By Jessica Herndon
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. While we can learn a lot about the filmmakers from the 2025 Sundance Film Festival through the art that these storytellers share with us, there’s always more we can learn about them as people. We decided to get to the bottom of those artistic wells with our ongoing series: Give Me the Backstory!
When we think of house music, what comes to mind? Is it the soundtrack to an underground warehouse party where all the cool kids groove? Or maybe a massive club in Las Vegas with neon lights and bottle service? Regardless of the scene, when that bass kicks in, it’s easy to get lost in the vibration. But if someone were to ask how this genre of music emerged in the scene, would you know the answer?
Elegance Bratton’s Move Ya Body: The Birth of House, which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, peels back the layers of the origins of house music and delves deep into the genre and the group of marginalized people who breathed life into the sound on the South Side of Chicago. Vince Lawrence, the first to create a house track, anchors the film. “Young Black boys from America’s inner city are presented as a burden or a threat,” says Bratton. “Vince Lawrence and his friends that started house music are proof that all children, no matter their class or race, have something to offer.”
Bratton’s film is a beautiful tribute to the communities from which house music was born, championing self-expression and empowerment and the liberating party spaces where Black and LGBTQIA+ clubgoers could freely express themselves and escape societal pressures. “Dance at its core is perhaps the most universal form of agency,” Bratton claims. “In a world where we all feel powerless, we all have the power to get up and dance.”
Below, Bratton discusses connecting with house music legends, why his film is incredibly timely, and how he hopes his doc inspires change.
What was the biggest inspiration behind Move Ya Body: The Birth of House?
For me, it was the fact that Vince Lawrence was an usher at Comiskey Park the night of Disco demolition. [Also] that the synth he would purchase would give birth to the first house music single. I’m deeply inspired by this fact. As a Black man myself, it can feel like the world is against you, and that feeling is often a fact. I look around and see so many people who’ve given up. Hell, even for myself, I was starting to feel that the forces that segregate always win. Then I met Vince. The story of the birth of house is a story of resistance where creativity and ideas spread in defiance. This film reminds me that hope is within us, and all we have to do when we’re frozen, still, is to move ya body.
Moreover, I’m blown away by the Black queer origins of house culture and the way that freedom informed a generation of mostly heterosexual middle-class kids to find a way to reproduce the culture for themselves. This film looks at appropriation through multiple perspectives, including within the Black community. The spread of house music culture from the Black queer into the straight world and then into the mainstream is one of the great untold stories in Black music. This film holds the tension between the truth of appropriation while simultaneously celebrating the ways music proves every stereotype wrong. In this moment we find ourselves in, where the world succumbs to ease of separation, I am emboldened by the power of music to transcend those boundaries and to change the world.
Films are lasting artistic legacies. What do you want yours to say?
I want Move Ya Body’s legacy to be one that honors Black teenagers specifically and youth overall. My mind struggles to grasp the tremendous musical contributions of Black youth throughout the world — throughout all time. From jazz to hip-hop, Afrobeat, rock androll, R&B, Reggaeton, and so much more. Black youth use music as a way to create freedom. Your body is your own. To dance with another person is a form of instant connection. A crowded dance floor is a movement.
EDM is a 5.6 billion dollar industry. If you were to look up who the biggest DJs in the world are, you’d find mostly white men. Vince Lawrence and the Chicago House music community started EDM. Move Ya Body will ensure that this contribution is never forgotten.
Describe who you want this film to reach.
I want this to reach every house music fan in the world. I want this film to reach Black, LGBTQ, and EDM audiences. I want this film to reach young people. I hope it inspires the comeback of huge-scale dance clubs and raves. I hope people go out and meet each other in person on the dance floor. This film is for anybody who feels free when they dance.
Your film is a documentary, but you have reenactment scenes in your film. Tell us an anecdote about casting or working with your actor(s).
I love working with Malik Shakur. I think he has a James Dean quality and emblems our story with searing curiosity. He was the star of my Sundance directorial debut, Buck.
What was your favorite part of making Move Ya Body: The Birth of House? Memories from the process?
Oh wow. My favorite part of making this film was working in Chicago. Vince Lawrence is our executive producer, star, and also the de facto mayor of the city. Vince made sure the whole city greeted us with love. One of my favorite memories was when Theaster Gates opened his studio up to my crew to recreate the Playground. So much of this film is about the power of imagination, so to be able to craft a work in a space where Theaster works was really cool.
