The Music of Strangers

What is the role of music? This question is the starting point for The Silk Road Ensemble, a group of eminent musicians from around the globe brought together by the world-renown cellist Yo-Yo Ma, a household name on the international music scene since the 80's.

Post-9/11 Ma channeled more of his energy to The Silk Road Ensemble, with the motivation to inspire compassion, creativity, understanding and unity despite political conflicts. In The Music of Strangers we join the ensemble on an extraordinary journey in the world of music, hearing and seeing tones and instruments from all corners of the world. We get to know several of the members of the ensemble, many of whom have had to flee their home countries to play their music. Through music The Silk Road Ensemble is an attempt to build bridges across cultural boarders, foster dialogue and highlight the liberating and uniting power of music. The film is a grand audiovisual celebration of music as a common language. Per Eirik Gilsvik

Morgan Neville (b. 1967) is an Academy Award-winning American documentary filmmaker and founder of Tremolo Productions. Neville has made several music-documentaries, his most famous features include Brian Wilson: A Beach Boy's Tale, Troubadours, Twenty Feet from Stardom, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary. The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble and Keith Richards: Under the Influence are his latest features.

THE CRITICAL ROOM: BUILDING BRIDGES THROUGH MUSIC
Monday October 10 7 PM we have a special screening with concert and debate in Grønland kirke.

In collaboration with SPACE – Syrian Peace Action Centre – we invite you to a unique and soulful experience in the atmospheric church, Grønland kirke. After the screening of The Music of Strangers Kinan Azmeh, the Syrian clarinet virtuoso and member of the ensemble, will conclude the film with a short solo concert. Afterwards Azmeh will join Abazar Hamid, an exiled Sudanese musician currently living as a so-called Safe Haven-artist in Harstad through the SafeMUSE program, and Alexandra Archetti Stølen, festival director of Oslo World Music Festival, to discuss music censorship and the power of music as a bridge between people and cultures. The conversation will be led by Jan Lothe from SafeMUSE.

The doors will open at 6.30 PM, the screening starts at 7 PM. Tickets can be bought HERE, or at the entrance. If you have a full festival ticket or a discount card (punched for each use), you will not need to buy a ticket in advance.