Mesmerizing documentary Imprinted screens at the New Jersey Film Festival on September 13!

by Penelope de la Cruz

originally published: 09/05/2026

There is something almost mesmerizing about watching a dancer move alongside a horse. At certain moments in Imprinted, their movements feel so natural together that it is easy to forget how much trust and communication it takes to reach that point. Directed and produced by Martina Casas, the documentary follows choreographer JoAnna Mendl Shaw and her work with dancers and horses through The Equus Projects. What first seems like a film about an unusual form of dance slowly becomes something much more meaningful. Through beautiful movement, unexpected challenges, and quieter moments between the dancers and horses, Imprinted explores how two completely different species can learn to communicate without words.

Mostly filmed at Maple Winds Farm in Cookstown, New Jersey, Imprinted is Casas’ first feature documentary. In an EBTV interview, Casas discusses growing up around horses in Colombia before moving to New York to study film. That background feels fitting for a documentary so focused on the relationship between humans and horses. This may be part of why the community at the farm feels less like subjects being observed and more like a family.

One of the most interesting ideas in Imprinted is that dancing with a horse is almost like learning a new language. Shaw calls her approach “Physical Listening,” a practice that grew from her research with dancers and horses. Instead of controlling the horse’s movements, dancers have to pay attention to body language, distance, and even the smallest reactions. In Imprinted, this movement is described as a kind of negotiation with the horses. Both dancer and horse have to respond to each other rather than simply follow predetermined choreography.

We see this especially in JoAnna’s relationship with the mare Roxy. At times, Roxy does not respond as JoAnna expects, prompting JoAnna to rethink how she communicates with her. Including these struggles makes their later dances much more meaningful. Trust is not immediate simply because someone knows how to dance; it has to be built from both sides. It is also refreshing to watch experienced dancers become beginners again. They may understand movement extremely well, but working with horses requires them to let go of some control and learn a completely different way of dancing.

The film captures this process beautifully. There is something incredibly graceful about watching the dancers move alongside the horses across the open landscape, but I also really appreciated the moments when things did not go as planned. The dancers have to respond to whatever the horses do, so the choreography feels like it is developing naturally between them. The classical music adds to the emotion of these scenes, especially knowing that the dancers were actually working with the horses in silence. It makes their interactions feel even more genuine and shows how much attention they are giving to one another.

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The idea of imprinting adds another layer to the documentary. The dancers work with the pregnant mares Roxy and Pegasa, who later give birth to foals Lorenzo and Lyra. Part of Shaw’s experiment is to see whether the foals might somehow recognize or respond to the dancers who interacted with their mothers during pregnancy. The film follows this idea as the dancers meet the newborn foals and later reunite with them at two years old. Rather than trying to prove exactly what the horses remember, Imprinted lets us observe their interactions and consider the possibility for ourselves.

Imprinted is much more than a documentary about dancing with horses. Through these relationships, the film explores trust, communication, and the patience it takes to really understand one another. Beautiful and honest, Imprinted shows how meaningful a connection can become when both sides learn to listen and respond to each other.

Imprinted screens at the New Jersey Film Festival on Sunday, September 13, 2026 – – Online for 24 Hours on this date and In-Person at 5PM in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901. Producer/Director Martina Casas and choreographer JoAnna Mendl Shaw will be at the screening to do a Q+A with the in-person audience! Get more info and buy tickets here.

The 45th Bi-annual New Jersey Film Festival will be taking place between September 4-October 4, 2026. The Festival will be a hybrid as we will be presenting it online as well as doing select in-person screenings at Rutgers University. All the films will be available virtually via Video on Demand for 24 hours on their show date. VOD start times are at 12 Midnight Eastern USA. Each General Admission Ticket or Festival Pass purchased is good for both the virtual and the in-person shows when both are offered. We will also be offering an Audio-Visual Concert featuring Hanging Coats and Lawns as well as two FREE Filmmaking Workshops! The in-person screenings, the filmmaking workshops and the AV Concert will be held in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ beginning at 1PM, 5PM or 7PM on their show date. General Admission Ticket=$15 Per Program; Festival All Access Pass=$100; In-Person Only Student Ticket=$10 Per Program. The Filmmaking Workshops are FREE and open to the public but have limited seating and require advance registration. To register email us at [email protected]

For more info on the Film festival go here: https://newjerseyfilmfestivalfall2026.eventive.org/welcome