Following the Ninth

In the Footsteps of Beethoven's Final Symphony

Written in 1824, near the end of Beethoven's life, the Ninth Symphony was composed by a man with little to be thankful for. Sick, alienated from almost everyone, and completely deaf, Beethoven had never managed to find love, nor create the family he'd always wanted. And yet, despite this, he managed to create an anthem of joy that embraces the transcendence of beauty over suffering.

Celebrated to this day for its ability to heal, repair, and bring people together across great divides, the Ninth has become an anthem of liberation and hope that has inspired many around the world. FOLLOWING THE NINTH traces these stories, intertwining them with the history of the Ninth itself to create a moving ode to hope, freedom, and the power of art.

"Each anecdote builds upon the next to create that rarest of films: a documentary as ineffable and transformative in its reach as it sets out to be." - John Oursler, Village Voice

"Thrilling, smartly assembled and thoughtfully paced." - Daniel M. Gold, The New York Times