JOE'S VIOLIN

JOE'S VIOLIN

    Price: $295.00

    Code: 2551

    Directed by Kahane Cooperman
    2016, 26 minutes
    Purchase: $295 | Classroom rental: $125
    Optional Closed Captions

    2017 ACADEMY AWARD® Nominee for Documentary Short Subject.

    An Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Short, Joe’s Violin is a heartfelt portrait of an unlikely friendship between a 91-year-old Holocaust survivor and a 12-year-old Bronx schoolgirl, brought together by their love for music and a donated violin. The film is a testament to the power of music to bring light in the darkest of times and shows how a small act can have a profound impact.

    Polish Holocaust survivor, Joe Feingold bought his violin after WWII when he was a refugee in a displaced person’s camp. He traded a carton of American cigarettes for it. After enduring six years at a labor camp in Siberia, playing the violin became a much-needed reprieve from extreme hardship. Now 91 years old, Joe learns of an instrument donation drive on the radio and jumps at the opportunity, hoping the violin can provide someone else the comfort it brought him.

    Joe’s violin goes to the Bronx Global Learning Institute for Girls (BGLIG) through the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation. Located in the poorest congressional district in the nation, BGLIG has a unique music program that requires every student to learn how to play the violin. When it comes time to select a recipient for Joe's violin, only the most promising students are considered. The violin winds up in the hands of 12-year-old daughter of Dominican immigrants, Brianna Perez, and brings light to her life.

    Director Kahane Cooperman, a longtime producer of “The Daily Show with John Stewart”, masterfully harmonizes the stories of Joe and Brianna—two people from vastly different circumstances—and shows us not only the incredible power of objects to carry and build new meaning, but also the transformative power of making music.

    Subjects & Collections



    Festivals & Awards

    2017 ACADEMY AWARD® Nominee for Documentary Short Subject
    Official Selection – Hot Docs 2016
    Official Selection – Tribeca Film Festival 2016
    Official Selection – AFI Docs 2016
    Official Selection – IDFA 2016
    Official Selection – Hamptons International Film Festival 2016
    Official Selection – Doc Aviv 2016
    Official Selection – Cleveland International Film Festival 2016
    Official Selection – Traverse City Film Festival 2016
    WINNER – Audience Award, Nantucket Film Festival 2016
    WINNER – Audience Award Short Film, Lighthouse International Film Festival
    WINNER – People’s Voice Winner, Webby Awards 2017
    WINNER – Best Short Film Audience Award, Atlanta Jewish Film Fesival 2017
    WINNER – Director’s Choice Award, Gold Coast International Film Festival 2016

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