cari ann shim sham*

Cinematography by Susan Zwilling Moore, Walter Mathur & Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Edit by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

Premiering at REDCAT, Los Angeles October 2018
BAM, NYC December, 2018

Premiering in NY at BAM!

tickets: https://www.bam.org/dance/2018/halfway-to-dawn

Video Art by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Photo by Steve Gunther

Video Art by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Photo by Steve Gunther

Video Art by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Photo by Rose Eichenbaum

Video Art by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Photo by Rose Eichenbaum

Video Art by Cari Ann Shim Sham
Photo by Steve Gunther

Video Art & Screen Concept by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Screen Design by Mary Hale
Image by Steve Gunther

Video Art by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Photo by Steve Gunther

Video Art by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Photo by Steve Gunther

David Roussève | Reality Company
at Jacob's Pillow, MA
March 29th -April 8th, 2018

A Green Tara Goddess Meditation on the fear of flesh-eating demons.

Releasing the demons of doubt.

A Green Tara Goddess meditation on touching water.

Releasing the flood of attachment.

A Green Tara Goddess meditation on holding fire.

Releasing the fire of anger.

A Green Tara Goddess Meditation on the captivity of greed.

Releasing greed that confines.

A Green Tara Goddess meditation on taming the inner lion.

Releasing the pride of the lion.

A live staging of the Parksville Murders at the Flea Theater in New York City, November 2018.

Soprano Kasey Cardin playing Corrine lies dead in her tub.

photo by Laura Thompson

A live staging of the Parksville Murders at the Flea Theater in New York City, November 2018.

The Watchers watch on…

photo by Laura Thompson

A live staging of the Parksville Murders at the Flea Theater in New York City, Halloween 2018.

Soprano Kasey Cardin playing Corrine lies dead in her tub as the audience watches.

photo by Laura Thompson

A live staging of the Parksville Murders at the Flea Theater in New York City, November 2018.

Soprano Rachel Duval playing Sarah inspects Kasey Cardin playing Corrine who lies lifeless in her tub.

photo by Laura Thompson

Chisa Hidaka fully immersed in The Parksville Murders.

Samsung VR night, San Francisco, October 2017  

The exhibit of Episode 1 for Parksville at the Samsung Developers Conference in October 2017

We won!

Available on Samsung VR
October 20, 2017

The Parksville Murders creative team gets their wine on with Red Curtain Addict in SF, CA. 

Left to right, Anne Hiatt, Kari Coomans Jerre Dye, Todd Perlmutter, Cari Ann Shim Sham*

The Parksville Murders turns heads in Paris at the Ciné Corps Film Festival. 

Jan 30, 2018

Parksville Murder's new exhibition dome, premiered at the Samsung "An Evening in 360" VR night in San Francisco in October 2017.

The exhibition kicked off with a new aria by Kamala Sankaram sung by the boatman in front of our exhibition dome. 

Samsung VR night, San Francisco, October 2017 

After the boatman sings our masked helpers beckon you into the dome.

Samsung VR night, San Francisco, October 2017  

The ghost chairs await you as scary trees are projected onto the dome for a creepy atmosphere.

Samsung VR night, San Francisco, October 2017

The actual tub from The Parksville Murders is placed in the center of the dome surrounded by ferns, moss and earth as candles burn on the walls of the dome.

Samsung VR night, San Francisco, October 2017

Place your candle by the tub and put on your headsets.

Samsung VR night, San Francisco, October 2017

Audience members sit in a circle and watch The Parksville Murders together.

Samsung VR night, San Francisco, October 2017

The watchers and our dead Corrine appear when the audience removes their headsets.

Samsung VR night, San Francisco, October 2017  

Afterwards the audience loved to take photos with our dead Corrine in the tub and the watchers.

