‘Long Live Master!’ Documentary Opening Today Brilliant Presenter Gustavo Dudamel Explores A “Very, Very Rare Cat”

After the death of Leonard Bernstein, the leader of American society, like Gustavo Dudamel, was conquered.

The Venezuelan-born phenomenon is depicted with a glowing bat and flying skulls. 60 minutesprofiling New YorkerSeries that inspiredmozart in the woods) and even revived The Simpsons (The most reliable sign of a broad cultural influence). The music and art director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the music director of the Paris Opera are the subject of a new documentary. Long live Master!It opens today in New York (film forum) and LA (The Landmark Westside Pavilion).

“This is a very, very rare cat, a very very special musician,” says director Ted Brown. “The quality of his music and the emotional vibrancy and transparency it brings. It is a magnet for musicians from all over the world, from all walks, from all genres and groups, and then it meets the audience. He is special about it. I think Bernstein is definitely the latest to have such popularity and reach. ”

The documentary showcases Dudamel’s extraordinary ability to convey musical ideas to an orchestra, whether it’s L.A. Phil, the Bolivarian Symphony in his hometown of Venezuela, or young classical musicians from around the world. For example, Beethoven’s explanation of what to do in chapter five^{Me too} and 9^{Me too} Symphonies become so vivid and expressive that even a non-musician can perceive them.

“For musicians, it has the ability to express an emotion, a kind of goal, an emotional buzz and cut out all the technical aspects and express it in a way that truly reaches any listener,” Brown says. “There’s a great moment in the movie where Beethoven tries to give his ninth team a little more life and shine. “There should be more champagne and less moonlight,” he says, “and this analogy gets everybody going.”

Brown came to the project with a wealth of experience, not only as an award-winning documentary writer and director, but also as an orchestral musician. latest artistic documents, now darfur (2007) and zero bet (2016), while discussing political and economic issues; Long live Master! – when it started in 2016 – it could have seemed to offer a clear thematic journey. But then, as the political situation in Venezuela worsened, Dudamel became more and more entangled in the vortex.

Shortly after the 2017 shootings, demonstrations broke out against the government of President Nicolás Maduro. More than 100 people were killed, some by authorities, others by pro-government paramilitary groups. Quotations from the movie New York Times Dudamel, published in July 2017, wrote: “My country is going through a dark and difficult time, taking a dangerous path that could inevitably lead to betrayal of our deep national traditions.”

In response, as seen in the movie, the Maduro government canceled the Asian tour of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra conducted by Dudameli and the US tour of the Venezuelan Youth Orchestra. For Dudamel, revenge was devastating not only because of his emotional attachment to his country, but also because of his devotion to young musicians. It is a product of El Sistema, an incredibly successful music education system for young people, created by Dudamel’s mentor, maestro José Antonio Abreu.

The rapidly changing political landscape forced Brown and his crew to destroy several shots.

“This was a huge challenge because we wanted to return to Venezuela a few more times to continue examining their relationship. [Simón Bolívar Symphony] “The orchestra and with it, it’s kind of a present-time journey to where he came from and how he became a person,” Brown told Deadline. “This intention was completely foiled by street violence: a 100-day protest and Gustavo’s failure to return. [to Venezuela]”

Political tension becomes a striking element of the documentary; In symphonic terms, it seems to be a recurring motif throughout the piece. But the main theme is to discover the artist who is dedicated to bringing beauty to the world and the director who believes in the healing and unifying possibilities of music. Dudamel’s work is not “apolitical” but pushes us collectively towards a transcendent, harmonious and luminous plane.

In terms of storytelling, Brown says the task is to “stay within our lead man’s desires so that as we write the script it’s like we’re following the lead man’s desires.” So we went our way… from a conceptual perspective.”

Long live Master! Greenwich Entertainment and Participant is a version of Escape Artists and Center of Gravity. Producers Brown, Steve Tisch, Dean Schramm, Howard Bragman and Nicholas Payne. Executive producers Jeff School and the late Diane Weierman. Cinematographers Buddy Squires and Richard Pierce. The movie was edited by Kate Amand.

The documentary will hit theaters in Boston, Washington, and San Francisco next week (VOD is scheduled to air May 24 on Amazon and Apple TV).

“I never expected a pandemic to make us wait two years to come to trial,” Brown said. Said. “At a very basic level, we were making a film about the overall value of creating music and a film that we thought celebrated the value of editing and artistic experience. But I think being in the theater also has a common value and this is a movie that is really about theatrical experience. She has a beautiful, beautiful theatrical voice. ”

The director adds: “I hope audiences who watch this movie will feel it through Gustavo, a fusion and utility that could have resulted from great music and a great movie.” We live in a very difficult time and we have been suffering as a planet for the past few years due to pandemics and political and social upheavals and for 90 minutes to come together and remember our common humanity and our shared belonging, I think it is real. value. And I hope those who go to the theater go with this feeling. Gustavo is a brilliant, expressive, expressive speaker.”