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DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20251010T100000
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DTSTAMP:20260813T022906
CREATED:20250817T205148Z
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SUMMARY:Friday Film Screening: Mr. Holland's Opus
DESCRIPTION:Richard Dreyfuss shines in this inspiring 1995 hit drama about Glenn Holland\, a gifted musician aspiring to compose a great symphony\, who takes a job teaching high school music and in spite of himself\, discovers his true vocation – changing the lives of students through music. Part It’s a Wonderful Life and part Goodbye Mr. Chips\, Mister Holland’s Opus is all about the gift that passes from teacher to student by instilling a love of music. Performing alongside Olympia Dukakis and William H. Macy\, Dreyfuss garnered Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for his performance. \nWhen scoring the film\, composer Michael Kamen was inspired to create the “Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation\,” which keeps school music programs alive through the donation of musical instruments. \n“Mr. Holland’s Opus gets at the way we’ve all felt about certain teachers in our lives\, the ones who actually succeeded in turning our heads around.”\n– Entertainment Weekly \n“Adding music to a child’s life is like watering a flower. Music makes a child grow in so many ways that it is absolutely imperative that we keep music programs alive and well . . .”\n– Michael Kamen
URL:https://promiseofmusic.com/event/friday-film-screening-mr-hollands-opus/
LOCATION:Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema\, 506 Bloor St W\, Toronto\, ON\, M5S 1Y3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Film Screening
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20251009T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20251009T120000
DTSTAMP:20260813T022906
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LAST-MODIFIED:20250826T212452Z
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SUMMARY:Thursday Film Screening: Music of the Heart
DESCRIPTION:Music of the Heart\, starring Meryl Streep\, is director Wes Craven’s 1999 film that tells the true story of Roberta Guaspari’s efforts that changed the lives of generations of Harlem schoolchildren through music. \nA single mother with little more than talent and the determination to make a difference\, Guaspari has to overcome the skepticism of everyone who doesn’t think she should be teaching violin to students in a tough inner-city neighbourhood. With single-minded determination\, bolstered by a deep love of music\, Guaspari discovers a new calling. Through teaching music\, she can enrich the lives of her students with beauty\, joy\, and the self-esteem that comes with a sense of accomplishment. \nHowever\, even after a decade of recognition\, success stories\, and acclaim\, Guaspari and her students face an even greater challenge: New York City budget cuts. With the hope of saving the imperiled program\, they stage a “miracle concert” at Carnegie Hall. This extraordinary story demonstrates the Promise of Music in changing lives and will inspire anyone who has ever feared that their dreams are out of reach. \n“Streep’s extraordinary performance makes this the rare inspirational movie that actually is\, well\, inspirational.”\n– Atlanta Journal-Constitution
URL:https://promiseofmusic.com/event/thursday-film-screening-music-of-the-heart/
LOCATION:Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema\, 506 Bloor St W\, Toronto\, ON\, M5S 1Y3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Film Screening
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20251008T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20251008T120000
DTSTAMP:20260813T022906
CREATED:20250817T205105Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250826T212349Z
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SUMMARY:Wednesday Film Screening: The Landfill Harmonic
DESCRIPTION:This award-winning 2015 documentary tells the story of the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura\, one of the world’s most remarkable and inspiring musical ensembles.  In a deeply impoverished town of 2\,500 on the edge of a massive landfill near the Paraguayan capital\, Asunción\, children have been learning to play violins\, cellos\, horns\, and drums\, all “recycled” from garbage retrieved from the dump.  Under the leadership of visionary teacher and founder\, Favio Chavez\, and with the help of local craftsman\, Nicholás “Cola” Gómez\, the Recycled Orchestra was born. \nIn a town where 1\,500 tons of waste are dumped every day\, children grow up with a bleak vision shaped by the rubbish that surrounds them. Or\, they did until the Recycled Orchestra came into their lives. It’s a music education program where each instrument is as unique as the child that learns to play it\, and a new spirit of pride\, accomplishment and possibilities is born every day. \nThe Recycled Orchestra has gone on to international acclaim\, performing with Stevie Wonder and Metallica. They will soon be the subject of a new musical by Gloria Estefan\, Basura. \nWith introductory remarks by Recycled Orchestra founder\, Favio Chavez. \n100% Positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes \n“…an inspiring tale…”\n– The New York Times \n“Every once in a while\, a documentary film comes along that lifts the spirits of all who experience it. These stories have a universality that draws diverse people together and helps tear down the many artificially constructed walls that separate them. Landfill Harmonic is one of those magical movies. It is guaranteed to bring tears of joy to your eyes.”\n– Spirituality and Practice
