The Siege of Leningrad

On Sunday 9 August 1942 a concert took place in Leningrad that defies belief. A year before, the Germans had begun the deadliest siege in history that would kill 750,000 civilians. Now, in the midst of the terror, a starving group of musicians assembled in Leningrad to perform Shostakovich’s mighty 7th Symphony. The piece had been smuggled back into the city to which it truly belonged, having been completed by the composer in exile and performed around the world as the siege continued, for this extraordinary moment of defiance inside the city. For the first time, this new film tells the story through music, archive and first-hand testimony and a special performance of Shostakovich’s 7th Symphony conducted by the son of the composer, Maxim Shostakovich, who has agreed to appear, especially for the film.