What was a big challenge you faced while making Move Ya Body: The Birth of House?
The biggest challenge, honestly, was that there was considerable resistance by some key players in the house scene. House music’s origins are highly debated. Even amongst the pioneers. Not saying any names, but my producer tried very hard to secure an interview with a major founder. The founder, upon hearing the voice of the producer, asked, “Are you gay? Cause you sound gay? Is this another gay house movie? Cause I ain’t gay. House ain’t gay. Cause I’m straight.” This person felt that house music’s origins were only straight because he and most of those that recorded the music were straight. It was a strong reminder why this film is necessary. Culture matters, and its origins — while always murky — are meaningful. I also celebrated my birthday on set. Tara (Vince’s wife) brought the whole crew the most delicious cupcakes. Meeting Rachel Cain in person for the first time was also monumental.
Why does this story need to be told now?
This story needs to be told right now because people think segregation magically disappeared after the 1960s. The whole world is in a loop, repeating the sins of yesteryear because people claim fatigue. Here’s the thing: freedom is a promise that requires constant vigilance, action, and care to maintain and expand. I see more and more mob violence all over the world perpetrated by the powerful against the marginalized.
At the same time, people treat queer culture as if it’s peripheral, frivolous, and incidental. In reality, it’s essential. Chicago of the 1970s and 1980s is a mirror image of the world we live in today. I’ve been bothered by how the demolition is treated as some sort of lighthearted working-class fun. It was an ideological lynching. It’s important that in this age of misinformation, films like Move Ya Body exist. Additionally, the founders of house music have been dispossessed of their legacy.
Tell us why and how you got into filmmaking.
I came to filmmaking by way of a happy accident. My mother kicked me out of the house for being gay. I struggled for ten years and found myself in a homeless shelter. I begged my mother to come home, and she suggested I join the military. My recruiter suggested I become a combat filmmaker. Once in the Marines, I made documentaries, actuality films, and other projects. From there, I was bitten by the bug. I make films because I believe films teach us how to be in the world we live in. I make films to take the audience to places they couldn’t go without me. I make films because I want to bring together the right and the left so that they see their interdependence as a strength.
Why is filmmaking important to you? Why is it important to the world?
Filmmaking is important to me because it’s a pathway to bring people together. I love entertainment. I grew up on movies. So many of the myths and mores of our world are reflected and, at times, originate through cinema. The world needs filmmaking because it provides an opportunity to live in the skin of another person. This process can yield empathy. Empathy is the world’s most vital resource, and it’s not replenishable. Each generation must make new stories and reach new audiences so that this mission of shrinking the distance between us can advance.
What is something that all filmmakers should keep in mind in order to become better cinematic storytellers?
Listen to the note behind the note behind the note, and then do what you want to do.
Who are your creative heroes?
Chester Algernal Gordon, Caravaggio, Marilyn Monroe, Scorsese, Nolan, Almodóvar, Picasso, Gillo Pontecorvo, Charles Burnett, Alexander McQueen, Frank Loyd Wright, Whitney Houston, Prince, Max Roach, John Coltrane, Quincy Jones, Law Roach, RuPaul, Angelina Jolie, Lena Waithe, Mike Leigh, Nas, Jay-Z, Beyoncé.
Which of your personal characteristics contributes most to your success as a storyteller?
My leadership qualities, my sense of integrity, perpetual curiosity, and most importantly, my willingness to collaborate. I also am trying to have, like, the best time ever. I want the set to be fun — like we are all excited to be there. I try to learn everyone’s name. I say, “Thank you” a lot.
Tell us about your history with Sundance Institute. When was the first time you engaged with us? Why did you want your film to premiere with us?
My first Sundance was as arm candy with my husband Chester [Algernal Gordon]. He costume-designed Hair Wolf by my good friend Mariama Diallo. My next year, Chester and I produced Fran This Summer. That one was a real good time. Then I played as a co-director with Buck in 2020. I wanted Move Ya Body at Sundance because it’s the premiere doc Festival in the world. It’s a major bonus that Sundance is our extended family. I’ve known programmers, volunteers for years now. This feels like a homecoming. I wanted a feature premiere at Sundance my whole career and now I did it! We did it! So excited.
House music is a 5.6 billion dollar industry and many of the founders are struggling to survive. This film is a much-needed course correction. Because of playing Sundance, these artists will forever be known for the gift they’ve given the world. There is no more debate about it. The world will know their names and I hope that these artists can collect their roses in the form of more bookings and publishing payouts.
