“Night Dancing,” the latest collaboration between partner/editor Marco Perez of bicoastal Union and director Barney Cokeliss (repped by Dark Energy/London and Steam Films/Toronto), won the Best Editing Award at the 5th Annual Utah Dance Film Festival, alongside Best Director for Cokeliss and the Audience Award. The film, which will next screen at the Beverly Hills Film Festival in early April, won the Jury Award at the LA Dance Film Festival in January, and the Best Short Film Award at the Frankfurt Biennale for the Moving Image and received heavy praise following its premiere at the Toronto international Film Festival (TIFF).

A short film by Barney Cokeliss
Starring Jason Thorpe, Louise Tanoto, Jacob Ingram-Dodd, and Alister Cameron
Written, Produced and Directed by: Barney Cokeliss
Director of Photography: Philippe Kress
Editor: Marco Perez
Music: Anné Kulonen

“Night Dancing” stars Jason Thorpe (well-known in the UK for comedy, taking a more dramatic turn here) as a man whose nights are consumed by visions of a street dancer (Louise Tanoto). Unsure whether she – or her partner (Jacob Ingram-Dodd) – are real, our protagonist relates this to his therapist (Alister Cameron), in an attempt to qualify his sanity, or, perhaps, to free his soul.

“I’ve loved editing with Marco ever since we first started working together on commercials in Paris (Peugeot, CIC Bank), and he’s become a close friend as well as a massively valued collaborator,” said Cokeliss, who also wrote and produced the film.