From Bullfrog Films
Pictured above: Keri-Lynn Wilson, founder and music director of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra.
Bullfrog Films, a documentary film distributor based in Berks County, is beginning a series of film screenings in partnership with the Goggleworks Center for the Arts’ Boscov Theater.
The first film by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Larry Weinstein is BEETHOVEN’S NINE: Ode to Humanity, a film about war, hope, and music’s relevance to our society.
BEETHOVEN’S NINE: Ode to Humanity is screening on Friday, Aug. 7, at 7 p.m., at the Goggleworks Center for the Arts’ Boscov Theater.
In early 2023, filmmaker Larry Weinstein sets out to make a documentary about Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. It is supposed to be about how far we have come in the 200 years since it was written. But when world events pull Larry into his own film, the question becomes a deeply personal one.
BEETHOVEN’S NINE: Ode to Humanity is a documentary that follows nine unique individuals, including a deaf composer, Ukrainian musicians, a Polish rock star, a best-selling author, a legendary cartoonist, and Weinstein himself, as they try to better understand the legacy of Beethoven’s Ninth, the composer’s own struggles, the inspiration music can provide, and how humanity continues to look for hope even in the darkest times.
BEETHOVEN’S NINE: Ode to Humanity premiered at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival last spring, was awarded a Special Jury Prize at Parma International Music Festival, was a finalist at Prix Italia, and was screened at Miami Jewish Film Festival, Boca Raton Jewish Film Festival, and Salt Springs Festival, and this spring, Larry Weinstein was nominated for Best Documentary Direction, 2026 Canadian Screen Awards.
Tickets are available online at goggleworks.org/films/beethovens-nine-ode-to-humanity.
“How can Beethoven’s utopian vision be squared with a world riven by these seemingly endless cycles of violence? No film can answer that question. BEETHOVEN’S NINE poses it with particular clarity, and makes clear what’s at stake. It ends with a reflection on the work’s aspirational qualities, its way of holding open a space for the creation of a better world.” – Jeremy Eichler, Boston Globe
“A sweeping exploration of the overarching themes connected to this important work, from Beethoven’s own lived experiences and intent, to what the piece has come to mean in the world at large … Using the Ninth Symphony, current events, and the filmmaker’s own personal sorrows, the film explores themes of freedom, hope, and beauty, but most importantly, human connection.” – Diana M. Hollinger, Prof. of Music and Dance,
Coordinator of Music Education, San Jose State University
“This brave, richly imagined, eye-opening, and ear-ravishing film dares to place Beethoven’s timeless masterwork in the context of the modern world with all its challenges, from war to climate change. And it succeeds.” – Michael Spitzer, Prof. of Music, University of Liverpool, Author, Music as Philosophy: Adorno and Beethoven’s Late Style
“Bullfrog Films has been busily distributing — to institutions in North America and worldwide — some of the best documentaries produced in the last 50 years, while always wishing there was a way to share these works with our Berks community. We are delighted to now begin a series of film screenings at the Goggleworks’ Boscov Theater, to share our newest favorites,” said John Hoskyns-Abrahall, President, Bullfrog Films.
The next Bullfrog Films-Boscov Theater screenings will be:
Bottle Conditioned on Friday, Aug. 28, at 7 p.m. The shifting fortunes of traditional craft beer brewers in Belgium as they face a surge of interest in their authentic lambic beer.
Ackeroyd & Harvey: The Art of Activism on Friday, Sept. 25, at 7 p.m. A portrait of internationally acclaimed artists who bring art, biology, and ecology into their activism. We will also show a six-minute short, Of Wind and Water, featuring renowned sculptor Ned Kahn, whose large-form kinetic works reveal the beauty of natural forces.
