Media Maven: “The Singing Revolution” Film Review

Cincy Chic readers, once again we have a one-of-a-kind opportunity to see an outstanding film right here in our city.

Cincinnati World Cinema (CWC) presents three screenings of The Singing Revolution at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 24; Wednesday, June 25 and Thursday, June 26 at the Cincinnati Art Museum.

Cincinnati has the esteemed May Festival and annual renditions of Handel’s Messiah, but we’ve never experienced the incredible sight and sound of 30,000 people singing in harmony at the Laulupidu Music Festival in Estonia. 

The tiny Baltic state of Estonia, two-thirds the size of West Virginia with a population half that of Metro Cincinnati, has shown that non-violent protest and revolution through song can result in freedom from oppression by the Soviet Union — a true David-and-Goliath story.

This moving documentary is about courage, both on the individual and collective level, and what a million people can accomplish when they act as one.  This is the true story of how culture and an art form saved a nation.  And while the music provides stirring dramatic and illustrative content, The Singing Revolution offers some amazing archival footage and interviews with the people who actually lived the story.

Essential Event Information
A discussion, hosted by music journalist Mary Ellyn Huton, follows each screening.Tickets are $9 a person ($7 for Art Museum members, students, ETA and military families with valid ID).

Advance tickets are available at the CWC Web site, by calling the Cincinnati Art Museum at (513) 721-ARTS and at local ticket outlets, such as Sitwell’s, Clifton; the Coffee Emporium, Downtown; Shake-It, Northside; and Lookout Joe Coffee Roasters, Mt. Lookout Square.

PHOTO CREDITS:
Photo: www.singingrevolution.com