This week, Chroma Art Film Festival proudly features Un-Contained, a meditative dance short by Christina Hughes that confronts the silent rules shaping our identities. Shot amidst the awe-inspiring wilderness of Ketchikan, Alaska, the film captures the visceral beauty of self-liberation through movement.

Through a shift from synchronized choreography to raw, individual expressions, Un-Contained invites viewers to witness what happens when we relinquish societal expectations and lean into wonder. It’s a cinematic reflection on presence, freedom, and how our environments shape who we become.

Overview

In Un-Contained, dance becomes the language of transformation. The film follows a group of dancers as they gradually break from rigid, contained movements into a liberated, intimate exchange with nature and each other. Set against the dramatic landscapes of Ketchikan, Alaska, Christina Hughes crafts an experimental film where movement and place collide—unfolding a visual essay on shedding societal conditioning in favor of radical authenticity.

As locations shift and the ensemble drifts away from conditional unison, the dance embraces improvisation and intimacy. This piece prompts us to ask: what emerges when we finally let go?

Credits

• Director: Christina Hughes
• Choreographer: Christina Hughes
• Cinematographer: Christina Hughes
• Editor: Christina Hughes
• Producer: Irvine Valley College Dance Department
• Original Score: Matthew Mason
• Dancers: Savannah Jones, Amy Lin, Nathan Waters, Sabrina Campaña
• Costume Designer: Christina Perez

Specifications

• Project Type: Experimental, Short
• Runtime: 8 minutes
• Completion Date: May 31, 2024
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Country of Filming: United States (Alaska)
• Color: Color
• Student Film: No
• First-time Filmmaker: No

Director Biography: Christina Hughes

Christina Hughes is a dance artist and experimental filmmaker whose practice explores the deep, often unspoken relationships between human movement and place. Drawing from her lived experiences in New York and Alaska, her work offers meditative investigations of presence, memory, and embodiment. Her previous film Impossible to See in Full was a nominee at the Inspired Dance Film Festival (Sydney, Australia) and has screened internationally.

Her choreography has been featured at festivals such as the 2024 Dance Bloc Festival (NYC), Earth Love Fest (Brooklyn), Fertile Ground: New Work Series (NYC), and Salty Showcase (Salt Lake City). Un-Contained marks another chapter in her commitment to movement-based storytelling that challenges and transcends the frame.

Director Statement

“”Un-Contained” explores themes of identity, community and expression. Developed in the Tongass National Rainforest, the dance film was produced in collaboration with the Irvine Valley College Dance Department and musician Matthew Mason. We wanted to create a work that converged both movement and environment in a way that utilized the surroundings as a reflection of internal process and transition. 
The dancers move together, breaking away from compact shapes and unison movements into powerful individual phrase and partner-work as the location and settings change around them. The unique backdrop of Southeast Alaska offered the perfect stage for our work, allowing ourselves to be totally immersed and in awe of the expansive landscape.”

Follow the filmmaker:@hughesprojects