Pina is both a passionate tribute, from one friend to another, and an invigorating reinvention of the documentary format – a purely physical, head to foot experience, running the gamut of emotions, from thwarted love to unbridled joy. We remembered how Pina had dealt in her life with problems – for instance, in 1980, she had lost her partner, with whom she had done the first eight years of the dance theatre. He died also, very, very quickly and Pina afterwards didn’t disappear in pity and sorrow, she worked very hard, and in the next couple of years she created some of the most joyful pieces in her life. We remembered that and we thought maybe this work of grief could be also joyful. We would have done Pina a disservice if we had started being droopy, she would have expected us to have done something joyful.
 
Pina will open December 23rd at the IFC center in New York.