Labyrinth Within is a new dance film by Swedish choreographer and director Pontus Lidberg. It takes off from the worldwide success of his 2007 dance film “The Rain”.
A married couple are experiencing difficulties in their relationship. The man suspects that all is not right, that perhaps the woman is having an affair. The elusive lover and the unpredictable world that surrounds him soon take over.
Based on a screenplay for three characters written and developed by Mr. Lidberg with dramaturge Niklas Holmgren, the film, set to a contemporary score symphonic score, aims to tell the story through the merging of emotive dance and imagery.
The project involves international collaborations and patronage on both sides of the Atlantic. In October 2009, The Symphony Orchestra of Sweden's NorrlandsOperan recorded the score written by Pulitzer Prize winning composer David Lang featuring New York based cellist Maya Beiser. The following Spring, during artist residencies at The Joyce SoHo and the Baryshnikov Arts Center, Mr. Lidberg continued his creative process with a cast that features dancers from the United States and Sweden including New York City Ballet principal dancer Wendy Whelan in the leading female role.
The film was shot in Stockholm, Sweden during the long days and white nights of June and July and is currently in the last stages of post-production through the fall of 2010, it will be just under 30 minutes long.
On the surface, “Labyrinth Within” is a danced drama about love gone stale, that perhaps has disappeared in favor of veneer, and about the outlet found through an affair. However, below this vessel for our story, it's an existential thriller about the human longing to connect with another on a deeper level and to be free from constraint and the restriction of rules and convention. The film explores the border of surface and substance: the apartment in which the story takes place becomes a fourth character, balancing on the blurred border between the kept surface of reality and the uncontrollable forces of emotion.