Samsung VR night, San Francisco, October 2017  

NY Premiere NYC Indie Fest

May 6th

https://www.nycindieff.com/event/vr-experience-session-1

https://www.nycindieff.com/event/vr-experience-session-2

LA Premiere

The Topanga Film Festival

February 10-12

https://topangafilminstitute.org/vrinstallations/

2016-17 In Post Production

Thanks to a Building Opera Audiences grant from OPERA America, Opera on Tap has completed work on Episode One of its most innovative project yet: an episodic horror opera created for Virtual Reality (VR). “The Parksville Murders,” with music by Kamala Sankaram and libretto by Jerre Dye, directed by Cari Ann Shim Sham*, is produced in collaboration with Beaverkill Studios & Light Sail VR.  

Preview exhibit Dumbo, NYC, Oct 27, 2016

Exhibit Opera America New Works Forum, NYC, Jan 12th, 2017

Exhibit Topanga Film Festival, LA, Feb 10-12, 2017

The Watchers of the Parksville Murders
Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

The Parksville Murders is shot primarily on the Dark Corner Rig, with additional support from the Freedom 360 Rig.

The Watchers have their way with our lead Sopranos, Kacey Cardin & Mikki Sodergren
Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

The Watchers local hang out spot, the Parksville Cemetery.
Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

Opera in New York Gets Spooky

by Amanda Angel

http://www.wsj.com/articles/opera-in-new-york-gets-spooky-1477530490

Directed & Edited by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Produced by Rick Litvin
Associate Producer Barak Barkan
Assistant Director Angie Moon
Director of Photography Sheldon Chau
1st AC Christian Cruz
Movi Op/Gaffer Matthew Troy
Gaffer Nestor Celaya
Grip & Dolly Danny Ballester
Featuring Claire Kretzschmar
Hair/Makeup by Karla Elie
Production Assistants Henrikke Boger, Raziman Bin Sarbini & Oscar Rodriguez

Collaborators Cari Ann Shim Sham*, Emily Beattie, Mary Hale & Eric Gunther are developing Dance Like No One is Whale Watching, an interactive immersive performance and play space to evoke the fantasy of life underwater with a pod of Orca whales.

www.dancelikenooneiswhalewatching.com

funded by NEFA's New England Dance Fund, The Boston Foundation's Live Arts Boston Grant & Next Steps Boston Dance

MAGMA Center Residency, Gloucester MA July 23-28, 2018

Avant premiere at the Imagine Fest at Earth Dance, Sept 29-30, Oct 1, 2017

http://www.dancefilms.org/event/imagine-festival-fall-2017/

Cari Ann Shim Sham* & Eric Gunther team up to create an interactive sonar and whale call experience using Isadora and Kinect.

Emily underwater in the premiere of Dance Like No One is Whale Watching at Imagine Festival at Earth Dance in Massachusetts.
October, 2017

Emily does her whale dance at the Imagine Festival at Earth Dance.
October, 2017

by Mary Hale

A circle of friends gathers to celebrate their mentor and learns that what lasts is those you leave behind.

Initial release: 2017

Director: Marta Renzi
Producer: Paul Galando
Cinematography: Cari Ann Shim Sham*, Kal Toth & Charles Caster-Dudzick

Cast: Arthur Aviles, Paul Galando, Andy Chapman, Aileen Passloff, James Desmond, Amos Wolff, Aislinn MacMaster, Max Kumangai

Screenings

2018

Dance on Camera Festival, NYC, NY July 21
ADF Movies by Movers, Durham, NC July 14
ReelHeART Intl Film Festival, Toronto, Canada July 6
Vero Beach Wine + Film Festival, Vero Beach, FL June 7-9
Jacobs Burns Film Center, Pleasantville, NY, April 3
SF Indie Fest, San Francisco, CA Feb 1-15
Borrego Springs Film Festival, Borrego Springs, CA Jan 11-15

2017
Port Townsend Film Festival, Port Townsend, WA Sept 14
Upstate Films, Rhinebeck, NY Oct 29
YoFiFest, Yonkers, NY Nov 5
Rivertown Films, Nyack, NY Dec 13

still image from film
Cinematography Cari Ann Shim Sham*

still image from trailer

Cinematography Cari Ann Shim Sham*

An interactive light and sound installation experience inside a giant inflatable sea anemone.

