WATER FLOWING TOGETHER
Best Picture Outfest Fusion Film Festival Los Angeles
Best Documentary Film Imaginative Film Festival
Best Documentary Sedona International Film Festival
Jury Prize Dance on Camera Festival, New York
2007 Writer Director Gwendolen Cates
Producer/Director
A moving, intimate portrait of an internationally renowned artist, Jock Soto of the New York City Ballet, who is Navajo Indian, Puerto Rican, and openly gay. On the verge of retirement, one of modern ballet's most gifted and celebrated dancers is forced to contemplate life after dance. Exploring identity, family, and transition, the film climaxes with his emotional departure from ballet at age 40 in 2005. As Soto reflects on his uncertain future, he also attempts to connect with his past, revisiting his Navajo roots and the cultural heritage to which he is at once detached and devoted. Soto's story defies stereotypes in the same way that his dancing transcends the expected.
The San Francisco Chronicle raves - WATER FLOWING TOGETHER is 'An exquisite documentary'.
"touching, expertly produced portrait..."
-The Village Voice
"Water Flowing Together" addresses ballet more seriously and more insightfully than most comparable documentaries: it's engrossing as an encapsulation of of Mr. Soto's artistry and as an exploration of cultural interface and cultural commonality."
-The New York Sun
'In this wonderful feature doc the footage of Soto dancing always reinforces what the subjects are saying,
and the film leads fluidly to his climactic farewell performances'.
-NOW Magazine, Toronto
"Beautiful film...an intimate profile of the man and his art."
-Dance Magazine
'Presenting Soto as sure-footedly as he supported the many ballerinas he partnered in his 24-year career,
Cates follows him as he rehearses for his farewell performance, contemplates his future and travels to the
Navajo reservation and Puerto Rico to reconnect with his heritage'.
-Indian Country Today
