Canadian channel Vision TV (owned and operated by Zoomermedia) is premiering feature documentary The Rhapsody on April 3. The documentary tells composer Leo Spellman’s astonishing story of survival and artistic redemption.
In 1947 Spellman, a Jewish musician and Holocaust survivor from Poland, composed a 3-part work, Rhapsody 1939-1945, at a Displaced Persons (DP) camp in Germany. The piece musically depicted his experiences of war, suffering and the joy of liberation, and was performed only once by Spellman and a group of concentration camp survivors. When Leo immigrated to Canada in 1948, he tried to bury his painful memories and packed the score for Rhapsody 1939-1945 in a suitcase in his garage where it remained for 52 years.
Leo’s story is told through bold animation, interviews with family and colleagues, and live music, including the performance of the long lost Rhapsody 1939-1945 at the Ashkenaz Festival in Toronto. Spellman attended the triumphant concert three months before he passed away at the age of 99.
The Rhapsody is narrated by Stephen Fry and is produced by David Hoffert, Brenda Hoffert, Paul Hoffert, and Jeff Preyra.
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