Ashley Fargnoli and Shawn Convey and spent four months in Kolkata, India filming Kolkata Sanved, a trailblazing human rights organization using a form of rehabilitation known as Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) in a daring manner. Working with marginalized children and adults, street children, mental health patients, victims of violent crimes and human trafficking in Kolkata, India, they are helping these survivors find strength and peace with this very progressive yet natural form of therapy.
Ashley Fargnoli, currently residing in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina and originally from Philadelphia, is a dance activist, choreographer and instructor who has led workshops in Nepal, India, France, Bosnia, Mauritius and the US to promote peace through dance and to create choreography that fosters social change.
Shawn Convey, a photographer and filmmaker from East Aurora, New York left the commercial photography field where he worked in New York City and Chicago for 12 years to focus on his photography and filmmaking. Currently in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Shawn has traveled to India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Italy, France, Switzerland, and the Balkans making films, taking photos and striving to understand complex visual subtleties.
Unlike a great majority of documentaries produced today, DMT (Dance Movement Therapy) is a rare subject where the medium of film is essential to the story. The only way to convey the sheer importance and power of the rehabilitation process is to witness it either in person or through the camera’s eye.
In an effort to complete the film, they have reached out to the dance community through Kickstarter, an online fundraising platform for artists. An all or nothing system, they only have until June 6 to raise the money, or they do not receive any pledges. Only a week into the campaign, they have already raised $2,500 out of their $11,750 goal, but they need assistance in spreading the word.
Ashley and Shawn ultimately hope the film will inspire viewers to look inward, to access their own dormant potential to right wrongs in real ways—whether in the back alleys of India or their own backyards, wherever hope has been deterred if not lost altogether.
To learn more about this project or to make a pledge in any amount, visit
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dmt/dmt-feature-documentary-exploring-dance-movement-t
Be sure to view the video, simply click play button below!
- Mascher’s Fresh Juice Returns June 17 & 18 - June 2, 2022
- Review: Dancefusion Elemental Forces - September 26, 2017
- Macaroni Necklaces and Jazz Squares: Dancer and Choreographer Rebekah Rickards - July 27, 2012
