Hôtel Tangò
Where the line between dance and emotion dissolves
Directed by Vladislaw Sinchuk
words by Katie Huelin
“Most dances are for people who are falling in love. The tango is a dance for those who have survived it.” - Vladislaw Sinchuk
Set within a Berlin milonga, Hôtel Tangò unfolds like a fever dream of movement and memory, part fashion film, part surrealist thriller. Directed by Vladislaw Sinchuk, the film drifts through the gestures and glances of dancers caught between performance and instinct. With styling that nods to the 90s, and narration echoing ‘60s European cinema, the film feels timeless and dislocated, creating a space suspended between past and present.
Models, given just an hour to embrace the tango, sway alongside real dancers; their hesitations and improvisations become part of the film’s unique pulse. Sinchuk, leans into this imperfection, treating accidents as choreography, and letting tension replace polish.
You say, “Most dances are for people who are falling in love. The tango is a dance for those who have survived it.” What drew you to exploring this idea in Hôtel Tangò, and how did you want to translate that emotional endurance into image and movement?
Years ago, I watched Sally Potter’s The Tango Lesson, which, for me, remains the best film made around this topic. That phrase appears in Roger Ebert’s review of the film, and somehow it stuck in my mind. I’ve been fascinated by the culture and dance for a long time, and once I switched to filmmaking, I knew I wanted to make a project around tango.
While researching the scene and visiting milongas, I realized that the key sentiment of the dance, for me personally, is this longing for touch paired with a sense of estrangement. I wanted to make a film that delays showing the touch, so when it finally happens, it carries a somewhat grandiose feeling. The project started from there and evolved through collaboration with our wonderful cast and team, relying greatly on chance. Throughout the process, we stayed open, and my focus was simply on finding and preserving that feeling.
When the film was finally finished — the project took about two years from the initial idea to the final cut — I was preparing the materials and remembered that phrase. I thought how beautifully it fits the film: bittersweet, intense, just like tango itself.
“Accidents weren’t corrected; they were absorbed. That looseness gave the film a kind of lived-in texture I continue to seek in my work.”
You have a background in contemporary dance, and it’s clear in the way the film approaches the body, not just as choreography, but as emotion in motion. How did your experience shape how you directed and framed the performers?
We had a somewhat ambitious, slightly insane idea: bringing together models who had never danced tango with dancers from the local Berlin scene and having them perform together. I was interested in the space between movement and narrative — in what happens when performers are asked to become something they haven’t yet mastered.
We didn’t expect our cast to learn tango in an hour. What interested me was watching them try — surviving inside a surreal and unfamiliar world, improvising through long, unbroken sequences where beauty and failure overlap. The dance scenes were shot in a single day, under time pressure and with limited control, so we leaned into that — letting the process unfold in a spirit closer to productive amateurism than perfectionism. Accidents weren’t corrected; they were absorbed. That looseness gave the film a kind of lived-in texture I continue to seek in my work.
With minimal rehearsal, the whole shooting project felt like a natural organism; the borders between film and reality were vague, almost like one large performance. I myself felt as if I were playing a role. It was an experience very similar to developing a dance piece, with short, productive exchanges. I’m incredibly grateful to the dancers, who were open and generous in approaching their culture from a different angle, and to the models, who were natural and daring in this new framework.
The film blends tango’s intensity with the atmosphere of 1960s European thrillers, stylish and slightly surreal. What drew you to this cinematic mood?
Hôtel Tangò feels like a natural continuation of Film à Sketches, my previous project. I’m drawn to building strange, atmospheric worlds that hover between the real and the imagined. I aim to construct films that unfold like memory — fragmented, intuitive, and slightly haunted. The image doesn’t just support the story; it contains its own quiet narrative, its own internal poetry.
I’m fascinated by atemporality — it’s hard to pinpoint when our story takes place. We used a range of tropes to disorient the audience and create a charming eclecticism. We sought locations that could belong to multiple eras or places, removed obviously modern furniture, but left a few Easter eggs for the attentive viewer. Styling and music followed the same approach, drawing from various eras, woven together into something cohesive yet ambiguous.
