Amre

Based on a true story, Paris Song tells the story of small-town singer Amre Kashaubayev’s journey from Kazakhstan to Paris to compete in an international singing competition at the 1925 Paris Expo. Unknown to most of the world, this shy performer with a remarkable talent steals the show every time he sets foot on the stage. Amre forms a beautiful and unlikely friendship with American songwriter George Gershwin and, surprisingly, is embraced by the high-culture Paris elite, who receive him with rapturous applause. In a strong directorial debut, Jeff Vespa’s story of this Kazakhstani folk hero, played magnificently by Sanjar Madi, illuminates what it means to be an outsider and to struggle against a repressive regime, and is proof that determination and talent can overcome adversity. (Woodstock Film Festival)