Inflatable Architect: Mary Hale
Sound & Interactivity: Mimi Yin
Concept, Lighting & Producer: Cari Ann Shim Sham

In July 2018 Shimmer had a weeklong residency at NYU Tisch Dance for a prototype test with the creative team.

Mary Hale: Inflatable Architect

Mimi Yin: Sound & Interactivity

Cari Ann Shim Sham*: Concept, Lighting & Producer

We tested out our prototype for Shimmer on selected guest audiences during a residency at NYU Tisch Dance in July 2018.

Part space tent, part sea house that sings to you.

Artistic air conditioning.

A closer look at the void inside Shimmer.

Preliminary prototype sketch by Mary Hale.

Accra Arts Center
Accra, Ghana
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
August, 2016

Better Days for Moria Camp
Lesbos, Greece
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
March 16th, 2016

Paris
February, 2018

Cyclone bomb

NYC, January 2018

Havana, Cuba
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
January 8th, 2017

Cyclone bomb

NYC, January 2018

Paris
February, 2018

Havana, Cuba
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
January 8, 2017

The Wall, Aida Refugee Camp, Palestine | West Bank
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
March 11th, 2016

Santiago, Cuba
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
January 4, 2017

Paris
February 2018

Havana, Cuba
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
January 8, 2017

Road to the Volta Region
Ghana, West Africa
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
August, 2016
 

Santiago, Cuba
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
January 4, 2017

Lesbos, Greece
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
March 15th, 2016

Lesbos, Greece
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
March 21st, 2016

Havana, Cuba
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
January 8, 2017

Havana, Cuba
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
January 8, 2017

Mytilini
Lesbos, Greece
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
March, 2016

Havana, Cuba
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
January 8, 2017

Volta Region
Ghana, West Africa
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
August, 2016

Havana, Cuba
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
January 8, 2017

Ezra Gales of Molly Tigre

Bar Chord

2017

Street Art
Florentine Neighborhood, Tel Aviv, Israel
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
March 13th, 2016

Dancing with Devices 360 degree comp workshop at Brandeis University.
Ricoh Theta

https://theta360.com/s/psFmvXY352Z096QULHh6Jnbwu

July 25th, 2016

Emily Beattie & Eric Gunther's new home
July 23, 2016

Chief Golden Light Eagle
Star Knowledge Conference, Iowa
June, 2013

North East, Pennsylvania
Sept 22, 2012

Chief Blue Star Eagle
Star Knowledge Conference, Iowa
June, 2013

Baker Farm
North East, Pennsylvania
August 21, 2010

Java, Indonesia
December, 2011

Java, Indonesia
December, 2011

Bubble Wrap Girls by Bitch Co.
Commissioned by: Cirque du Soliel for the opening party of The  "O" at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, NV.
Costume design and construction: Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Performers: Robin Wisdom, Cari Ann Shim Sham*, Cameron Russell

So much....

April 1, 2018

Took a trip to Paris in February and the Seine was flooded.
Apparently, climate change, is real. 
And the Eiffel Tower sparkles at night, just like me. 

Swimming & dancing with dolphins with the Dolphin Dance Project.

Nick Cave Soundsuits at the Downtown Art Walk
Choreography by Rachael Lincoln
Dancer in photo: Cari Ann Shim Sham*

Mover in Residence & Guest Curator Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Salamanca Moves, Tasmania

The artist at work mapping video onto three walls at Human Resources for Trophy's Premiere in Los Angeles, CA 

Photo & Choreography by Kevin Williamson

Cari Ann Shim Sham*, cinematographer, on set for Marta Renzi's feature film "Her Magnum Opus" now screening nationally.

Photo by Marta Renzi

Dance Like No One is Whalewatching

Shim Sham* gets dragged out from behind her camera to do a little dancing for Translucent Borders.
Ghana, West Africa
Photo by Wendy Perron

Lead Photographer & Filmmaker for Translucent Borders
A working group of the NYU Global Institute of Advanced Study
Self Portrait by Cari Ann Shim Sham* 360 Ricoh Theta camera
Tel Aviv, Israel

Shim Sham* tests distance and throw ratios for her 3 projector video art build for Trophy by Kevin Williamson at Human Resources.
Photo by Kevin Williamson

Topanga Film Festival Director, 2015
Technology at Play
Curator & Programmer 2011-2017

Shim Sham comes out of retirement to dance for Anna B. Scott at Highways Performance Space, LA, CA.

