THE DUST OF MY CONCRETE CHILD - a catalogue of portraits on intimacy and violence

Knowbox dance
3 days ago
3 min read

kNOwBOX dance Film Festival 2026

Official Selection Film Spotlight

THE DUST OF MY CONCRETE CHILD - a catalogue of portraits on intimacy and violence (2025)

Directed by Lino Eckenstein & Eden Manga-Nkoy

📍 Switzerland, Austria, and The Netherlands ⏱ 44 minutes 43 seconds

🏆 NBFF Outstanding Performance Award (Juried)

Honors extraordinary embodied performance captured on film, recognizing dancers whose presence, physicality, and expressive range elevate the work.

"THE DUST OF MY CONCRETE CHILD is a masterfully executed video catalogue that fulfills its promise of exploring intimacy as a fragile state and violence as a brutal force rather than a mere act of aggression." Sebastian Cruz, NBFF 2026 Volunteer Juror

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP73NGgzV2k

Trailer

Film Description

‘The Dust of My Concrete Child’ is a video catalogue consisting of 6 short films that portray 6 different perspectives of intimacy and violence. Stripped from their usual social and emotional contexts, intimacy is understood and explored as a fragile state and violence as a brutal force not as an act of aggression.

The series follows seven dancers as they navigate through different narratives and atmospheres on a dystopic but poetic journey filled with sensations of discomfort, loneliness, fragility, vulnerability, and desire.

Meet The Makers

Coming soon!

What do you hope to communicate with our audience through your work?

We are giving space to a sensation that is personal but universal at the same time - following the hints of these uncomfortable, fragile, brutal or vulnerable states in our world.

Biographies

Lino Eckenstein

CHOREOGRAPHY, CONCEPT, DIRECTION

Lino Eckenstein was born in 2002 in Vienna, Austria. Since 2021

they are studying at Fontys Academy of the Arts Tilburg in the

Netherlands where they worked on projects with Eastman Dance

Company (Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui), Cecilia Moisio, Maria Sartzetaki

and many others. They received multiple scholarships for dance

Festival around Europe to grow as an artist and expand their

network. In 2023 Lino started to work with ALLEYNE Dance as an

Intern and Rehearsal Assistant on various Projects. For the season

2024/25 they joined the ensemble of TANZ_Kassel (Staatstheater

Kassel). As an emerging choreographer they created their first solo

with Ana Paula Lemus Piayatsou which was performed around the

Netherlands. Going along with their career as dancer Lino will start

creating under his company CRUELBEHAVIOR Projects. Lino

believes that being vulnerable and personal is the core essence of

this profession and passion. Their work is not shying away from

confrontation and emotional and physical intensity.

Eden Manga-Nkoy

CO-DIRECTION, MOVEMENT DIRECTION, PRODUCTION

Eden Manga-Nkoy is a 25-year-old French-Congolese dancer,

movement director, and cultural advocate. Currently completing

her dance studies at Fontys Dance Academy in the Netherlands,

grounding her artistic identity within contemporary dance and

street and club styles. Throughout her journey, Eden has

collaborated with esteemed choreographers such as Sidi Larbi

Cherkaoui, Dalton Jansen, Fanny Sage, and Humanhood Dance

Company. In 2024, she was honored with the VandenEnde

Foundation Prize and received support from Alleyne Dance

Company to attend the prestigious Impulstanz Dance Festival in

Vienna. Her artistic curiosity extends beyond performance. As a

movement director, Eden has notably assisted Fanny Sage in

productions for Balmain and the production house Motion

Palace. Alongside her artistic career, she holds a Bachelor’s

degree in Social Sciences from Université Lumière Lyon 2 (France) and York University (Canada). Deeply committed to cultural advocacy, she directed the international dance event R2D Netherlands for three years, fostering creative exchange and

making cultural bridges in the dance community. Eden’s artistry is rooted in sensation, musicality, resilience, and groundness. She approaches direction with a deep sense of storytelling, crafting movement that embodies memories of shared experiences, and lived sensations. She finds inspiration in starting from a sense of realness and of honesty to enter intimacy, allowing her to translate emotion into striking visual narratives.

Film Credits

direction, choreography, executive production & concept: Lino Eckenstein

co-direction, movement direction & executive production: Eden Manga-Nkoy

cinematography & editing: Rubén Darío Bañol

dance and co-creation: Ana Paula Lemus Payiatsou, Nina Keijzer, Ida Osten, Ekaterina Cheporova, Anaïs van Caekenberghe, Joy Ogboi, Alexandra Kylerioti

sound: Robin Becker

fashion design: Kareem Aladhami

set assistant and catering: Aya Schild

lettering graphics: Claudia Dzengel

photography: Rainer Berson

produced by CRUELBEHAVIOR Projects.

supported by Tanzhaus Basel

Festival Screenings/Awards

Breaking Walls Film Festival, Cairo (Best Film), DFP Film Festival, London (Best Experimental Film), Braga International Videodance Festival, Portugal (Best Performance), BERLIN DANCE FILM FESTIVAL, Berlin (Official Selection), PREVYOU Berlin (Official Selection), Dance Camera North, USA (Official Selection), DANCE ON SCREEN, Switzerland (Official Selection), Interfaccia Digitale, Italy (Official Selection), SKIN FESTIVAL BASEL (Premiere)

Connect

direction, choreography & concept: @lino.koichi

co-direction, movement direction & production: @edenmnk

cinematography & editing: @rubendario_bh

dance and co-creation: @alexandrakylerioti @anaisvancaekenberghe @anapaulalemus @ninakeijzer__ @joyogboi @ardi_rt @idaosten