Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinemais a niche film festival where choreography meets cinematography.
With an expansive definition of dance and an appreciation for highly experimental and interdisciplinary forms, this unique festival exposes diverse audiences to a variety of film, video, and performance possibilities.
We facilitate gatherings from educational workshops to public screenings to professional development for artists.
While our roots remain proudly in Boulder County (Colorado, USA), our branches reach many locales nationally and internationally, and continue to grow.
Who we are
Sans Souci is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Learn more about our mission and vision and our board and staff.
in the news
SEPTEMBER 22, 2024 / San Marcos Daily Record
“The San Marcos Public Library in collaboration with the City of San Marcos Arts Commission invites you to enjoy three screenings of selected screendance works. All screenings are free and kid-friendly at The San Marcos Public Library, Room B on Wednesday, Sept. 25, Wednesday, Oct. 23 and Wednesday, Nov. 20 from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.”
SEPTEMBER 6, 2024 / The Dance Archive
SSF Executive Director Michelle Bernier has received the The Dance Archive‘s “Emerging Leader” recognition for her work in the dance world across Sans Souci, University of Colorado Boulder, Metropolitan State University of Denver, NDEO and CoDEO conferences, and the International Screendance Calendar. The Dance Archive created the Emerging Leader Recognition in 2024 as a complement to the Legends in Dance program.
AUGUST 29, 2024 / Boulder Daily Camera / by Ella Cobb
“At the Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema – which kicks off its 21st season with a Premiere party in Boulder this weekend – you can have two left feet and still enjoy the magic of movement.”
read the article (subscription required)
AUGUST 28, 2024 / Boulder Weekly / by Toni Tresca
“When CU Boulder alum Michelle Bernier attended a campus film screening organized by the Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema as a grad student in 2013, she didn’t know it would choreograph the next decade of her life.”
JULY, 2024 / BoulderColorado.gov
“People in Boulder are open to experimental work, which has been essential for the evolution of our festival over the years. Our goal is to bring folks together and build community around dance and cinema. We provide meeting spaces for those looking to feel inspired.”
-Michelle Bernier, as quoted in Sans Souci’s City of Boulder Arts Profile
SEPTEMBER 18, 2022 / The Denver Post / by John Wenzel
Sans Souci is one of several film festivals highlighted in this article about Colorado film festivals on the front page of the Denver Post’s Life & Culture section.
read the article (subscription required)
AUGUST 31, 2022 / Boulder Daily Camera / by Kalene McCort
“From works filmed among cliffs and breaking waves to ones within bright, bare-boned studios, the locales are every bit a part of the magic as the well-crafted dance moves and costuming…After the premiere weekend, folks can look forward to screenings of more dance films taking place in the coming months at Dairy Arts Center, The Collective in Lafayette and Arvada Center.”
read the article (subscription required)
FEBRUARY 7, 2022 / Dance Magazine / by Cara Hagan
Sans Souci’s Executive Director was quoted about the Festival in an article about screendance by Cara Hagan in the February 2022 issue of Dance Magazine!
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER, 2020 / Dance Teacher Magazine / by Jill Randall
“The Boulder, Colorado-based film festival will stream a curated film selection, plus online workshops, roundtable talks and panel discussions in collaboration with CU Boulder’s Department of Theatre & Dance. Leading up to the opening, the festival will spotlight a series of short films made in response to a challenge…”
AUGUST 27, 2020 / Boulder Daily Camera / by Kalene McCort
“Since 2003, the Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema has engaged audiences with imaginative films that delight the eye and often border on the surreal. Named after the Boulder mobile home park — the site of the brand’s inception, where early works were projected on the side of a trailer — the longstanding event has expanded by spotlighting innovative films from around the globe.”
read the article (subscription required)
SEPTEMBER 5, 2018 / Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine / by Jeff Thomas
“While San Souci is now renowned worldwide, local organizers haven’t forgotten the primary objective: to create an experience that will attract dancers, filmmakers and the uninitiated to this burgeoning art form…”