DIRECTOR STATEMENT
Pas de Deux! was made during my time as a student at Royal College of Art. When I started my degree, I knew I wanted to create something within the horror genre, but had very little vision besides that. For months I dove head first into everything horror-related, hoping to find some explanation as to why I felt so drawn to making this type of film. I kept returning to a longer story I had written a few years back that was about memory, doppelgangers, and experiencing memories physically. I was lost on how to portray these themes visually up until I was randomly gifted tickets to see a contemporary ballet. I thought that maybe dance would be an interesting and unexpected way to tell a story and decided to follow through with it. I paired my horror and dance fascinations with my love for drawing and eventually what was produced was Pas de Deux! . It was a film of many firsts: First time animating on paper, first time working with dancers, and first time directing assistants. It’s definitely a film that marks a big change in the way I work and I hope to be able to make more unsettling films like it in the future. Thank you for watching!

DIRECTOR BIO
Nathan Koranda is an artist and animator based in Chicago, IL. He holds a Master of Arts from the Royal College of Art in London, where he deepened his exploration of horror, memory, and the body. With a focus on character performance, Nathan strives to reimagine the expectations of animated form through distorting perspective, experimenting with color, and subverting classic horror conventions. Beyond animation, he also explores the world of storytelling through writing. While his practice extends beyond horror, Nathan often finds inspiration in the unsettling and grotesque.