7.2.07: Trailer Made LAFF Edition: Young @ Heart

Amazingly, Sally George was pounding the pavement in front of the Mann Festival theater on Sunday to give away tickets to the documentary she produced, Young@Heart, only to have the film win the audience award for best international feature at the Los Angeles Film Festival hours later and as Variety’s Anne Thompson reports, also snag a $1.5 million deal for distribution with Fox Searchlight, a studio not known for picking up documentaries. (And a narrative feature is on the way from Working Title, the production house behind Notting Hill and Bridget Jones’ Diary.)

Of course, none of this is surprising if you were one of the lucky few to catch Young@Heart, the touching story of a Northampton choir comprised entirely of senior citizens with a song in their heart. But they’re not the songs you might think. The film opens with The Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” and ends with Allen Toussaint’s New Orleans-tinged “Yes We Can,” with Sonic Youth’s “Schizophrenia” and Coldplay’s “Fix You” thrown in for good measure. Alternating between funny, sad, and poignant, Young@Heart is both a testament to the power of music and the idea that life doesn’t stop with the first signs of grey hair. British documentarian Stephen Walker lends both a keen eye and sharply observed narration to the proceedings, which spans the six weeks leading up to a concert, including a pit stop at a local prison and the deaths of two of its members due to the rigors of old age. Yet Young@Heart is inspiring, so much so that one 59 year old woman at Sunday’s screening wished she were older, so she could meet the choir’s age cutoff to which the choir’s director Bob Cilman jokingly replied, “we’re pushing the age up a year every year” in an effort to skip the baby boomers.

While the film’s musical highlights can also be seen on YouTube, Young@Heart also cleverly inserts music videos of the group, shot by producer Sally George, that can be seen below:

The Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated"

The Bee Gees' "Staying Alive"

Hollywood Elsewhere's Jeffrey Wells reports here that the film should be released nationally between Labor Day and the end of this year. It shouldn't be missed.

Comments

[Alison]

Young @ heart is an excellent programme, Fred (white suit) was exceptional. These people have so much energy it should put all us younger to shame. I hope that they keep keep singing and stay Young @ Heart.