Sundance Film Festival 2020 – Broken Orchestra
A documentary short about the Symphony for a Broken Orchestra which collected hundreds of broken instruments from the Philadelphia public school system, fixed them and then returned them into the hands of students.
Interview with Director Charlie Tyrell
Watch Broken Orchestra here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I don't think I would do what I do today in films if it wasn't for my early Arts education in school. What Robert Blackson and everyone involved with Symphony for a Broken Orchestra did was so incredible and had an impact on me. I felt that it was a story that was owed a retelling in the medium where my Arts education brought me - which is Film.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Even if you're, for some reason, totally opposed to arts and music education then this film will hopefully make you understand why and how it's an important part of many peoples' lives.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
Because we're located in Toronto, Canada and the story is down in Philadelphia we had a lot of limitations. Step one was to get down there and film the interviews. And the plan was to figure out the visuals later. But being down in Philly and shooting in these old high schools made us realize that we had to put the story in a school. So that's what eventually evolved into the one-take shot through an empty school with the interviews playing back on television monitors.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The best feedback has been from the subjects and others involved with Symphony for a Broken Orchestra. It was a huge concern of mine whether or not we would be able to do this story justice and we took a big risk with the visuals. Sometimes when you overcomplicate the visuals or style you can dilute the story. But I feel like we did a pretty good job of preserving the central message of SFABO and many people involved have told me that we succeeded in that regard. Apart from that, a lot of people want to talk about the technical aspects - most think that the interviews on the TVs were done in post-production but we actually played all of those clips back live. There's no digital compositing on any of them.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
So far nothing has challenged my point of view to any extent worth mentioning. But I'd welcome a conversation with anyone who strongly disagrees with funding for the arts.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I think it's a story that deserves to reach as many viewers as possible. So hopefully it will be able to find even more on www.wearemovingstories.com
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
This film was backed by Topic and I'm very grateful for the work and efforts that they are putting in to get this film out into the world.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
It's tough to answer that because, on one hand, I feel as though I've done my job and it's up to the audience to decide how this film impacts them. But on the other hand, the film tells the story of Symphony for a Broken Orchestra and that message is very clear - that it's crucial for us to maintain arts and music education.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Whether or not Arts classes are important in public education.
Would you like to add anything else?
Yes! I'm happy to report that Symphony for a Broken Orchestra will be expanding into other cities across the United States. Some of the organizers involved with the original project in Philadelphia are working to address the same issue in other schools across the country. So stay tuned!
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I'm currently working on some short and feature film scripts as well as some other documentary short projects. I'm hoping that 2020 will be a busy and creatively fulfilling year.
Interview: January 2020
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Broken Orchestra
A documentary short about the Symphony for a Broken Orchestra which collected hundreds of broken instruments from the Philadelphia public school system, fixed them and then returned them into the hands of students.
Length: 11:50
Director: Charlie Tyrell
Producer: Julie Baldassi
Writer: Josef Beeby & Charlie Tyrell
About the writer, director and producer:
CHARLIE TYRELL is a Torontonian filmmaker and the New Year's Baby of 1988. His work has screened internationally at such festivals as Sundance, SXSW, Hot Docs, Tribeca, and many more. His latest short doc, My Dead Dad's Porno Tapes premiered at Sundance 2018 and went on to win Best Documentary Short at the 2019 Canadian Screen Awards and was shortlisted for an Academy Award in 2019.
Looking for: journalists, film festival directors
Twitter: @charlie_tyrell
Instagram: @charlietyrell
Website: www.topic.com/broken-orchestra
Other: Vimeo
Made in association with: Topic, Younger Daughter Films
Funders: Topic