THE SONG OF NAMES sets personal, professional, and family tragedies against sweeping historical events. Constructed like a detective mystery on a grand scale, the film opens the night of the much-anticipated first public performance by Dovidl Rapoport, a Polish-Jewish refugee and musical prodigy. When he doesn't show up, his best friend Martin is left to tell the packed theatre that the performance will not go on. Decades later, an adult Martin (Tim Roth), serving as a judge in a musical competition, watches a young student prepare to play in Dovidl's unique style. This moment sends Martin, over the objections of his wife Helen, on a transcontinental search. As the mystery of the disappearance unravels, Martin finds himself consumed by memories of the deep bond between the two boys — and also uncovering elements of Dovidl's tormented life that Martin simply couldn't have fathomed at the time.
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FRANÇOIS GIRARD (Director) gained notoriety as much for his filmmaking as for his staging of operas and theater plays. In 1993, his feature film THIRTY TWO SHORT FILMS ABOUT GLENN GOULD would go on to garner international success including four top Genie Awards. Five years later he directed THE RED VIOLIN, featuring Samuel L. Jackson, which received an Academy Award for best original score and enshrined Girard as an important player on the international movie scene. The film also won eight Genie Awards and nine Jutra Awards. SILK, which he later directed, was adapted from Alessandro Baricco’s best-selling book, and was released worldwide in 2007. The cast includes Michael Pitt, Keira Knightley, Alfred Molina, Miki Nakatani and Koji Yakusho. SILK received four Jutra Awards. His film BOYCHOIR, released in 2015, features Dustin Hoffman, Kathy Bates and Eddie Izzard among others. Most recently, HOCHELAGA, LAND OF SOULS, was presented at the Toronto Film Festival, and represented Canada in the race for Best Foreign Language Film Oscar at the 90th Academy Awards. It was released in September 2017 and was greatly acclaimed by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television.