Alyx Duncan Awarded Best NZ Short Film at NZIFF 2015
Alyx Duncan has been awarded The Madman Entertainment Jury Prize for the Best New Zealand Short Film at NZIFF 2015. The film The Tide Keeper follows an old seaman (Alyx's father, Lee Stuart) as he dreams the ocean into his bed, where his sheets become the polluted waters of his worst nightmare. Alyx was congratulated in the jury’s citation for her singular personal vision and technical assurance. Six finalists from a shortlist of 12 were selected by guest selector and filmmaker Christine Jeffs. NZIFF programmers Bill Gosden and Michael McDonnell viewed 75 entries to prepare the shortlist. The three judges were New Zealand producer Fiona Copland, Australian photographer and performer William Yang and representative for Madman Entertainment, Michael Eldred.
Alyx is a prolific NZ artist who alongside industry work has taught in dance, digital video and theatre studies at tertiary institutions in NZ and China. Alyx’s early live performance material (choreographing and dancing) informs how she captures movement with the camera. She is a film maker and choreographer in multiple genres moving between live performance, installation, video-dance, music video, documentary, television commercials and experimental film making. Her first feature film ‘The Red House’ won Best Self Funded Film at the NZ Film Awards.
Most recently, Alyx has been working with Touch Compass Dance Company to make a series of “miniature dance/films in small boxes” with the concept being developed “in collaboration with designer Ian Hammond”. The DanceBox films. This is a series shining light on profound personal events; those moments when life reveals itself and the
gallery of life gains new pictures.
The DanceBox films can be viewed on: Touch Compass Gallery. Several of them were used in Touch Compass’ Acquisitions ’14 tour where they were screened in interactive
boxes in the foyers of the theatre before and after the shows. They have also been included in the upcoming Acquisitions ’15 tour to Hamilton (21 August) and Wellington (27-29 August).
Read DANZ Magazine article Through the Lens, NZ Dance Film and Video