By Audrey J. Bernard

  Congratulations to director Julia Jansch whose brilliant short documentary “My Father The Mover” won top honors at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival (TFF) presented by AT&T. The film — in which kids find their superpowers through beats — won 2020 Best Documentary Short. The jury comprised of Asia Kate Dillon, Marti Noxon and Sheila Nevins said “My Father The Mover” was “A ‘movement’ film which frees people from the pain had the biggest impression on us and lasted through the tragedies we’re going through now.”

  SYNOPSIS: Alatha Galela’s father says he’s more than a dancer — he’s a Mover. Using African electronic “Gqom” dance, The Mover helps kids in the township of Khayelitsha, South Africa, to transcend the grips of poverty and abuse and find their superpowers. The Mover is also one of the few single fathers in the township. And while he has helped many kids find freedom, he still has difficulty getting his own daughter, Alatha, to break open and find her own powers. But in a tender moment together, this is all about to change. “My Father The Mover” invites you on an exploration of Gqom dance and movement to ignite your own sense of freedom while introducing you to the crucial work of Stoan Move Galela and his United Township Dancers.

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  DEETS: “Everyone can have freedom. It just depends on whether you want to be free or not.” This was something Stoan MOVE Galela said to Jansch the first time they met. He was showing me a tattoo on his arm – of a puppet, whose strings were being severed. It struck a real chord and I found his statement to be one that was universal.

  In his specific application, kids in the township of Khayelitsha, though burdened by poverty, drugs and abuse, can find a way to tap into their own innate powers and realize that they don’t have to be shackled by their circumstances, and if they work hard and dance hard, they can be whoever they want to be. But when I peeled back the layers, I noticed that while Stoan has helped many kids find freedom, his own daughter, bound by the sore loss of her mother, was not able break free from her pain. Stoan told me he had been trying to get his daughter to join his dance classes. With a very intimate crew, Stoan invited us into his home and his daily life, into his class where we were privy to his methodology. We devised a way to include his daughter in the class… and then beyond. What resulted was a miracle. My Father The Mover is just the beginning. There are so many movers and shakers, just like Stoan, who are using their craft to move mountains in their communities. My goal with this film is to launch a platform for these Movers.”