ACO & Director Jennifer Peedom Unveil MOUNTAIN: A Cinematic & Musical Odyssey

The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) will next month unveil the world premiere of Mountain LIVE - an epic cinematic and musical collaboration between the ACO and BAFTA-nominated director Jennifer Peedom (Sherpa). Two-time Academy Award nominated actor Willem Dafoe has been announced as the narrator of the feature documentary.

The world premiere of Mountain LIVE, which will feature the ACO performing live onstage alongside a screening of the film, will take place on 12 June at the Sydney Opera House as part of Vivid LIVE and Sydney Film Festival (SFF).

After further screenings of Mountain at the SFF, the ACO will then tour Mountain LIVE throughout Australia from 3-20 August to destinations including Newcastle, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Sydney. Mountain will be released in cinemas nationwide on 21 September by Madman Entertainment.

Shot by the world's leading high altitude cinematographers, with narration written by award-winning author Robert Macfarlane, this feature documentary explores the troubled and triumphant history of our timeless fascination with mountains. The narration will be carried by acclaimed actor Willem Dafoe, who is one of today's most highly accomplished and versatile film and stage actors.

"I was looking for a very particular voice to carry this film," said Peedom. "Given the nature of the collaboration, the voice itself needed to be an instrument in order to carry the poetry of Robert Macfarlane's words and to hold up alongside the powerful score curated by Richard Tognetti. But it also needed to feel authentic. Willem Dafoe brought both those things to the film."

ACO Artistic Director Richard Tognetti worked closely with Peedom to curate a stunning soundscape that mirrors the serenity, magnitude and terror of the landscapes featured in the film. Works by Chopin, Grieg, Vivaldi and Beethoven are featured, as well as original music by Tognetti himself.

"The original music I wrote for Mountain was composed in real collaboration with Jennifer [Peedom]," Tognetti said. "She would tell me what she was trying to express and what the scene in the movie meant, and then I would try and come up with the musical equivalent. Some of the compositions are filmic and some of them are more like dreamscapes."

Further details on where audiences can see Mountain are below.

Sydney Film Festival

Mountain LIVE

Monday 12 June, 3:00pm - Sydney Opera House

Mountain

Saturday 17 June, 4.05pm - State Theatre

Sunday 18 June, 4.00pm - Hayden Orpheum Cremorne

Tickets on sale now at sff.org.au

Mountain LIVE Tour

3-20 August

Sydney Opera House, NSW, 12 June

Newcastle City Hall, NSW, 3 August

Canberra Llewellyn hall, ACT, 5 August

Arts Centre Melbourne, VIC, 6 and 7 August

Adelaide Town Hall, SA, 8 August

Perth Concert Hall, WA, 9 August

City Recital Hall, NSW, 12 August

Queensland Performing Arts Centre, QLD, 13 August

City Recital Hall, NSW, 15 and 16 August

Sydney Opera House, NSW, 17 August

To purchase tickets, call 1800 444 444 or visit www.aco.com.au

Photo credit: Renan Ozturk