Bella

Directed By Bridget Murnane

Unscripted Feature Documentary

A feature-length film about the life, work, influences and impact of California-based choreographer Bella Lewitzky.

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BELLA is a feature-length documentary about the life, work, influence, and impact of Los Angeles-based dancer, choreographer, and arts activist Bella Lewitzky, who was referred by dance critic Walter Terry as "one of the greatest American dancers of our age.” The film incorporates rare archival footage of Lewitzky’s performances and interviews with Lewitzky’s former students and dancers, and it demonstrates how a “uniquely Californian” artist with vision and tenacity influenced the lives of her fellow citizens. Bella Lewitzky joined Lester Horton’s multi-racial modern dance company in 1934, became his lead dancer, and helped develop the Horton Technique. She formed her own dance company in 1966 and continued to dance at the age of 62. Lewitzky was as famous off stage as on, thanks to her battles for freedom of expression against the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s and the National Endowment for the Arts in 1990. She was designated one of America’s Irreplaceable Dance Treasures by the Dance Heritage Coalition and awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Clinton.

Producer/director/educator Bridget Murnane is known for her creative media treatments of dance, as well as experimental and narrative projects. Her films have screened in numerous festivals and received awards, including two CINE Eagles. The PBS series, New Television and The Territory, have presented her work, as well as the cable channel, Classic Arts Showcase. Bridget was the Associate Producer of Mia, a Dancer's Journey, broadcast on PBS and winner of the 2015 Los Angeles Emmy Award for Arts, Culture and History, and Professor of Television, Film and Media Studies at California State University, Los Angeles. She recently produced and directed “Bella,” a film about artist/activist Bella Lewitzky which has received broad festival acclaim in Madrid, Barcelona, Antwerp, Canterbury, Scotland, Italy, Mexico, and Nepal, as well as many US festivals including the San Francisco Dance Film Festival, DOCUTAH, The Whistleblowers Summit and Film Festival, Dance Camera West, Syracuse International Film Festival, Ojai Film Festival, Frame X Frame (Houston), and the Orlando International Film Festival.

Bella

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