"A symphony for the eyes and ears alike." – Point of View Magazine

Morgan Neville, the Academy Award-winning director of Twenty Feet From Stardom (MIFF 2013) and numerous other films to have screened previously at MIFF, follows revered cellist Yo-Yo Ma as he crisscrosses the globe, drawing together instrumentalists, singers, composers and artists for his ever-evolving Silk Road Ensemble passion project.

Despite political unrest and dislocation, artists from Syria, Iran and China rise above their differences and bring life back to forgotten instruments, showing that the creative impulse transcends politics and borders. Through performances, conversations and historical footage, Neville weaves a vivid and heady bouillabaisse from this global melting pot of unique history and shared humanity.

Part stunning travelogue, part intimate portrait, part idealistic and gorgeously observed document of cultural clash and creativity, The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble is a colourful, thought-provoking and inspiring celebration.

"A first-rate music film capturing a restless desire to communicate beyond the boundaries of any single idiom." – Hollywood Reporter