dance routine was choreographed by Alvin Ailey American Dance artistic director Robert Battle. The dance is performed by Jamar Roberts, Christopher Taylor and Jeremy T. Villas. You can check it out below:

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21. Filmmaker. Writer for Film School Rejects. Featured on MTV, Indiewire & The A.V. Club.