Genre
Synopsis
This is the story of ALMA ROSE. Born into the musical elite turn-of-the-last-century Vienna, the capital of arts and music in Europe. Her uncle is Gustav Mahler and her father, Arnold Rosé, the famous concertmaster and conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic. She has a fabled childhood surrounded by musicians and artists.
All of the fame and glamour ends however when she is captured and interned in dreaded concentration camp Auschwitz. Fearing that she was about to be eliminated she asks for her last wish to be able to play the violin. To save her life and the lives of many others, Alma creates the Rose Quartet and before she knows it, she becomes the conductor of the legendary Auschwitz women's orchestra. This is the story of Alma, the the women she saves and ultimately their offspring.
Bio
A former Montrealer now living in Toronto, Francine’s work as a director is inspired by her profound connection to French Canada. She graduated from film at McGill University; studied directing at Columbia University, NYC and writing at Script Factory, London. She has won numerous awards and been recognized at film festivals around the world. Her strong cinematic vision and her love for working with actors is evident in her films, THE ATWOOD STORIES; PUNCH ME IN THE STOMACH; PASSENGERS and MR. BERNSTEIN and her documentaries HALF THE KINGDOM; EXPOSURE; WE ARE HERE and AFTER MUNICH has taken her to New Zealand, England, Sweden, Poland, Germany and Israel.
She has recently completed her feature documentary AFTER MUNICH about the aftermath of the Munich Olympic massacre of eleven Israeli athletes in 1972 and how four women’s lives are changed forever. It toured to Germany; Israel and England this past year to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the terrorist attack.
She is in development on a dramatic series based on world renown writer Margaret Atwood’s first novel THE EDIBLE WOMAN and a Canada/Poland co-pro feature film ANNA, a Canada/French co-pro ALMA ROSE and a Canada/New Zealand co-pro A PLACE CALLED HOME.
Credits
Co-Producer Sally Blake, France
Cinematographer Kristin Fieldhouse
