The Severing (2023)
Director: Mark Pellington Run Time: 70 min. Rating: NR Release Year: 2022
Starring: Allison Fletcher, Blake Miller, Courtney Scarr, Danny Axley, Maija Knapp
Country: United States
Language: English
About the film:
From acclaimed filmmaker Mark Pellington, The Severing (2023 is a visceral and powerful feature-length dance film. This cathartic movement piece was created in collaboration with the brilliant choreographer Nina McNeely (Gaspar Noe’s Climax), rising Dutch cinematographer Evelin Van Rei, and editor Sergio Pinheiro.
Inspired by the Wim Wenders film Pina (2011), Pellington was interested in expressing feelings and emotions through a ‘narrative of movement and text,’ told through the physical expression of dancers’ bodies and souls. Grief is physical and lies in the body, in our very DNA, which makes movement the ideal way to communicate it.
“Pellington’s boldest and most audacious film to date… moves beyond the limitations of narrative to get at something primal and raw.”
—Jim Hemphill for Filmmaker Magazine
About the filmmaker:
Mark Pellington is an American film director, writer, and producer whose groundbreaking early work earned him fame as one of the pioneers of the music video. He worked at MTV from 1984–1990, winning awards as a promo producer and creating the landmark TV documentary series Buzz (1990). Since then, he has directed iconic music videos for numerous top rock, pop, and rap performers, including the award-winning video for Pearl Jam’s song “Jeremy”. His feature film debut, the coming-of-age drama Going All The Way, premiered at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. His other features include the controversial political thriller Arlington Road (1999), cult favorite The Mothman Prophecies (2002), Henry Poole Is Here (2008), I Melt with You (2011), The Last Word (2017), and Nostalgia (2018). He has also crafted commercials, short films, documentaries for PBS, the innovative concert film U2 3D (2005), the 2003 pilot episode of CBS’ Cold Case, and executive produced NBC’s Blindspot.
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