Skip to main content
← All works

2024 · Film / video score

A Return to Movement (probable)

Archive folder: Amelia Rudolf short film (Bruiner)

Jessica Swanson (director); choreography by Lauren Godla and Kara Starkweather

A 5:51 vertical dance film (US, 2024) celebrating the environmental restoration of the Klamath River after the world's largest dam removal project, with performers suspended on rigging above the water. It was created with artists and community members of the Klamath River Watershed. Ben composed the music, building on vocal tracks including Hannah Levy's.

Premiere
2024-12-15
Venue
Bay Area Vertical Dance Movie Night, BANDALOOP Studios, 1601 18th St (first public screening found)
Where
Oakland, CA
Performances
San Francisco Dance Film Festival 2025 (Fall Festival), 'Bay Area Shorts' program, Brava Theater, San Francisco, Nov 9, 2025, 7:30pm. By Oct 29, 2025 the film had been accepted to five festivals; the others are not named.
Credits
Film director, director of photography, camera and editor: Jessica Swanson. Project directors, choreographers and dancers: Kara Starkweather (Mendocino Dance Project) and Lauren Godla. Music: Ben Juodvalkis. Vocalists: Jesi Naomi, Cole Oak, Desirae Harp; additional vocalist: Hannah Levy ('Undammed' vocal tracks). Interviewees: Dania Rose Colegrove, Isqots Scott, John Acuna, Paul Wilson. Costumes: Lauren Szabo. Drone operator: Paul Wilson. Camera/lighting: Melanie Elms. Camera/sound: Christian Haas. Riggers: Maddie Lomonaco, Liesbet Bickett, Hans Florine. Cultural liaison: John Acuna. Funding: Upstate California Creative Corps.

Elsewhere

Research status: researched – partial. Details on this piece are still being confirmed — corrections are welcome.