Instructor, West African Dance Class, Topanga Canyon
2011-2015

Free.

In flight, with spirit.

On set for David Rousseve's film Two Seconds After Laughter, Java, Indonesia.
Director of Photography, Cari Ann Shim Sham*

On set for David Rousseve's film Two Seconds After Laughter, Java, Indonesia.
Director of Photography, Cari Ann Shim Sham*

On set for David Rousseve's film Two Seconds After Laughter, Java, Indonesia.
Director of Photography, Cari Ann Shim Sham*

Associate Producer & Editor for the Cut Chemist One Day On Earth Music Promo Video and the Music & Dance section & Final Credits sections of the film, Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Directed by Kyle Ruddick

Premiere of One Day on Earth at the United Nations Assembly. 

Poster for Cari Ann Shim Sham's* award winning film, SAND.

A film by Cari Ann Shim Sham* & Kyle Ruddick.
Music by Low in the Sky.
Dancer pictured Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Image by Kyle Ruddick

A film by Cari Ann Shim Sham* & Kyle Ruddick.
Music by Low in the Sky.
Dancer pictured Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Image by Kyle Ruddick

The Fun Cult goes bananas at Burning Man.

Current photo used on Burning Man home page for "Culture" button.
Photo by Scott London

Bitch Co. performs at The White Rabbit, an underground art gallery scene in the 90's.

Pictured: Shim Sham & Janice

Clowning around with Maria Lantin from Emily Carr in VR headsets to investigate the inherent dance that exists in the performance of wearable technologies. Maria and Shim Sham* react in space to a virtual roller coaster and appear to dance their way through it. 

Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham* 

Performing & Presenting at the CHI Conference in Montreal,
April 21-16, 2018

Shim Sham clowns around with a giant hamster in a wheel while standing among fish and sharks.

Photo by Maria Lantin taken with Hololens headset.

Jasmine Jawato in Monsters section at Human Resources LA
Image by Taso Papadakis

Kevin Le's solo in Trophy at Human Resources LA
Image by Taso Papadakis

"Trophy"
Kevin Williamson & Company
Choreography: Kevin Williamson
In collaboration w/performers: Barry Brannum, Jasmine Jawato, Kevin Le
Music: Jeepneys
Video Art: Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Lighting Design: Katelan Braymer
Videography: Nathan Kim

"Trophy" premiered at Human Resources Los Angeles, Aug 25-28, 2016.

"Trophy"
Kevin Williamson & Company
Choreography: Kevin Williamson
In collaboration w/performers Barry Brannum, Jasmine Jawato, Kevin Le
Music: Jeepneys
Video Art: Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Lighting Design: Katelan Braymer
Videography: Nathan Kim

*"Trophy" premiered at Human Resources LA, Aug 25-28, 2016.
**Previous excerpts were performed at REDCAT and Dixon Place.

Trailer

Trophy is an immersive dance-theater project from choreographer Kevin Williamson, experimental composer Jeepneys and video artist Cari Ann Shim Sham*. Created and made adaptable for white box spaces, this 360 degree world of fractured landscapes and psychedelic sounds follows the pursuits of three millenial dancers in a mediatized social world.  In the beginning, the dancers splinter fluid movements into still frames, interrogating social media personas with humor and pathos.  But as the dance unfolds and quotidian life dissolves into fragments of stop-n-go selfies, our protagonists are forced to contend with a reality governed by media's authority, pervasive isolation, and a gnawing pressure to exhibit their “success”.  Shim Sham* integrates manipulations of digital imagery into a live performance of video amongst body through multiple projectors and Jeepneys provides an aural soundscape of odd rhythms and surrealist sounds.  Combined with the choreography, the elements highlight a disjointed, but virtuosic display of contemporary bodies in flux with desire, technology, time, and space. 

Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

August 2015
Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

August 2015
Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

August 2015
Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

Tech, August 2015
Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

Cast & Collaborators, OWFest, August 2015
Barry Brannum, Kevin Le, Cari Ann Shim Sham*, Kevin Williamson, Jasmine Jawato, Jeepnys

Image by Eric Speth

Light Hang & Video Tech, REDCAT August 2105

Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

Set and Reset/Reset

Shiner Set Design: Jon Allaire and Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Video Projection and Sound Design: Cari Ann Shim Sham*

(Based on the original design by Robert Rauschenberg and Beverly Emmons in 1983)

2016

A visual metaphor to explore deep primal feelings of being out of control, turbulence leads us through fear, survival tactics, prayer, humor, and fantasy and lands us into dream. 

Performed by Cameron Russell & Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Concept & Direction by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Choreography by Cameron Russell & Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Sound Design by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

2017 In Development

In Inflatable Trio, three dancers, two women and a man, negotiate a yellow inflatable plastic living room suite..., and each other. The satirical domestic drama that emerges asks the question: how do we orient ourselves within ever changing intimate and social environments?

Inflatable Trio is an evening-length trio by choreographer Lionel Popkin, featuring collaborations with composer Tom Lopez and video artist Cari Ann Shim Sham*.

Premiered in Los Angeles February 23-25 2017, Skirball Cultural Center

2015

"The Fez"-the first Restaurant and Nightclub dedicated to the Arab culture on the West Coast. Opened in 1959 in Hollywood, The legendary Fez not only became a center for the Arabic community in Southern California, but a catatyst for Arab music and dance going on to inspire generations of musicians and dancers well beyond Los Angeles. This project intends to document a piece of Arab Music and Dance history, the cultural center that the Fez became for the Arab community and those drawn to the beauty and richness of the Arab culture AND the nostalgia of old Hollywood!

Roxxanne Shelaby hard at work
Topanga, CA July 2015

Final Sound Mix with Keith Bilderbeck
Topanga, CA July 2015

Los Angeles June, 2015

2014 Stardust

Choreographed, written, and directed by David Roussève for the dance/theater company REALITY, Stardust explores the evolving nature of intimacy in our technology-driven, furiously-paced world. Redefining the coming of age story for the electronic age, the evening-length piece follows an African American gay urban teenager who- never seen onstage- is present only by the emotion laden tweets and text messages he sends. While not autobiographical, like some of Roussève's work, it is intensely personal.    

Director/Choreographer: David Roussève
Music: D. Sabela Grimes
Video Artist: Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Dramaturge: Lucy Burns
Costumes: Leah Piehl
Lighting: Christopher Kuhl

Dancers: Charisse Aquirre, Emily Beattie, Nehara Kalev, Michel Kouakou, Nguyen Nguyen, Jasmine Jawato, Taisha Paggett, David Roussève, Kevin Williamson, Kevin Le

Trailer Cinematography & Edit by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

Michel Kouakou & Leanne Iacovetta

Krannert Residency
Summer 2013

Emily Beattie
Montclair, NJ February, 2014

Photo by Yi-Chun Wu

Charisse Sky
2014

Photo by Yi-Chun Wu

Charisse Skye, Kevin Williamson, Michel Kouakou & company
2014

Image by Yi-Chun Wu

Tiasha Padgget
2014

Image by Yi-Chun Wu

Tiasha Padgget
2014

Image by Yi-Chun Wu

Emily Beattie, Carolyn Hall, Lionel Popkin
2014

Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

Inspired by the career of modern dance pioneer Ruth St. Denis, "Ruth Doesn’t Live Here Anymore" strives to address acts of cultural sourcing, representation, and transmission. With wit, piles of fabric, a microphone, 3 dancers, 2 musicians, and a leaf blower, Lionel Popkin asks: was Ruth's Orientalism an act of cultural appropriation or a legitimate examination of sources of dance? Can a century of perspective help the contemporary choreographer reach his own point of equilibrium? Performed by Popkin, Emily Beattie, and Carolyn Hall and featuring an original score by accordionist Guy Klucevsek - played live by Klucevsek and a guest violinist - this dance sweeps across an array of metaphorical hints and an extravaganza of textiles. Lighting design by Christopher Kuhl, costume and set design by Marcus Kuiland-Nazario with video artist, Cari Ann Shim Sham*.

