*Awesonova presents

OFFICIAL TRAILER

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A DIFFERENT KIND OF PICTURE, IN MOTION

Starring Jessica Brown Findlay and Africa’s leading dancers

Take a pinch of Disney’s Fantasia, a dash of the Nutcracker Ballet, then a large helping of cutting-edge cinematography, an engaging screenplay and an original musical score, and you have all the makings for a film (and stage show) like no other.

Iris Warriors features Jessica Brown Findlay (of Downton Abbey and Harlots, acclaim), as well as principal dancers from Africa’s most prestigious ballet companies—blending them together in a whirl of colour and movement in a completely new genre: ballet drama.

The film jetés from the London Blitz of 1940 (in which we meet a group of trapped, scared orphans and their teacher played by Findlay), to a timeless, mythical dance between Darkness and Light that ultimately leads to the birth of colours and a battle for hope and light thereafter.

Whilst this film is years in the making, one cannot help but notice the uncanny similarities between those anxious children, confined in a basement, and our own children today — whose lives have also gotten smaller and scarier as the world faces an altogether different kind of blitz.

Still, for both sets of children — there is the dawning of new hope to look forward to. While the children in the film remain confined for a while – their imaginations are able to still run wild and in vivid colour. May the same prove true for this present generation...

As the film so nimbly portrays: darkness and despair cannot last forever. They always, always give way to light and hope. Set in a different time, in a new genre, the Iris Warriors succeed in still speaking to our time and context, all the while, introducing families and younger children to the magic and mystery of live ballet performances. If you’re looking for an expansive family movie that introduces your kids to the art of dance and theatre, without having to leave the comfort of your sofa, this is the film you’ve been waiting for.

SYNOPSIS: England, 1940. When bombs trap eight children in the cellar of their orphanage, their teacher, Miss Shaw, starts to read them a story. As the tale unfolds, they are magically transported to a timeless, mythical island, where they witness the story of Darkness and Light, and of how their union and their conflict produced the Iris Warriors, the seven brilliant colours of the revenge on her colourful children like a vicious black widow spider. From a distance, Miss Shaw and the orphans begin to fear that neither they nor the Iris Warriors will survive the encroaching darkness.

Starring: Jessica Brown Findlay (Downton Abbey; Winter’s Tale; Albatross; Harlots; Potato Peel Pie Society)
Genre: Family Dance Drama
Running Time: 80 minutes
Directed by: Roydon Turner

WHY SUPPORT THIS DANCE FILM: Our aim has always been to create an immersive live dance show. A show which will sit at the intersection of Cirque du Soleil (immersive), The Lion King (story) and the “Classics” (ballet), and place audiences at the very heart of the action with an original score, stage design and stunning universe as a backdrop on the latest digital screen technology.

But without proof of a popular book or an existing stage performance, a film was the most efficient way to bring this unique story of creation, diversity and colour to a global audience. The film however has its own challenges, for instance there is no official dance genre for film, and without a typical genre to market it’s incredibly hard to get distributors to take it seriously.

Then why make a film you ask? Theatrical challenges are not that different, original dance stories are rare or non-existent, even the big ballet companies default to recycling the same “Classics” (The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty etc), year after year. Iris Warriors aims to disrupt this cycle and create a new modern classic that acknowledges both past and present. Please share this unique experience with your family and friends. Thank you for your support!

WE ALL HAVE A FAVOURITE COLOUR, WHICH IS YOURS?

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MEET THE DANCERS

Iris Warriors is proud to represent some of Africa’s leading dancers.

THE MAKING OF

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