Swan Song screening with Q&A

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Join us for the screening of Swan Song followed by a Q&A with members of the creative team focusing on the making of a film about dance, including producing, directing and editing.

Synopsis

Swan Song immerses viewers inside one of the world’s leading ballet companies as it mounts a legacy-defining new production of Swan Lake, directed by ballet icon Karen Kain on the eve of her retirement. The verité-driven feature documentary closely follows Kain and a group of young dancers drawn from the National Ballet of Canada’s ranks, weaving Swan Lake’s dramatic creation process with intimate scenes from the subjects’ personal lives as they push toward one of the most significant opening nights in their company’s history.

Kain and her company granted full access, and the filmmakers followed the film’s subjects for nearly two years through creative conflicts, devastating injuries and personal setbacks, and a pointed push for equity and change from within its ranks.

Swan Song’s intimate, character-driven approach invites viewers to consider the impacts of the culture of ballet on its artists—the film’s subjects, in various ways, challenge ideals of race, class and body type as they navigate a tradition that has historically valued compliance and perfection. At the same time, the film captures the sincere love of the form that drives Kain and the dancers as they face down challenges and make deep personal sacrifices in an effort to create something meaningful and lasting.

Swan Song Credits
A Visitor Media Production
Produced in Association with Mercury Films Inc. and Quiet Ghost
Presented in Association with Dogwoof
Presented in Association with Blue Ice Docs

A Film by Chelsea McMullan & Sean O’Neill
Directed by Chelsea McMullan
Produced by Sean O’Neill
Executive Producers: Sean O’Neill, Chelsea McMullan, Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier, Anna Godas, Oli Harbottle, Neve Campbell, Janice, Dawe, Kathy Avrich-Johnson
Producer: Christina Carvalho
Directors of Photography: Tess Girard & Shady Hanna
Edited by Brendan Mills
Additional Editing: Sabrina Budiman, John Gallagher
Original Score by Katie Austra Stelmanis
Written by Chelsea McMullan & Sean O’Neill

Runtime: 100 Minutes

Swan Song won the $50,000 Toronto Film Critics Association Rogers Prize for Best Canadian Documentary in 2024.

Chelsea McMullan won the DGC's Allan King Award for Excellence in a Documentary Directing in 2024.

Swan Song had its world premiere at TIFF, followed by screenings at the BFI London Film Festival, Lincoln Centre, and CPH:DOX.