Whiteface

Indigenous actors playing white actors playing indigenous actors.

Watch the video

Length15:44

GenreDrama

Video

Pitch video

Synopsis

Using explosive movement and satirical humour, two indigenous performers tread the timeline of appropriation of Indigenous bodies, from cowboys to Coachella, exploring concepts of identity and colonization. Through movement, mask, and the subversion of the performance of Red Face, a history of social masks comes alive in this timely and impactful performance devised by Todd Houseman and Lady Vanessa Cardona.

The team

With backgrounds in both Theatre and Film, our creative team will bridge the gap between the two mediums, devising a thought-provoking piece of visual art.

Everett Sokol

Lady Vanessa Caicedo CardonaWriter, Producer, Actor

Sam BurnsProducer

Production Design

The masks designed by Todd and Lady Vanessa are the primary visual device of the film, and using their frozen caricatures the performers must rely on gesture and movement to communicate. Beyond a visual theatrical device, the masks also serve to demonstrate the false identities placed on Indigenous people.

As a stage production, Whiteface used multimedia and dance to showcase the contemporary performance, but as a film we want to enhance the images that were so vibrant in the staged version with tools unique to cinema. Explosive colours, choreographed camera movement and post-production effects will all serve to bring the successful theatre show to life on screen in ways never possible on stage.

Through explosive movement and music, the choreography by performers Todd and Lady Vanessa was praised by live audiences across the country. Likewise, the film will be hypnotic, alluring, and provoke a deeper connection with the material beyond the aesthetic as audiences are called on to question their own perspectives.