Francesca Jandasek

The story of Her Tango follows Dino, a successful restaurateur. For years, Dino has given everything of himself to make his restaurant a success and to move on from the death of his wife Caroline. After a chance encounter, Dino is drawn to Elena, an elusive tango dancer. While Elena teaches him to dance, Dino discovers that the philosophy of tango is very close to how he dreams of living his life. Filled with the seductive sounds and sights of dance, Her Tango is a film about redemption, seduction and the power of tango.

I first got the idea for this film while researching the Romanian Legend of the Arges Monastery for a full evening length show I created in 2018. In the legend, a pregnant woman is immured to make the walls of the monastery stand. After further research, I came across the belief of the “stahie,” or shadow, an ancient Eastern European belief and practice that in order for the walls of a building to stand, someone has to be built into the walls either physically (i.e their body), or metaphysically (i.e their shadow). As I delved into the legend and this belief, I found myself facing my many shadows - my many possibilities and my many fears.