URL:https://promiseofmusic.com/event/wednesday-film-screening-the-landfill-harmonic/
LOCATION:Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema\, 506 Bloor St W\, Toronto\, ON\, M5S 1Y3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Film Screening
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20251007T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20251007T115000
DTSTAMP:20260813T022906
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SUMMARY:Tuesday Film Screening: The Soloist
DESCRIPTION:Inspired by the book\, The Soloist: A Lost Dream\, an Unlikely Friendship\, and The Redemptive Power of Music\, this 2009 film tells the true story of Nathaniel Ayers\, a Juilliard-trained former musical prodigy whose schizophrenia has landed him on the streets of Los Angeles. The Soloist stars Jamie Foxx as Nathaniel Ayers and Robert Downey Jr. as Steve Lopez\, a journalist who befriends Ayers after hearing him play on Skid Row. As Lopez learns more about Ayers and a once promising career derailed by mental illness\, he determines to help undo the tragedy of a talent so remarkable relegated to the streets As Lopez embarks on a quixotic quest to help Ayers pull his life together and launch a career in music\, he gradually comes to realize that it is not Ayers whose life is being transformed\, but his own. Powerfully and poignantly\, the Soloist captures the lifeline that music – and friendship – can provide\, even in the face of inner pain and turmoil. \n“Music remains the only medicine he willingly takes. Absorbed in Beethoven\, Bach or Brahms\, he is momentarily healed and temporarily freed from his demons. Sometimes\, as he’s lifted by a musical swell\, his eyes fill. I always wonder if it’s the beauty that tugs at him or if it’s thoughts of what might have been if schizophrenia hadn’t stolen his dream.”\n– Steve Lopez \nHear Steve Lopez talk about his friend\, Nathaniel Ayers\, here.
URL:https://promiseofmusic.com/event/tuesday-film-screening-the-soloist/
LOCATION:Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema\, 506 Bloor St W\, Toronto\, ON\, M5S 1Y3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Film Screening
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20251006T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20251006T120000
DTSTAMP:20260813T022906
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SUMMARY:Monday Film Screening: Sing Sing
DESCRIPTION:A key theme of The Promise of Music is the healing power of creative performance\, as this Academy Award nominated 2023 film brilliantly dramatizes. The performing arts\, whether musical or theatrical\, nurture inner growth and the ability to reach within and learn compassion\, trust\, empathy\, self-esteem\, and teamwork. \nThe film was inspired by John H. Richardson’s Esquire article\, “The Sing Sing Follies\,” about a musical review presented by the Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) program. Operating in eight New York State correctional institutions\, the program has achieved great success in curbing recidivism\, with only 3% of participants returning to prison. \nDivine G (Colman Domingo)\, imprisoned at Sing Sing for a crime he didn’t commit\, finds purpose by acting in a theatre group with other incarcerated men. When a wary outsider joins the group\, the men decide to stage their first original comedy. It’s a stirring true story of resilience\, humanity\, and the transformative power of art\, starring an unforgettable ensemble cast of formerly incarcerated actors. “Sing Sing” garnered 3 Academy Award nominations and earned 97% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. \n“Sing Sing . . . powerful\, deeply felt drama takes theatre behind bars.”\n– The Guardian \n“When we think of the best prison movies ever made\, ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ . . . immediately comes to mind . . . We can now add the gloriously lionhearted and brilliantly rendered “Sing Sing” to that list.”\n– Chicago Sun-Times
URL:https://promiseofmusic.com/event/monday-film-screening-sing-sing/
LOCATION:Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema\, 506 Bloor St W\, Toronto\, ON\, M5S 1Y3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Film Screening
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