The Martin E. Segal Theater Center presents
Unbound
John English / Tom Garner
At the Segal Theatre Film and Performance Festival 2026
Country
Spain
Language
Catalan, English
Running Time
91
minutes
Year of Release
2024
About The Film
Discrimination, body shaming & violence. This is ballet in 2024. But a group of defiant dancers, survivors of industry abuse, want to form a radical, diverse company that opens its doors to others who have also suffered abuse, and gives these talented, traumatized survivors a chance to fight back, on stage. They find a run-down studio, and Chase Johnsey, a gender-fluid dance insurgent, to direct them. But, they have no money, no reputation, and Chase has never directed before. The dancers are brave, but young and deeply fragile. They must confront their traumas and find belief if they are ever to retake the stage. It is a journey of pain, hope, and above all resistance -to fight for justice, change lives, and create groundbreaking, liberated ballet- one choreographed step at a time.
Director: John English, Tom Garner
Script: John English
Photography: Tom Garner
Editing: John English, Tom Garner
Sound: 114 Studio
Production: Sara Gibbings
Co-production: Troy TV / 3Cat
About The Artist(s)
John English
John English is the co-founder of OTOXO Productions, an award winning production company, based in Barcelona. We create character focused, narrative driven docs to raise the sound of unheard voices & shed a light on unseen faces.
He has created documentaries for broadcasters and platforms both in Spain & internationally, on channels & platforms such as The Guardian, TV3, El Pais, GuideDoc, BTV & ZOOMIN. Their films have picked up prizes in festivals across the globe.
Also, through OTOXO’s unique ‘INto INdustry’ programme John heads up a team that give young, creative individuals a combination of rigorous training & professional filmmaking opportunities, & help them become industry professionals in their own right. John’s specific focus on the programme is in directing narrative and character development. Beyond directing, he is also a producer and story consultant, currently working with directors such as Carina Haouchine on her debut feature doc – Session Zero, and Priya Woods on her upcoming feature doc Still, Life, which has also been selected at DOCs Barcelona 2024, for the development pitch.
Tom Garner
Tom is the co-founder of OTOXO Productions, a production company based in Barcelona. Beyond directing, he is also the producer on a number of shorts, such as FLAMENCO IKIGAI with director Emanuel Massa, a winner at Halicarnassus film festival and RIDERS UNITING, with director Will Roberts, which featured in Huck Magazine. His feature documentary UNBOUND (2024) co-directed with John English is selected by DocsBarcelona International Documentary Film Festival.