The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to partner with Chamber Music Sedona for a special encore of “The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble” in celebration of the Chamber Music Season on Friday, April 14 at 4 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre.
The only way to change the world is to make a little noise.
From the director of the Academy Award-winning documentary “20 Feet from Stardom” and the critically acclaimed “Best of Enemies”, the new film “The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble” tells the extraordinary story of the renowned international musical collective created by legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The feature-length documentary follows this group of diverse instrumentalists, vocalists, composers, arrangers, visual artists and storytellers as they explore the power of music to preserve tradition, shape cultural evolution and inspire hope.
Over the past 16 years, an extraordinary group of musicians has come together to celebrate the universal power of music. Named for the ancient trade route linking Asia, Africa and Europe, The Silk Road Ensemble — an international collective created by acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma — exemplifies music’s ability to blur geographical boundaries, blend disparate cultures and inspire hope for both artists and audiences.
“The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble” follows an ever-changing lineup of performers drawn from the ensemble’s more than 50 instrumentalists, vocalists, composers, arrangers, visual artists and storytellers as they gather in locations across the world, exploring the ways art can both preserve traditions and shape cultural evolution.
Blending performance footage, personal interviews and archival film, director Morgan Neville and producer Caitrin Rogers focus on the journeys of a small group of Silk Road Ensemble mainstays from across the globe to create an intensely personal chronicle of passion, talent and sacrifice. Through these moving individual stories, the filmmakers paint a vivid portrait of a bold musical experiment and a global search for the ties that bind.
“Musically delightful! The spirit of creativity is infectious!” raves The Hollywood Reporter.
“Entertaining! Yo-Yo-Ma is charming and funny!” says The Boston Globe.
This screening and collaboration between Chamber Music Sedona and the Sedona International Film Festival is made possible by a grant from the City of Sedona.
For more information about the Chamber Music Sedona season, please visit www.chambermusicsedona.org.