Grace Wales Bonner & Harley Weir Experiment With Fantasy, Reality & Dance for New Film 'Practice'

Grace Wales Bonner and director Harley Weir have teamed up to bring us an “experimental” new film titled Practice. Centered on the surreal story of 17-year-old ballet dancer Leroy Mokgatle, Practice follows the South African protagonist as he journeys alongside the lines of “fantasy and reality,” exploring the “extremes of discipline through the people” he encounters in his day-to-day existence. Scored by the multi-talented Blood Orange musician Devonte Hynes, Wales Bonner and Weir’s new production features a blend of dance scenes filmed in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

“Film feels like a rich medium through which to expand my world, opening up new possibilities for collaboration, research and communication,” explains Grace Wales Bonner. “Harley’s eye and Dev’s intuition really brought this to life. I have been so motivated and inspired by the team, and the dancers I met along the way. The film is a testament to them.”

“It was an honor to work on this film, which involves many aspects of life that mean so much to me, and to work with Grace and Harley in this regard just adds to the experience,” adds Dev Hynes.

The third in a string of collaborative efforts from Wales Bonner and Weir, Practice was shot using only Kodak 16mm stock and “supporting imagery” was composed using the Kodak Ektra smartphone. You can check out Harley Weir and Grace Wales Bonner’s new short film Practive above.

In case you’ve missed it, Wales Bonner reinterprets traditional tailoring for 2018 spring/summer.