Trailer Cinematography & Edit by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

Carolyn Hall & Emily Beattie
2014

Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

Lionel Popkin, Emily Beattie, Carolyn Hall
2014

Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

Carolyn Hall
2014

Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

2012
An original intersection of documentary, dance-for-camera, and dream-like fantasy, Two Seconds After Laughter creates a border-jumping dialogue on a universal irony:  The heart longs most for the one place to which it can never fully return… home.  With a narrative inspired by choreographer Sri Susilowati's experience of returning to her native Indonesia after 20 years of living and dancing in America, Two Seconds… is a meditation on the nature of memory; a cry of longing caused by separation; and a fable-like tale of the joys and emotional dislocation experienced by contemporary immigrant peoples. 

Director David Roussève
Cinematography & Edit Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Choreography & Dance Sri Susilowati

Awards
BEST FILM, International Documentary Competition InShadow – International Festival of Vídeo, Performance and Technologies, 2013
VANGUARD AWARD, SF Shorts, San Francisco, CA 2013
AWARD OF EXCELLENCE, Int’l FlmFest Peace/Inspiration/Equality, Jakarta, Indonesia, 2013
BEST FILM, Delta Int’l Film Festival, MI
BEST ACTOR, Women's Independent Film Festival, West Hollywood, CA 2013
BEST SCREENPLAY, Women's Independent Film Festival, West Hollywood, CA 2013
BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM, Indi Grits Film Festival, South Carolina 2013
BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM, New Orleans Film Festival, 2012
BEST SHORT Audience Award at the San Francisco Dance Film Festival, 2012
 

Sri Susilowati
2012

Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

Sri Susilowati
2012

Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

David Roussève & Cari Ann Shim Sham* on the set of Two Seconds AFter Laugher with Sri Susilowati and dancers. 
December, 2011

Image by Danu. 

David Roussève, Sri Suilowati & Cari Ann Shim Sham*
December 2011

Image by Heni.

Video edited by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Music Track by Cut Chemist
2012

Image from music video
Editor Cari Ann Shim Sham*
2012

One Day on Earth is the first film made in every country of the world on the same day. We see both the challenges and hopes of humanity from a diverse group of volunteer filmmakers assembled by an participatory media experiment. The world is greatly interconnected, enormous, perilous, and wonderful.

Associate Producer & Editor
(music/dance section & end credits): Cari Ann Shim Sham*

Premiered in 170 countries on April 22, 2012 Earth Day

Vimeo Social Change Award

Record Breakers Largest World Premiere Award

Image from Music & Dance Section
Edited by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

One Day on Earth screened at the UN on Earth Day, 2012

Awarded Largest Premiere by Record Breakers

2012
Chicken Boy is a modern day metaphor for the journey of the lonely self to find peace with one's identity. The film references many famous dance film moments from a span of over 60 years and includes a live accordion player, a masked "Anonymous" man and 4 dancing chickens.

Directed by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Choreographed by Jia Wu
Cinematography by Kyle Ruddick & Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Edited by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Produced by Jia Wu & Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Accordion Music Composed and Performed by Sarah Bansak
Score, Arrangement and Sound Mix by Henrik Jakobsson
Featuring: Jerry Lin, Hailey E. Yaffee, Marissa Pfaff, Vera Schwegler, Jacki Angelo, Harmony Negrin, & Sarah Bansak
Masks by Annie Hallatt, Masque Arrayed

designed by Kyle Ruddick

2010
The film Sand tells the story of the history and evolution of sand dance as it is passed down from father to son.

AWARDS:

2011
Finalist at Cannes, American Pavilion Emerging Filmmaker Showcase
Best Short Documentary at Oxford Film Festival
Finalist at Tallahassee Film Festival

2010
Best Short Documentary at St. Louis Intl. Film Fest
Best Director of Mini Docs at First Glance Film Festival
Official Selection for Austin Film Festival
Finalist at Jumping Frames
Special Mention by Dance Camera West

