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The Orchestra of Piazza Vittorio

North American Premiere

Italy | 93 MINUTES | Italian |

THE ORCHESTRA OF PIAZZA VITTORIO

Documentary, Music

Crowned the most popular Italian documentary this year, The Orchestra of Piazza Vittorio tells story of how filmmaker Agostino Ferrente and Avion Travel musician Mario Tronco put together an orchestra of 30 foreign musicians playing 15 unrelated instruments-a miracle in itself. The two Italians are both residents of the Piazza Vittorio neighborhood, a stone's throw away from Rome's Termini station. This old area is populated by some 60 ethnic groups and has more foreign residents than Italians. With the aim of saving the glorious old Apollo Theater from the threat of being turned into a bingo parlor, Tronco and Ferrente created a neighborhood committee called the Apollo 11. Their first goal was to re-open the Apollo as a multi-media, multi-ethnic theater; their second was to find musicians from the four corners of the globe to play in an orchestra. Ironic humor is the keynote that holds their five-year saga together, as they struggle against ever-new obstacles, but ultimately succeed in creating this astounding musical group, and learn the stories of musicians from Tunisia, India, Africa, Cuba and beyond in the process. This is a rousing call to arms for fans of world music, and for all those who believe in the mini-miracles of neighborhood cultural initiatives.