Artists in Exile: A Story of Modern Dance in San Francisco(2000)

Artists in Exile: A Story of Modern Dance in San Francisco is a documentary spanning four decades of Bay Area choreography. The film traces the region's dance revolution through pioneers like Anna Halprin and influential companies including Mangrove, Tumbleweed, ODC/San Francisco, Margaret Jenkins, Dance Brigade, Joe Goode, and Contraband. It explores how San Francisco's distinctive social, political, and environmental landscape shaped a vital creative community largely overlooked by the New York-dominated dance establishment. The film examines the marginalization Bay Area artists faced while building a thriving, independent scene that continues to evolve. Through these stories, Artists in Exile captures the resilience and innovation that defined modern dance on the West Coast.