Personally, I’ve always loved European thrillers from the 60s and 70s. Back then, even mainstream films left more room for mystery and didn’t explain everything. I wanted to capture a similar classic, enigmatic atmosphere — even though this is a fashion film without a conventional narrative.
Each dancer feels distinct, not just in their movement, but in their fashion too. How did you approach the styling as a way of telling your story?
It all began with casting. Nele (the stylist on the film) and I attended many Berlin milongas and chose dancers whose personal style we already liked — it was more about fine-tuning what they were already doing to fit the film’s needs.
With the models, it was a bit different; they’re used to embodying different characters, so we had more room to play. We imagined who might show up at our milonga and built a vivid, diverse mix while staying true to the overall tone. One model wears something reminiscent of what Sally Potter might have chosen, while another is more over-the-top, in a pink dress. The stylist worked mostly with Italian and French pieces from the 90s and 2000s, which also helped create that timeless feel.
The tango here doesn’t feel romantic in the traditional sense, but more about self-expression. How do you view the connection between dance and emotional resilience?
Tango is a long-standing culture, and it can take many different forms. Unfortunately, it’s often portrayed one-sidedly — a passionate man, maybe an Antonio Banderas type, in an open white shirt, gliding across the floor with a rose between his teeth and a femme fatale in his arms. In reality, all dances are about self-expression while connecting with your partner — creating something together. There’s a tender moment when words and overthinking fall away, and we surrender to something ancient within us. It’s a powerful form of exchange, and I hope more people allow themselves the chance to feel it.
You often explore “the oddness of the mundane” in your work. In what ways did Hôtel Tangò allow you to play with that idea?
I try not to follow a whole story, but instead focus on each episode separately, seeing it from different angles. In fact, in this film, there wasn’t really a story — just a one-page overview of the types of scenes we wanted to make. Then it became incredibly fun to explore each scene and experiment with ways to make it slightly off.
The film has a mystical atmosphere, but nothing mystical is really happening — it’s about our cast playing with the fantasy and adding their own quirks. With so many people, the most interesting moments came from watching them meet each other and create small, unique exchanges. In this sense, it was very similar to developing a dance piece, just with more ingredients in the mix.
What’s next for you?
I have two films in postproduction, which I hope to release this winter. One continues in the “Film à Sketches” vein, and the other is more of a secret. I’m also slowly developing my first feature film, which I hope to shoot in 2027.
Director: @waldi.sinchuk
Style/Production: @nelfenfen
Casting: @whitecasting
Head of Hair & Make-Up: @diekunst
DP: @ulitowski
Gaffer: @marguliv
Set-Design: @sebastiansnymn
Artworks by: @alexanderskorobogatov
Editor: @jul.cres
Edit Contribution: @vincentfleischmann & @juliegft
Colour/VFX: @brule0ne
Additional VFX: Igor Gryadov
Title Design / Poster: @z0nd3r
Composer: @volochay_anatoly
Sound Design: @kptransmission
ADR Mixer: @sashavalent
Hair Assistant: @mickaelambrosinohair
Make-Up Assistant: @alvmua
Make-Up Assistant: @rafadelgado.makeup
Set-Design Assistants:
@ratnatrat
@eigenname
Tatenda Mudavanhu
Special Thanks:
Frank, Alix, Leonid, Thomas Rieser & Tango Nou.
CAST
Harald Schröpfer as „The Portal Master“
Tango Models:
Maria, Nomin, Anya, Marvella Mirrrs Models
Sofia, Sophie, Nia Lemanagement
Daniela and Fritz M4 Management
Nina Louisa Management
Pace Kult Models
Carlos Take3 Management
Tango Dancers:
Daniela & Carlos
Wen & Diego
Tania & Sven
Katarina & Bülent
Susanne & Alessio