Synopsis
OWN KIND OF BEAUTIFUL is a documentary film that centres the artistry and point of view of Frank Hull, a dance artist who proudly lives with cerebral palsy and madness, embraces his Mi’kmaq heritage, and celebrates his gay identity.
The film documents the creative and emotional process of remounting a dance piece that Frank and his best friend Marcie Ryan choreographed together 10 years ago.
Director Biography – Sarah Jones
As a writer, director, editor, and producer, Sarah Jones creates award-winning documentary and experimental art films that use contemporary dance to explore connection and belonging. Her recent work, ‘Own Kind of Beautiful’, supported by Canada Council for the Arts and Ontario Arts Council, centres the dance choreography of Toronto artist and activist Frank Hull who choreographs from a powered wheelchair perspective. A past participant in the DOC Institute’s Breakthrough Lab, Sarah is currently developing a feature documentary with Frank as he redefines his relationship to the piano, once his lifeline through generational trauma and conversion therapy, now as a medium to share his journey of survival and self-reclamation.
I first met Frank in 2018 while he was crawling up 3 flights of stairs to attend a dance event. In doing so he had to leave his power chair outside in order to access the many dance communities in the building. One year later I interviewed him for my feature film about the building where we met that many who accessed it regularly referred to as their “second home”.
In the interview Frank explains, “…even though it’s an old, historic building, it just feels like a slap in the face. And sometimes the able bodied world, they’re so privileged and they don’t really understand what it’s like…I’m lucky that I can crawl up the stairs, get those knee pads on and crawl up the stairs…but there’s a part of me that’s missing. I can dance in and out of my chair but my chair is a part of my dance.”
The title for this documentary film comes from the saying “be your own kind of beautiful” which Frank used in that interview in 2019. During that 30 minute interview, Frank also used the word “beautiful” 9 times. When I asked him why he says the word beautiful so often he replied, “the more I say it, the more it resonates.” This recitation practice is evident in his artistic vision, “to reveal the impacts of trauma and oppression on the body while positioning “deviant” bodies as a source of aesthetic appreciation, beauty and enrichment.”
It was during the editing of this initial interview that I was struck by the desire to make a film centring Frank’s perspective. I am continually moved by his exceptional artistry as a dancer and choreographer, both as a dancer myself and as a filmmaker, as well as his openness, vulnerability and his particular life philosophy.
As the producer and director of this project, I used cinema verite, interviews, POV footage and choreographed contemporary dance to showcase Frank’s artistry and unique point of view. I have historically included one or two of these elements but not all of them in one film. I chose to use the verite style during dance rehearsals because I was interested in capturing the technical as well as emotional aspects of Frank and Marcie’s creative process.