Beyond Words

How can we make meaningful contact after language fails us? In Kim Brand’s ‘Beyond Words’ the viewer is taken to a realm where language takes second place to improvised sound. The singers of the Genetic Choir Ensemble visit nursing homes and interact with residents living with dementia. The improvising singers show great sensitivity to the residents, who are at times extremely vulnerable. By listening and improvising with sound, rhythm, touch and melody, the singers seek connection with the elderly. Moments of melancholy and cheerfulness go hand in hand in this short, black and white documentary that shows what singing can do when other forms of communication have been lost.