Browse films

Broken Orchestra

Charlie Tyrell
United States, 2019, 12 min.


This film is family friendly.

When the Philadelphia public-school system began losing almost all the funding for its music-education programs in 2007, hundreds of instruments in need of repair were left for dead, and community members moved to action. With this film we are introduced to a few of the innovators, educators, volunteers, advocates, and musicians behind Symphony for a Broken Orchestra, a music and art project begun in 2017 that raised awareness for the issue, helping to get those broken instruments back into Philadelphia students' hands.

Director's Statement

Symphony for a Broken Orchestra was originally created and commissioned by Temple Contemporary at Temple University, USA. Original support for Symphony for a Broken Orchestra was provided by The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage, Philadelphia.

Category: Short Doc, Festival Alum.
Themes: Music, Education, Community.

More in Short Doc

  • Kanenon:we - Original Seeds

    Kanenon:we - Original Seeds

    Katsitsionni Fox
    United States, 2025, 26 min.

    Kanenon:we - Original Seeds features three Haudenosaunee women: Angela Ferguson, Rebecca Webster and Rowen White, who are stepping back into their... more ›

  • Pride of Texas

    Pride of Texas

    Ashley Seering
    United States, 2024, 7 min.

    A look at the Texas Gay Rodeo Association and its participants who prove that rodeo, and Texas, is a place for everyone... more ›

  • Hope is on the Way

    Hope is on the Way

    Hope Silver
    United States, 2025, 12 min.

    Hope is on the Way is a short documentary that explores the power of hope through the voices of everyday people. As an Uber driver named Hope (the... more ›