Premiering Feb. 2020 on PBS stations across America, Dreams of Hope is a documentary-concert celebrating the power of music, with a captivating storyline written by filmmaker David L. Macon. Centered around Birmingham's historic Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, the city welcomes world-renowned Israeli violin maker Amnon Weinstein, founder of Violins of Hope, and his family. With acclaimed composer, arranger and conductor Dr. Henry Panion, III & Orchestra, Birmingham native Caitlin Edwards returns home to perform the world premiere of Dreams of Hope for Solo Violin & Orchestra on the Auschwitz Violin (circa, 1850), one of the many violins discovered and restored by Amnon Weinstein and his son Avshi from the infamous concentration camps of the Holocaust.
Also featured in this docu-concert are performances by vocalists Valerie Smith and Lenora Goodman-Panion, Dancer Kelsey Ebersold, and the Miles College Choir. After hearing Dreams of Hope for Solo Violin & Orchestra, Amnon Weinsten stated, "First there was John William's Schindler's List and now there's Henry Panion's Dreams of Hope. It's a masterpiece that should be heard at Carnegie Hall and all over the world. There are just no words for the brilliant gifts of music which we received that evening."
Woven among these performances are the most captivating interviews and thoughts of reflection, including those by Richard Arrington, Jr., the first African-American Mayor of Birmingham; Jeffrey and Gail Bayer, Co-chairs of Violins of Hope Birmingham; Chris Hamlin, former Pastor of 16th Street Baptist; Amnon and Assi Weinstein; Dr. Henry Panion, III, and Sallie Downs, who spearheaded the initiative to bring Violins of Hope to Birmingham.
As an African-American growing up in Birmingham, Alabama during the Civil Rights Movement of the 60’s, Dr. Panion was struck by the common origins of hate, discrimination, and racism that have and continue to be inflicted upon people throughout the world. Both the African-American and the Jewish people have had to dig deep within themselves to find just a sliver of hope to grasp onto while experiencing some of the worst atrocities known throughout history. In the absence of anything else, it was often only through music that these people found any semblance of relief from oppression, figuratively and literally.
In his preparation for composing Dreams of Hope for Solo Violin & Orchestra, Dr. Panion states, “The story of these violins and the Jewish people is of survival, hope, and triumph, one that so parallels the story of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and its people, particularly the Four Little Girls. Having suffered the worst fate imaginable, the church and these violins have been beautifully restored and are now magnificent relics for all to behold. As a people of the human race, we continue to strive and hope for a better world through our struggles, our trials, our tribulations.....and our triumphs.”
Sixteenth Street Baptist Church organized in 1873 as the First Colored Baptist Church of Birmingham, Alabama, It moved to its current location in 1880. Due to Sixteenth Street’s prominence in the black community, and its central location to downtown Birmingham, the church served as headquarters for the civil rights mass meetings and rallies in the early 1960s. When a bomb exploded on September 15, 1963, killing four young girls attending Sunday school, it was a shocking, terrifying day in the history of Birmingham, and a day that forced white leaders to further come to grips with the city’s bitter racist reputation.
It was Amnon’s father, Moshe Weinstien, who after escaping Eastern Europe established a violin shop in Tel Aviv for the many Jewish violinists among those fortunate to escape the hands of Nazi Germany. The violin was central to the cultural life of the Jewish people and led to many virtuoso Jewish violinists holding positions in the top orchestras in Europe. Amnon and his son Avshi have carried on this tradition as master luthiers (violin makers), with a special passion and purpose for restoring violins that in many cases miraculously survived the tragic plight of their owners.
Dreams of Hope is a demonstration of what can happen when different people of different backgrounds and cultures come together on common ground and communicate with a common voice, recognizing yet celebrating our differences. And on that evening in Birmingham, Alabama, when Black, White, Jew, Christian, Muslim, Catholic, Native, and Foreigner came together at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, all experienced the power of the unifying and universal voice of music through Dreams of Hope.
Written By & Co-Directed By: David Macon for Day 22 Films
Film/Documentary Production & Post-Production Services Provided By: Day 22 Films