1 July, 2020

Just as the first pandemic shutdown eased, Daybreak Films director Rhys Graham embarked on a collaboration with musician and producer Joel Ma (who we've worked with for his Joelistics works in the past) for his new project 'Film School'.

The project, centring on a 15 minute dance film drawing on yokai myths to explore the idea of a spirit world returning to the empty streets, is a collaboration with butoh dancer Yumi Umiumare, performance artist and dancer Tony Yap, dancer MaggZ and artist and musician Elle Shimada.

Filmed in numerous locations including the beautiful Shizuka Ryokan, Abbotsford Convent and the empty pandemic streets and vacant lots of Melbourne, the project will end up in numerous forms - the aforementioned film, as well as a live performance iteration and shorter 'music videos' for the tracks from the Film School album. Edited by Daybreak Films' Natalie Nalesnyik, the project also features several additional performance collaborators and is directed by Rhys Graham, shot by Alex Cardy with steadicam work by Hannah Palmer. We look forward to releasing the project in the coming months.