Tango
Paradiso
ONE TANGO MOMENT
Directed, produced, written and edited by CARLA THACKRAH
57 min documentary
Incidental music by Tango Paradiso
Carla goes to Argentina in search of the tango moment. From the bars and milongas of BsAs to the stage of the World Tango Championships, she charts the songline of tango and how it is inextricably linked to the culture of this once great city.
Federico and Hosanna are Australia’s tango champions. In August 2007 they travelled to Buenos Aires to compete, along with 479 other couples from around the world, for the title of Tango World Champion. When they arrive in BsAs, all their preconceived ideas about tango, all their training is challenged…tango is not just about learning a choreography, or the steps, it is inextricably linked to a far deeper culture…a world of the heart.
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BITTER SWEET BUENOS AIRES
Directed, produced, written and edited by CARLA THACKRAH
30 min documentary
Incidental music by Tango Paradiso
Visiting Buenos Aires is always an exciting and slightly daunting adventure. In 2005 we were awarded a grant from Arts Queensland, to make the CD, and collaborate with some of the best Argentinean tango musicians in Buenos Aires. So it was with some apprehension that we packed our instruments and ventured off to the great metropolis of tango. After all, on any given night people could listen to some of the best known bands and here we were, also hoping to have any opportunity to perform. However the first rehearsals with our brilliant pianist and arranger, Facundo, and his two colleagues were reassuring. They immediately opened their hearts to us in a way that was generous and moving, and we truly felt at home, despite language difficulties, and amusing misunderstanding. Those evenings spent in Facundo’s small rooftop studio, full of laughter, talk, and playing music together against the incessant noises of neighbours, cats and dogs, and the throb of traffic, were the most memorable and satisfying experiences for us.
© 2022 Carla Thackrah. Photos Carla Thackrah, Chris Osbourne & Steve Swayne