Press release – 10th anniversary of Regards Hybrides

History
What started out as a simple web platform to support the articulation and development of screendance has become, over time, a true protean project: with an annual nomadic broadcasting program, an offer of professional services, classes, an gathering-event of international scope and of course the deployment of the precious resource platform at its origin, Regards Hybrides is a unique project that does not run out of steam!

Co-founded in the spring of 2012 by Priscilla Guy (general and artistic director of Mandoline Hybride), and Claudia Hébert (animator, journalist and filmmaker), the project was conceived as an extension of Mandoline Hybride dedicated to screendance. The two co-founders’ objective was to create discussions around the works, to highlight them through critical texts or interviews, and of course to make these hybrid practices known to a wider public. While Claudia Hébert eventually devoted herself to other professional projects, she continues to follow the evolution of Regards Hybrides and to nurture an interest in the interactions between dance and film: “What an incredible evolution for Regards Hybrides in ten years – from a modest web platform to a real reference and meeting point for the world of screendance. Hats off to Priscilla Guy, whose vision has taken the project far beyond what we originally imagined.”

Successes and consolidations
Thus, in 10 years, Regards Hybrides has played an unparalleled role in the articulation and development of practices and discourses around film dance, both locally and internationally. The project is recognized in the film dance circuits as a model in many respects in terms of ethics and artistic innovation. Regards Hybrides has also produced:

• more than fifty short film programs broadcast in theaters or online, featuring nearly 500 films;
• dozens of classes, webinars, workshops and personalized accompaniment;
• two editions of the RIRH biennial (Rencontres Internationales Regards Hybrides) at Tangente in Montreal (2017-2019), each time bringing together some 50 works and international specialists. (Photo: Omer Yukseker. On the picture: some of the artists and specialists of the RIRH 2019).

In 2022, the creation of the Screendance Squad has multiply the service offer with 5 specialized professionals to meet the needs of artists and presenters: Kim-Sanh Châu, Marlene Millar, Sonya Stefan, Claudia Chan Tak and Priscilla Guy.

Straight ahead: Canadian dance at your fingertips for international audiences
While its nomadic programming and service offering have been a hallmark of Regards Hybrides for several years, the pandemic has allowed the team to embark on an unprecedented project of unprecedented scope: thanks to exceptional funding from the MCCQ and the Canada Council for the Arts, a permanent film collection by Regards Hybrides will be launched in 2023! This collection, composed by a curatorial team of ten specialists selected from across the country, will be accessible online, accompanied by interviews, essays and archives. Regards Hybrides and its partners are eager to present this multi-faceted space of discovery to showcase Canadian talent with rich new content.

Image from «Kaduna» film, with Marvel Ebinum & Victory Ebinum

Thus, from the web to the cinema, through the transmission of knowledge and meetings orchestrated around the living together, the project Regards Hybrides is here to stay! Thank you to all the people who have contributed to the development of Regards Hybrides over the past 10 years, to the artists whose works carry us and to the audiences who follow our initiatives.

The 8 short films selected by Priscilla Guy to mark this tenth anniversary were:

— «Kaduna» Jacob Jonas, Ridwan Adeniyi & Vinson Fraley | Nigeria & United States, 2021
— «Le ballon de l’amitié» de Liane Thériault, Karenne Gravel & Emmalie Ruest | Canada, 2014
— «There is a Place» Katrina McPherson, Sang Jijia & Simon Fildes | UK & China, 2010
— «Private I’s» Dana Ruttenberg & Oren Shkedy | Israel, 2012
— «Landscape» Terrance Houle | Canada, 2007
— «SUPERMAMBO» Benito González | Mexico, 2002
— «Separate Sentences» Amie Dowling, Reggie Daniels & Austin Forbord | United States, 2016
— «Lay me low» Marlene Millar & Sandy Silva | Canada, 2015

In addition, we invite you to listen to the episode «Lorsque le cinéma et la danse entament un pas de deux» (FR) from Camera Lucida podcast (produced by L’Observatoire du cinéma au Québec), in which Priscilla Guy gives an update on Regards Hybrides, before engaging in a fascinating discussion on dance and film with Louise Lecavalier.