This is a biological story of Musicality. Its journey, guided by four advanced researchers, shows Music to be no singular entity. Music integrates distinct traits—in humans, uniquely so. Via diverse cinematic languages, this film explains how these traits shaped us and function socially, and have analogues in other animals. We witness a vast variety of musical manifestations, collected with deep aesthetic sensitivity. Many collaborators participate, spanning from Mu Mbana’s deep voice to the Roxanne Butterfly’s graceful dancing, from tribal rituals to modern dance, from Pyrenees songbirds to Polynesian whales. Explanations interconnect, co-conveying key concepts and mechanisms—via digital animations, MRI, ultrasound footage, even metaphorical images, abstractly evoking the otherwise ineffable. The narration is punctuated by expert interviews, sustaining a rigorous, yet poetical, academic coherence. Biomusicology only recently burst in and remains mostly unknown. So misconceptions regarding Musicality’s human exclusivity remain widespread—even in academia.
Screening time: 1:00-2:24 PM, Sunday, May 5, 2019
Length: 84 mins.
Country: Spain
Language: English
Director: Daniel B. Arvizu and Andrea Spalletti
Producer: Daniel B. Arvizu, Shenny A. Madrigal, and Andrea Spalletti
Distributor: Daniel B. Arvizu