Factual

Katrine Philp’s uplifting documentary explores an alternative approach to training the next generation of elite classical musicians.

Danish-Swedish documentary Where Music Grows (Et klassisk liv), directed by Katrine Philp, has won the Audience Award at the 66th Krakow Film Festival. The prize was awarded ex aequo with Tickling the Devil.

The 90-minute documentary follows a group of talented young classical musicians living and studying on a farm in Stevns, around 60 kilometres south of Copenhagen.

Under the guidance of musician, teacher and self-taught farmer Jacob Shaw, the students combine intensive musical training with a very different daily routine. Alongside rehearsals and preparations for international concerts and auditions, they grow vegetables, care for cows and black-and-white pigs, cook together and perform music for the farm’s animals.

Through this unusual environment, the film examines the pressure, competition and pursuit of perfection that characterise the world of elite classical music. The farm offers the musicians a space in which artistic excellence can coexist with community, ecological awareness and mental wellbeing.

With warmth and humour, Katrine Philp presents the project as a possible antidote to burnout, suggesting that the development of exceptional talent does not necessarily have to come at the expense of personal balance.

Where Music Grows was presented in the Krakow Film Festival’s international DocFilmMusic competition, dedicated to documentaries exploring music and its protagonists.