Why isn’t there a film about Pilates? Sure, there have been films about people who do Pilates, but there isn’t a movie that is purely dedicated to the work created by Joseph H. Pilates. Why not? Filmmaker, Mark Pedri found himself asking this exact question after a friend introduced him to some of the stories, principles, and philosophy surrounding the movement. Still relatively new to the scene, Mark has been making documentary films for over 7 years, which isn’t too bad considering that he’s only 25. His films have taken him everywhere from the mountains of New Zealand to the high deserts of Wyoming, but this most recent film has taken him somewhere he’s never been before; the world of Pilates. The film, titled A Movement of Movement, will be the first movie of its kind about Pilates. Mark commented, “I’m not making a film about any one person in Pilates, and I’m not trying to tell the history. My goal is to capture the essence of Pilates.” Mark raised part of the film’s budget on the crowdfunding site, Kickstarter, and rest of the money came from his production company, Burning Torch Productions.
So what interest does an adventure filmmaker have in making a movie about Pilates? A huge source of inspiration for A Movement of Movement actually came from extreme sports films. “I grew up watching films like The Endless Summer and Step Into Liquid. What made these films so powerful was how they captured the soul of their subjects, even when the subject wasn’t human like surfing.” Documentary films can be about many different things such as history, people, events, places, science, and anything else you can point a camera at. Mark however, was interested in capturing the essence of Pilates, just like the films of his childhood did for surfing. “Some things you can’t put into words. Ask someone to describe the heart of climbing or surfing. What is it really like? No matter what they say, you can’t understand it like they do. Now ask someone what the essence of Pilates is. What is it really like? This is why I made A Movement of Movement. The Pilates world needs its Endless Summer”
Mark has been filming since October 2012, and it has taken him to over 7 states and 5 countries. With dozens of interviews of master teachers, elders, key Pilates industry personnel, and people who have dedicated their lives to the method, the hardest part was editing down the massive amount of footage. Some of the people interviewed for the film include Jennifer Kries, Mary Bowen, Lolita San Miguel, I.C. Rapoport, Ken Endelman, Rachel Taylor Segel, Amy Taylor Alpers, Blossom Leilani Crawford, Siri Dharma Galiiano, Gary Calderone, and many more. Mark also shot people teaching and doing Pilates in studios all over the world. The footage ranges from documentary style, “fly on the wall” shots of people teaching, to very artful demonstrations of Pilates. When talking about some of the different scenes he put together, Mark said, “Part of what drew me into Pilates was the beauty of the movement, and the film highlights this.” He also noted how he observed an apparent link between happiness and movement while working within the Pilates community.
A film about the essence of Pilates… If it’s anything like Mark’s last film, Energy! O Energy!, it will be message driven and sprinkled with the wisdom of the experts that he carefully, yet serendipitously selected. Mark is currently finalizing the details for a premiere in October and the DVD release. There will also be opportunities for people to host screenings of A Movement of Movement in their hometown. For more information join the Movement at movementofmovement.com. And in case you were wondering if the adventure filmmaker/extreme sport enthusiast behind the film does Pilates? His answer is always the same. “I do now”.
Words by Mark Pedri and his friend Carrie.