CREW:
Directed & Edited by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Produced by Kyle Ruddick & Cari Ann Shim Sham* 
Director of Photography Ross Riege
Additional Cinematography by Phil Abrams & Kyle Ruddick
Sound by T.K. Broderick
Set Design by Will Pellegrini
Starring:  Kenji and Darrow Igus
Production Assistants: April Rose, Rey Vance
 

2009

My First Big Break premiers a new way of using and editing a 360-degree panoramic lens for SLR adapted to an HD video camera. Shot in one take with a cast of 17, the strategy of blocking, camera choreography and dance choreography was developed over a series of months in an intense collaborative process.

Directed by Kyle Ruddick
Assistant Directed & Lead Choreography by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Produced by Eyestorm Productions
Music and Guest Appearance by Cut Chemist
Additional Choreography by Tom Lenk, Rachael Lincoln, Mark Stuver, d. Sabela Grimes, Raphael Xavier, Calvin Cheng,

Telly Award, Cinematography 2009
Telly Award, Music Video 2009

d. Sabela Grimes in a still image from the music video
2009

image from the music video
2009

Edited by Susan Leigh Foster

Image from the music video My First Big Break

Are You For Real? comments on the replicated technological body as Post-it notes fly onto the dancer to cover her up and act as an armor. The film physically addresses how the heavy American workload and multi tasking fast pace of life can create a sense of splitting, causing a duplicated being to manifest. 

by Cari Ann Shim Sham* & Kyle Ruddick

music by low in the sky

Awards:
Silver Award, Prod/Post Prod Create Awards
Tour Selection Cinedans
Jury Shorts Award Cinedans
Tour Selection Sans Soucci

Featuring a man in an elephant costume, “Dance Elephant Dance” uses images of multiple elephants in outer space to portray a pachyderm’s awkward desire to get his groove on.

Produced by Lionel Popkin & Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Choreography and Performance by Lionel Popkin
Cinematography by Kyle Ruddick
Edit by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Music "O'O" by Guy Klucevsek
Elephant by Jean Landry

2008
What is beauty? “powder” is a live performance with video projection that tells the story of the pain and pleasure of dressing and undressing the female body. “powder” explores the power of beauty, the bound female body, the safety of conforming, the comfort of discomfort and the perpetuation of the exaggerated femme by females themselves. “powder”as premiered in NY at the Joyce SoHo.  
Video Installation for stage using a live dancer in an oversized skirt that is lifted by an unseen pulley system to become the screen for the film that is written onto the dancer's bum and underskirt.

Premiered at Performance Mix, Joyce Soho, NYC
Directed/Edited/Co-Produced by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
In collaboration with Dancer/Co-Producer Christine Suarez
Cinematography Kyle Ruddick
Costume/Set Will Pellegrini
Music by Low in the Sky

Christine Suarez on set for the shoot of Powder.
2008

Image by Kyle Ruddick

Live performance of Powder at UCLA
2008

Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

Live performance of Powder at UCLA
2008

Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

2011

Two imaginative sisters live their entire lives in 11 minutes on a couch.

Written and Directed by Rachael Lincoln
Choreography and Performance by Leslie Seiters and Rachael Lincoln
Director of Photography by RJ Muna
Editing/Narration by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Sound by Henrik Jakobbson

2009
January is a dance for camera solo made within the real and imagined confines of winter. In a slate-walled room with chalk dust as snow, a woman follows her mind's small agitations as she meditates on the passage of time.
Premiered June 2009, Building Bridges Film Festival, Iran
Concept: RJ Muna and Rachael Lincoln
Set and Videography: RJ Muna
Choreography/Performance: Rachael Lincoln
Editing: Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Music: Low in the Sky

Premiered at Dance Camera West, Tree People

Fly is an experimental film that flirts with the beauty of the naked body. This film explores the body in motion while playing visually with the lines and shapes created by the dancer. White flesh against black velvet creates a stunning vision that is used to create stunning visual kaleidoscopic effects of the body in motion.

Music by Bog