Description
Under Stalin’s rule, composer Dmitri Shostakovich lived with the constant threat of denunciation, imprisonment and death. Tony Palmer’s extraordinary Testimony, starring Ben Kingsley, explores the life of an artist navigating fear, censorship and survival.
Inspired by Solomon Volkov’s controversial book, presented as Shostakovich’s memoirs, the film interweaves stark black-and-white drama with the composer’s powerful music.
Following this special screening, acclaimed director Tony Palmer, whose films include portraits of Leonard Cohen, Benjamin Britten and Maria Callas, discusses making Testimony, its disputed source material, and Shostakovich’s enduring legacy.
Screening from a 35mm print
Runtime: 157 minutes
Related Book
About the Speaker
Tony Palmer
Tony Palmer is an internationally acclaimed director of films about performers. He has won over forty international prizes for his work, including and especially television’s most coveted award, the Prix d’Italia; indeed, he is the only person to have won this prize three times, and has been honoured by the Italia Prize with a gala screening of his work.
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