Crimson Dance is the latest short film from Patricia Chica. It will have its world wide premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, Canada, Friday July 22nd, 2016 at 9:00pm at the de Sève Theatre. The film stars Tonya Kay (Scream Queens) and Tiffany Shepis. Crimson Dance is a social-experimental 4-minute exposé about the importance of donating blood.
Synopsis: A primal and sensual dance is performed by a burlesque artist in an underground Hollywood cabaret to the delight of a blood thirsty audience, who watch in awe as she makes a splash to cure her ills. CRIMSON DANCE presents a conceptual burlesque performance with a twist that reminds the audience that blood can truly save lives.
I’ve always been fascinated by burlesque dancers. The way the dancers are able to capture sensuality with out being too revealing is great. Well this film was sensual, entrancing, disturbing, horrifying, but very educational as well.
The film is dedicated to the filmmaker’s mother, who I believe had a blood illness, which leads me to believe this film has a much higher meaning than just gore. The burlesque dancer in the film comes out all sultry and enticing with her outfit but all over her body she names names of blood diseases and cancers. After a few twirls the host of the show comes back with a small bucket and a paint brush.
The dancer takes the stage with the bucket and paint brush and begins to paint away the diseases. She starts from her legs and works her way up. The blood begins to erase the traces of disease. The burlesque dancer paints her body in an elegant way that causes the person watching it to pay attention. I wanted to look away but I just couldn’t. It was disturbing but at the same time magical to watch.
When she finishes her final brush stroke she douses herself with the remaining blood, purifying her body of the once visible disease names. I understood what the film was trying to convey. It was like a horror Public Service Announcement because at the end of the film her gives a fact about donating blood for people that suffer with blood illnesses. It was much more than just glamour and gore. The audience in the film was amazed at the spectacle, as was I, at the mere fact of what blood can do. Blood was not treated in a gross and disturbing way, although I still find blood a bit disturbing, it was a beautiful thing.Patricia Chica did a fantastic job of capturing the essence of blood.
Follow Patricia Chica on Twitter: @PatriciaChica,
Follow Tonya Kay on Twitter: @TonyaKay,
Follow Tiffany Shepis on Twitter: @TiffanyShepis
Follow Michelle Romano on Twitter: @MichelleMRomano
