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Breathless Puppets Akram Khan & Naaman Azhari

A black and white still from the illustrated film. Two men stand in a garden in trousers, shirts and ties, holding hands and raising them.

Choreographed by Akram Khan and directed by Naaman Azhari, this powerful short film tells the story of two men with a passion for dance who reconnect through the tragedy of the pandemic.

A black and white still from the illustrated film. Two men stand in a garden in trousers, shirts and ties, holding hands and raising them.
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Running time: 17 minutes

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A black and white still from the illustrated film. Two men stand holding hands.
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Play Breathless Puppets with audio description

Running time: 23 minutes

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Forced apart in childhood by the expectations of their cultures and the disapproval of their fathers, two men with a passion for dance reconnect through the tragedy of the pandemic.

Breathless Puppets is a powerful short film choreographed by Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Akram Khan and directed by Naaman Azhari. It uses rotoscope animation, created by hand-drawing over live action footage, some of which was filmed in Sadler’s Wells Theatre.

Breathless Puppets premiered in July 2021 as part of Manchester International Festival’s Postcards From Now film series. National Youth Dance Company alumni Ashton Hall and Robbie Ordona play the young protagonists.

a stylish reminder of Khan’s gifts and the lure of dance

THE OBSERVER

Commissioned by Sadler’s Wells, Manchester International Festival, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Théâtre du Châtelet and Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. Produced by Manchester International Festival. Breathless Puppets is part of the Postcards From Now series commissioned by Manchester International Festival, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Théâtre du Châtelet and Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay.

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