World Premiere of New Documentary by GGS Faculty, Larry Weinstein

In early 2023, GGS faculty member and filmmaker Larry Weinstein set out to make a documentary about Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony co-produced with Riddle Films, which also creates many of The Royal Conservatory’s videos. It was supposed to be a film about how far we have come in the two hundred years since it was written. But when world events pulled Mr. Weinstein into his own film, the question became a deeply personal one. Said Mr. Weinstein, “I have just directed a film which inadvertently has become the most personal I’ve ever made. What was to have been a tribute to the greatest of all classical composers took a violent turn that has affected me and my family in a terrible and terrifying way.”
 
Beethoven’s Nine is a documentary about music, but also about war and hope. It follows nine unique individuals, including Ukrainian musicians, a deaf composer, a Polish rock star, a best-selling author, a legendary cartoonist and Mr. Weinstein himself, who are linked by their connection to Beethoven’s masterpiece, and all that it has come to represent.
 
Inspired by the ideals of the Enlightenment, Beethoven’s ninth symphony was the first symphony in history to be accompanied by words – words that were about love and freedom, hope and peace, embracing all of humanity and “kissing the millions.” It was written both as a love letter to all of humankind and at the same time as a powerful protest piece. No matter how bad the world had become, this was a symphony dedicated to posterity – when we might finally all come together to embrace the ideals that make life worth living.
 
The film poses the question: Are we there yet? Are we finally worthy of the hopes and dreams of this highly evolved and thoroughly modern artist two hundred years later? Or has the Enlightenment "fallen into an irretrievable abyss of darkness"?
 
"Beethoven’s Nine: An Ode to Humanity" makes its world premiere at Toronto’s Hot Docs Festival on April 28, 2024. The premiere and two additional screenings are sold out.