André Semenza

Founder of independent film production company Maverick Motion (UK/Brazil), Andre has produced and directed a number of critically acclaimed films. 'Ashes of God' (Time Out Critics' Choice: "Stupendous") was the first feature-length contemporary dance film to be released in the art-house cinema circuits in Brazil and Europe. The documentary 'The Merging of Dance and Cinema: The Process', a reflection on the making of 'Ashes of God', was exhibited at various festivals and cinemas in Brazil. 2015 saw the release of his second feature film 'Sea without Shore' ("A lyrical and entrancing meditation on loss. Surrender to its spell" The Guardian). The film, which features a sound-design created by Academy-Award and multiple BAFTA-winner Glenn Freemantle at Pinewood Studios, premiered at the Glasgow Film Festival and was released to critical acclaim in the UK's leading art house cinemas; in 2016, the film was released through Itaú Espaço de Cinema in Brazil, the country's largest art-house cinema chain. Andre produced Marcus Waterloo's dance film 'We Have Bled' which was exhibited at multiple international festivals. As co-founder of Anglo-Brazilian Zikzira Physical Theatre, Andre has directed all of the company's six full-length live productions, including multiple award-winning 'Verissimilitude', which toured Brazil and Europe ("Angry, intense, explicit - compelling!" The Times), 'Eu vos liberto' a site-specific performance based on Euripides' Hippolytus ("Ravishing imagery in a fusion of dance and theatre", Folha de São Paulo Critic's Choice), exhibited on Brazilian state television; 'The Last Word is the Penultimate', a high-profile urban intervention project, co-directed with Brazil's Teatro da Vertigem, and multiple award-winning full-scale physical theatre production, 'Outro em Si'. Andre published a chapter on Zikzira's and Maverick Motion's interdisciplinary working methodology in the book "Testimonies, research and actions", Akropolis Libri, Italy. He co-founded the cultural hub Zikzira Action Space in Brazil, officially opened by Jarek Fret, director of the Grotowski Institute. In 2019 he produced and directed the music video 'Unfair Game', the title track for the new album by Kid Loco, 'Rare Birds'. Maverick Motion has four fiction films and a documentary in post-production.