SWERVE
SCREENING DETAILS
Thursday, August 20, 2026
7:00 AM
NETWORK SCREENING
myFRESHtv.com
Category
FEATURE SHORT
Duration
28M
Logline
An out-of-work artist chasing fast money becomes a substitute teacher and finds purpose mentoring a boy in Philly’s wheelie scene.
Director
RALPHAEL XAVIER
Originally from Wilmington, Delaware, Raphael Xavier is an award-winning artist: MacDowell Fellow, Pew Fellow, Guggenheim Fellow and United States Artist Fellow. Xavier has been a professional breaker/dancer for the last 30 years, working in a variety of fields including music theater and film. His first short film as director and writer, Swerve·Eli, is now complete and on the festival circuit, winning a variety of awards from best short film to best director and young actor.
Xavier lives in Philadelphia and is a professor at Princeton University, where he teaches the History of Hip Hop Dance and Culture and Intro to Breaking courses.