The Song of Names

211

113 minutes – Drama, World War II, Music
Festival release date: September 2019 (TIFF, World Premiere)
Release date: December 25, 2019 (Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal)
Canadian distributor: Elevation Pictures
U.S. distributor: Sony Pictures Classics

Based on the book by Norman Lebrecht, The Song of Names is set just as Europe erupts into World War II. We meet 9 year old Martin who loves his new adopted brother Dovidl, a highly gifted violin prodigy of the same age and a recent Polish-Jewish refugee to London. The years pass, and then, just hours before Dovidl’s debut concert performance at the age of 21 he vanishes without a trace, causing shame and ruin for their family. A lifetime later, a young violinist shows Martin, now 56-years-old, a stylistic flourish that could only have been taught by Dovidl. This triggers Martin’s odyssey overseas in search of his lost brother, one that will lead to surprising revelations for both men and for Helen, the woman who stood between them. A Song of Names is an epic detective story spread over two continents and half a century, it is a bold journey through friendship, betrayal and reconciliation culminating in the titular The Song of Names, in a film that shows that within the darkest mysteries sometimes only music has the power to illuminate the truth, heal and redeem.

A Song of Names was selected to have a Gala Presentation for its World Premiere at TIFF 2019.

The Song of Names, movie, poster,

Crew:

Producer:

Robert Lantos
Lyse Lafontaine
Nick Hirschkorn

Executive Producer:

Klemens Hallmann
Tibor Krsko
Randy Lennox
Nadine Luque
Mark Musselman
Anant Singh
Stephen Spence
Peter Touche
Peter Watson

Co-Producer:

Viktória Petrányi

Line Producer:

Marta Habior

Director:

François Girard

Screenwriter:

Jeffrey Caine

Cinematographer:

David Franco

Editor:

Michel Arcand

Composer:

Howard Shore

Production Designer:

François Séguin

Art Director:

Katie Gormley
Magdolna Varga

Costume Designer:

Anne Dixon

Cast: Roles:

Tim Roth
Clive Owen
Catherine McCormack               
Magdalena Cielecka
Eddie Izzard
Saul Rubinek
Gerran Howell
Jonah Hauer-King
Julian Wadham
Richard Bremmer
Amy Sloan
Stanley Townsend
Max Macmillan
Kamil Lemieszewski
Magdalena Cielecka
Matt Devere
Sharon Percy
Steven Hillman
Misha Handley
Jeffrey Caine
Viktoria Kay
Jesse Noah Gruman
Ralph Berkin
Yank Azman
Tamás Puskás
Luke Doyle
Marina Hambro
Joanna Caplan
Daniel Mutlu
Jakub Kotynski

Martin
Dovidl
Helen                        
Anna
Radio Presenter
Feinman
Martin 17-21
Dovidl 17-23
Arbuthnot Bailey
Billy
Enid
Gilbert
Peter Stemp
Hebrew Rabbi / Polish Doctor
Anna
Milkman
Jenny Burrows
Mayor Froggatt
Martin 9-13
Tom Barnes
Ellen Stemp
Zygmunt Rapoport Jr.
Sanderson
Katzenberg
Professor Carl Flesch
Dovidl 9-13
Young Helen
Broche
Young Rebbe
Zygmunt Rapaport