AUDITIONS FOR THE BALLET RUSSE DE MONTE CARLO by Leza Lidow
Submitted for the
9e FESTIVAL DU CINEMA DE PARIS
Director: Leza Lidow Producer: Kory Goetzman Writer: Leza Lidow Genre: Comedy Country: USA Duration: 19:51 Leading Actress: Cesar Smith-Diaz Leading Actor: Stan Hancock Photography: Yasu Tanida Art Direction: Keith Blum Editing: Min Lee
Synopsis of the Film: A group of hilarious ballet dancers audition for the Swan Lake Ballet. The judges are ballerinas from the past. They are appalled at the new behavior of the dancers, who turn out to be men in drag.
Bio-filmography of the Director: I was raised in California and New York in the twenties in an environment of books, art, music and I showed an early passion for painting. After graduating from high school, I married composer Friedrich Holländer. He wrote songs for Marlene Dietrich (Falling in Love Again) and musical scores for the movies. After three years of marriage we divorced.
I became a member of the American Watercolor Society, exhibiting in New York, Miami, Denver and Los Angeles, winning numerous awards. I continued my art education in Paris and Switzerland.
In 1951, I returned to Los Angeles and had a solo exhibit at Roperi's Gallery. Shortly after I married industrialist Eric Lidow. Gradually my work became more surreal. I exhibited paintings which eventually evolved into three-dimensional art. I continued to show my paintings and sculptures in Europe, exhibiting at the Grand Palais Automme in 1992 and the Societe des Artistes Francais at the Grand Palais also in 1992.
Social issues have always influenced my work, for example my monumental piece, The Chess Set (The Eternal Battle of the Sexes). The work is composed of life-size figures, half female and half male representing the struggle for power between men and women today. The entire set requires a space of 24 feet by 24 feet. This piece was included in the French version of the Guinness Book of Records in 1995.
By the time 2005 rolled around I was experiencing some arthritis and a touch of osteoporosis. Refusing to give up my projects and passions, I decided to make short comic films to make people laugh and carry on having a great time in life.
Since September 2005 I have made 20 films, several of which have been accepted in 23 festivals. Recently "Tahitian Wedding" won Best LGBT in the Heart of England International Film Festival in 2009. My artwork and sculptures are currently traveling China.
Annual Program Without Frontiers - Auditions for the Ballet Russe De Monte Carlo
