Circumstance 2020

A film by Sue Healey

22 mins 30 seconds

Awarded the prestigious Australia Council Award for Dance in 2021, Sydney-based choreographer, filmmaker and installation artist Sue Healey is acclaimed for her growing body of work that examines the human body situated in a variety of natural and man-made environments via the moving image.

Conceived during the first lockdown, Circumstance is a socially distanced and site-specific work, filmed at Paddington Reservoir and Bombo Quarry, at Sydney’s southern beaches, where we move from an enclosed intimate setting to a Terrence Malik style natural expanse.

Having previously screened at international film festivals during 2021 Circumstance has been included in the AT HOME program in 2022, for its resonance and relevance which still rings true as the globe continues to dip in and out of lockdowns. This contemplative work reminds us how precarious and fragile lived reality is.

The landscape, especially the Bombo Quarry location with its deep history - clearly visible in the extraordinary rock formations shaped by the passing of time - is a startling canvas for performances by an ensemble of dancers from Sydney Dance Company’s pre-professional 2020 cohort and the maze of corridors and arches in the old water reservoir in Paddington - featuring artists Allie Graham and Billy Keohavong, is an apt metaphor for lockdowns.