AMY SCHATZ | USA | 2023 | 54 MIN | ENGLISH 

Every year, sophomores at Philadelphia’s Hill-Freedman World Academy are given the opportunity to collaborate on an album of original songs. Under the guidance of experienced teaching artists, students pitch concepts, work out arrangements, and contribute to their own recordings. Filmmaker Amy Schatz follows one group of students from initial free-writing sessions through the recording process, tracking the remarkable journey from tentative ideas to fully realized, catchy, and soul-stirring new works, all culminating in a triumphant album release performance. Back in classrooms after two years of pandemic isolation, many of these students are able to use the songwriting process as a way to wrestle with their feelings of anxiety and loss, as well as to trumpet their newfound confidence and sense of hope for the future. Imbued with the students’ humor, determination, and open-heartedness, Stand Up & Shout: Songs from a Philly High School is a rousing tribute to art, teamwork, and the life-changing power of music education.

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