5Q's w/Marta Renzi "Dancing Is An Old Friend" Director

#1: Can you describe your movie and why somebody should see it in less than 140 characters?

It’s a poignant portrait of a friendship.

#2: What do you want the Borrego Springs Film Festival audience to know about your film that isn’t obvious from its title?

That the early months of the pandemic were a time for folks to reflect - on friendships, on what matters, on how lives diverge and yet stay connected.

#3: What is your movie making background? Tell us about yourself.

The first 25 years or so of my career were spent as a choreographer / dancer with a commitment to making dance accessible to a broad audience.

My small Project Company took every opportunity to perform outdoors and for free at venues like Central Park Summer Stage and Lincoln Center.

Out of Doors. Twice in the 80’s I was commissioned to make half-hour videodance programs for public television, through the New Television Workshop at WGBH: You Little Wild Heart to Bruce Springsteen music, and Mountainview, co-directed with John Sayles. Then in about 2006 when editing programs and cameras became widely accessible, I started producing my own movement-based films.

Since then I’ve created more than 40 short films, and a feature, Her Magnum Opus which was screened at Borrego Springs in 2018. During the pandemic, when dance groups were looking for new ways to reach their audiences, my experience was a useful asset: I was invited to direct and edit two Nutcrackers, one of which showed on PBS, as well as 2 short films, one of which is Dancing is an Old Friend.

#4: What was the biggest lesson learned in getting your film made?

All it takes is 2 cellphones, an authentic desire to connect, ad some wonderful music for a trio of old friends to make something Borrego Springs-worthy.

#5: What does the future hold for your film and you?

I’m happy to report that Dancing is an Old Friend has screened in over 25 festivals to date, which is pretty good for a no-budget labor of love among friends during lockdown. I’m even happier to report that my fondest hope seems to be coming true: that it’s not primarily a document of the difficulties of the pandemic era, but a love letter to friendship and to dancing, privately or publicly.