critical citations for navigation
“For its judicious use of space, its uplifting sound composition, and its breathtaking
images, and for the director’s generous sharing through extraordinary attention to
detail, the student jury awards the prize for best Canadian short film to Marlene
Millar and Sandy Silva’s film Navigation.”
Best Canadian Short Film Award - Festival International du film sur l’art - Montreal 2021
“POUR son exploitation judicieuse de l’espace, sa composition sonore enlevante et
ses images époustouflantes, pour son partage généreux à travers une attention au
détail toute particulière, le jury étudiant remet le Prix du meilleur court métrage
canadien au film Navigation de Marlene Millar et Sandy Silva”
Prix du meilleur court métrage canadien - Festival International du film sur l’art - Montréal 2021
“It came together beautifully as a piece and worked superbly well both on, and in,
its environment. All elements in the film coalesced to deliver its message.”
Best Screendance Award-Flatpack Film Festival - Birmingham, UK, 2021
‘The choral dimension of the heterogeneous group is masterfully interpreted as a visual
and sound unison without losing the diversity of each one as an individual. At the same
time the driving force of this narrative is given by this collective movement of the group
embraced by the beauty of the landscape .”
Pablo Sousa - InShadow Best Interpretation Award, 2021 - Lisbon, Portugal
“This film is strong both formally and narratively. It addresses migration in a
subtle, complex way. A full and complete production utilizing beautiful camera
work, stunning environments, wonderful sound design and simple gestural
movements. . All-in-all a very compelling production”
2nd Place Award for Best Production - WildDogs International Screendance Festival - Calgary 2021
”It is with great appreciation for the overall production that we would like to present an
Honorable Mention to NAVIGATION by Marlene Millar and Sandy Silva. Strikingly
kinesthetic and rich in sound and image, the film portrays a strong sense of community,
history and cultural heritage. The production beautifully presents a symbiotic relationship
of choreography, landscape and music. It lingers in the memory long after the final
scene, and is a poetic reflection on the past combined with hope for the future.”
Honorable Mention - Short Waves Festival - Poznan, Poland 2021
”The jury decided to award Navigation because “It manages to convey a strong message about
humanity, which is reflected in the way bodies, sound, camera and location are used. It
emphasizes, generously, how different generations evolve side by side and the different ways of
living together while finding each’S VOICE”
Best Film Award - Bucharest International Dance Film Festival - 2020
”The film is a collaborative effort over time, and is very successful at facing current issues such
as migration and the right of women and men to move. A very accurate image as well as a
strong narrative structure make it an evocative and emotional work, where voice becomes a
gesture. The relationship with nature, a strong protagonist here, is symbiotic. This dialogue refers to the
affirmation of a unique body, ancestral and inseparable, that of a community able to give
corporeality and voice to landscape, too.Dancers and singers blend in a single choir, where the first cross
the borders of bodypercussion technique to embody a natural intimate space, and where choreography
carries the power and the poetry of nature itself.For these reasons, even if not exhaustive,
the award for Best Film goes to Navigation, by Marlene Millar and Sandy Silva.”
Stories We Dance, Best Film Award - Genoa, Italy 2020
”Beautiful locations. The use of black and white gives a proper dramaticity for the work.
The presence of a large number of people gives a better concern about the thematic”
“Sound, vision, and movement evoke a kind of perceptual phenomenon (like synesthesia), which engenders bodily imagination
through senses - a viewer can smell, feel cold wind; all in all to establish a sense of belonging with naturE”
Jury Recommendation Award - ROLLOUT FILM FEST - MACAO 2020
”Dix remarquables danseuses et danseurs, chanteuses et chanteurs naviguent en terrain inconnu
dans la région spectaculaire de Burren, sur la côte ouest de l’Irlande. La chorégraphie de danse
percussive signée Sandy Silva véhicule l’émotion avec nuance et dynamisme.”
En première nord-américaine (sans dialogue)
“Ten outstanding dancers/singers explore unknown terrain in the spectacular Burren region on
Ireland’s west coast. A hypnotic and expressive percussive dance by Sandy Silva steeped in emotion and energy.”
North American premiere (without dialogue)
Martine Rhéaume - Montréal