“Skill is being able to navigate the known world, but then being able to throw yourself into an unknown universe and being able to navigate that…in a mostly harm-free way” – Elizabeth Streb

“I made this film to incite viewers to challenge the boundaries of their imagination: those we set for ourselves and those that are set for us.” – Director, Catherine Gund

Blue Ice Docs’ BORN TO FLY: ELIZABETH STREB VS. GRAVITY opens in Toronto at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema on Friday, October 24

Elizabeth Streb and the STREB Extreme Action Company form a motley troupe of flyers and crashers. Propelled by Streb’s edict that “anything too safe is not action,” these daredevils challenge the assumptions of art, aging, injury, gender, and human possibility.

BORN TO FLY: Elizabeth Streb vs. Gravity traces the evolution of Elizabeth Streb’s movement philosophy as she pushes herself and her performers from the ground to the sky. Revealing the passions behind the dancers’ bruises and broken noses,BORN TO FLY offers a breathtaking tale about the necessity of art, inspiring audiences hungry for a more tactile and fierce existence.

Streb has been pushing the boundaries of action and art for over 40 years. Sometimes called the Evel Knievel of dance, she’s the pioneer of a movement form called “POPACTION” which is couched in the exploration of human potential – both physical and emotional. Through her work, she expands notions of movement; explores the intersections of dance, performance, and stunt-work; and provokes ideas about how fear might enhance our experiences.

BORN TO FLY is infused with Streb’s passion for action – to walk on walls; dive through glass; move so fast you could disappear; and, fly.

The film layers archival footage, drawings and photographs of Elizabeth and her STREB Extreme Action Company across the years, along with stock footage, graphics, contemporary performance footage and interviews with company members. BORN TO FLY reaches its apex with STREB’s “One Extraordinary Day” in London. A team of cinematographers including the legendary Albert Maysles capture Streb and her dancers as they jump, climb, soar and fall – piercing the sky with seven surprise public performances on and around cultural landmarks throughout the city.

Filmmaker: Catherine Gund

Catherine Gund is an Emmy-nominated producer, director, writer and organizer. Her media work focuses on arts and culture, HIV/AIDS and reproductive health, the environment, and other social justice issues. Gund’s most recent project,What’s On Your Plate?, is a critically-acclaimed, multi-media project about kids and food politics, featuring a documentary, book and curriculum.

Her previous works include Motherland Afghanistan; A Touch of Greatness (Best Documentary Award: Hampton’s Film Festival, Ohio Film Festival and Denver International Film festival; Emmy Nomination); Hallelujah! Ron Athey: A Story of Deliverance (Best Documentary Award,Chicago Underground Film Festival).

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