Above film still from The Cantor’s Last Cantata, Dir. Harvey Wang, 2020.

Dear Film Lovers,

Most everyone can attest to the power of music in our lives—how music can be a balm during times of distress, the ways it is often central to our rituals of celebration and commemoration. Here are three films that explore how the universal language of music can be a means of connection to our memories and to community.

Alive Inside: A Story of Music and Memory  

Documentary, Dir. Michael Rossato-Bennett, 2014, 78 mins.

Dan Cohen, founder of the nonprofit organization Music & Memory, fights against a broken healthcare system to demonstrate music's ability to combat memory loss and restore a deep sense of self to those suffering from it. Watch the trailer HERE. Watch the full film online for free at the link below:

Joe’s Violin  

Documentary Short, Dir. Kahane Cooperman, 2016, 24 mins.

A 91-year-old Holocaust survivor donates his violin of 70 years to a local instrument drive, changing the life of a 12-year-old school girl from the Bronx, and unexpectedly, his own. A poignant story about the power of music and small acts connecting people across generations and cultures. Watch the trailer HERE. Watch the full film online for free at the link below:

The Cantor’s Last Cantata 

Documentary Short, Dir. Harvey Wang, 2020, 12 mins.

About to retire, the cantor of a small reform Jewish synagogue in Brooklyn, NY, mounts a production of the "Brooklyn Baseball Cantata," a largely forgotten musical from the1940s, which imagines a moment when Brooklynites share a dream that their beloved Brooklyn Dodgers finally beat The New York Yankees. Follow the amateur choir members as they rehearse, kibbutz, nosh and perform for the congregation. Watch the trailer HERE. Watch the full film online for free at the image link below:

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