In September 2007, Canadian musicians will travel to Rwanda in support of the Kigali Music School – the only music school in a population of just over eight million.
Officially founded in 2001 by director, Marlene Lee; Mrs. Lee has invested twenty-six years in training musicians in Rwanda. With the active support of the Kigali Rotary Club led by Mrs. Amithy Alles, the community is building a place for eager young musicians to learn and be challenged. These students are Rwanda’s future and their interaction with the visiting musicians will be one focus of the film.
A second will be community outreach. We will film in such places as the Mother Theresa Orphanage where last year an impromptu concert opened the door to possibilities and replaced boredom with glee. This past summer, nine children were selected from the orphanage -- three to study Inanga (an African musical instrument akin to a zither), three to study Rwandan dance, and three to study piano. The children can hardly wait to perform for and with the Canadian musicians.
Shot over a two-week period, the story arc will follow the genesis and process of selected workshops, master classes and music healing sessions in a cinema vérité style. Most performances will be shot with two cameras.
The film will offer cinematic moments like last year’s performances of the first movement of Bach’s Piano Concerto in D minor that combined classical piano with traditional Rwandan drummers and the BATWA dancers. Pianist, Rena Sharon performed the music as originally written by Bach in 1730; the drummers improvised. In rehearsal, there had to be discussion at the most abstract level because failure to find consensus would mean playing badly… and suffering collective humiliation in front of the audience.
Despite working through translators and with musicians who were unfamiliar with each other’s musical genres, Bach emerged as highly translatable -- the audience response was electrifying – instant standing ovation, shouts of enthusiasm, many overtly weeping.
After the first performance, one of the Rwanda drummers previously unfamiliar with western classical music said that he hadn’t expected to be so joyfully engaged, nor appreciate the music. Rena shared that those musical moments revealed more to her about Bach, than many years of study. In a real sense, the notion of music as an international language was affirmed.
ART FORCE has the potential to be a truly amazing film. The intent is to reflect the feel of Rwanda today, its landscape, texture, rhythms, and especially its music. This is a different image of Rwanda than we’re use to seeing – one with laughter, beauty and trust. It will be visually rich and fascinating in its contrasts. Of course, the music will rock!
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