VIVA VERDI! to Open UN Healing Arts Week at Lincoln Center
Directed by Yvonne Russo and produced by Christine La Monte, the film examines life at the historic retirement home founded by Giuseppe Verdi.
VIVA VERDI!, an Oscar-nominated feature documentary, will open the United Nations General Assembly's Healing Arts Week with a special screening at Film at Lincoln Center on September 20th, presented as part of Juilliard's Fall Festival.
Directed by Yvonne Russo and produced by Christine La Monte, the film offers a look at what aging can look like when creativity, purpose and community remain central to daily life. It is set inside Casa Verdi in Milan, the retirement home founded in 1896 by Giuseppe Verdi for aging opera singers and musicians, and follows celebrated artists ages 77 to 103 who are still creating, performing and mentoring music students from around the world living among them.
The film's story is rooted in Casa Verdi itself, which Verdi described as his 'most beautiful work.' Decades after its founding, the institution continues to house a distinctive mix of international opera singers, musicians, conductors, composers, dancers and other artists who have spent their lives in the performing arts. According to the film's website, these 'guests of Verdi' are not simply reflecting on the past; they are actively engaged in music, daily creative life and relationships with younger students who study and live alongside them.
VIVA VERDI! has earned notable recognition, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for 'Sweet Dreams of Joy,' composed by Nicholas Pike and performed by Ana María Martínez. The film premiered at the Woodstock Film Festival in 2024, screened at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in 2025, and has been featured in the awards conversation through coverage by outlets including Deadline and IMDb.
The September 20th screening at Film at Lincoln Center is presented in connection with major arts-and-health and creative-aging conversations, followed by panel discussions and interactive creative-aging experiences with organizations including the Jameel Arts & Health Lab, the World Health Organization, Juilliard Extension, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Film at Lincoln Center, Lifetime Arts, Dance for PD and Sing for Hope. The event brings together the Jameel Arts & Health Lab, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, Juilliard Extension and Lincoln Center for a broader conversation about creative aging and the role of the arts in health, purpose and connection throughout life. Writer/Producer Christine La Monte will be participating in the panel following the Lincoln Center screening on the 20th.
On October 11th, VIVA VERDI! travels to Italy for its International Premiere at Festival Verdi in Parma.
