woo presents feel good films: Material Bodies

Prosthetic legs as accessory, companion and part of you, Material Bodies is a stunning documentary using dance, dialogue and design to tell a story about people's relationships with their bodies

By Team Woo01 Dec 2022

2 mins read time

Welcome to woo's Feel Good Films, a collection of films from young up and coming creatives and directors from around the globe. woo's Feel Good Films are a set of shorts curated to uplift, elevate and cheer you.

Mickaella Dantas is a dancer from Brazil, based in London and performing with Candoco Dance Company. When she was 11 she had cancer and was faced with the excruciating decision of whether to have her leg amputated or not and she chose for it to be amputated, marking a drastic - and lifesaving - change in her life.

This documentary by award-winning filmmaker Dorothy Allen Pickard starts with Dantas performing a beautiful sequence. It goes on to show another three amputees, and looks at the relationship these people have with their prosthetic limbs.

For Dantas, her leg is "just her leg”, part of her body, a body she relies on and trains with for a profession. For others it is “something they wear”, and for others “want to shift to viewing [their] prosthetics as an accessory”. The documentary does this through both dance and dialogue.

“I wanted to make a beautiful film that used dance, design and dialogue to illustrate the point that you’re only as disabled as your environment makes you” Pickard has said. The film is full of beautiful shots, thoughts, and feelings. Enjoy.