Fiscally Sponsored Artist Project - 2002
Film
Artist Statement:
Project Title: Tango Octogenario. Currently in postproduction, Tango Octogenario, a short narrative dance film, is a stylized portrait of an elderly couple and their unique way of reconnecting to
each other. The film further explores themes present in
my previous film and in my screenplays, including the
hidden lives of marginalized people, the curative
powers of art, and the power of art to forge bonds. Its
most salient characteristic, the portrayal of the
elderly as vibrant and independent, is a much-needed
antidote to the stereotypical representations of
America’s graying population.
Tango Octogenario was beautifully shot by director of
photography Wolfgang Held (The Tic Code, Ripe, and
Academy Award Nominee (2002) Children Underground) and
choreographed by Nancy Turano (artistic director, New
Jersey Dance Theatre Ensemble; faculty member, Alvin
Ailey American Dance Center; principal dancer,
rehearsal director, and faculty of Ballet Hispanico
from 1985 to 1998). Our nonactor stars, Alex and Jean
Turney (84 and 78, married 57 years), danced their ways
into the crew’s hearts, and their passion for each
other, tango, and life has been captured on glorious
35mm film.
More about the Artist:
David Licata’s last film, Tango Octogenario (a NYFA sponsored project
2002), screened at New Directors/New Films (presented by MoMA and the
Film Society of Lincoln Center), the Tribeca Film Festival, and more
than twenty-five other festivals from Mumbai, India to Anchorage,
Alaska with stops in between.
David has worked in a variety of media: his film 8 1/2 x 11 is part of
an IFILM DVD, accompanying the feature film Temporary Girl; his scripts
for the television show SportsFigures were broadcast on ESPN; his movie
reviews and essays on genre films have been published in Seen That, Now
What? (Fireside); and various odds and ends have appeared on the
Internet. David has been awarded grants from the New York State Council
on the Arts and Dance Films Associations and was an artist-in-residence
at Fundacion Valparaiso (Spain) and Centrum Arts and Creative Education
(WA).
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