The First Waltz

The First Waltz is a documentary about an alternative high school in Toronto as they start a music program by putting on a big rock & roll show.

  • Sean Collins
    Director
  • Sean Collins
    Writer
  • Wayne McKelvey
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Music
  • Runtime:
    50 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    May 25, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    100 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes
Director Biography - Sean Collins

A career teacher, humanist and film enthusiast, Sean has built his own study of film making around his students learning. All of his film work has been part of collaborative projects with students as they work together to create. This is Sean's first documentary film.

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Director Statement

At the beginning of a new school year, Metro Prep’s music club decided to get in over their heads. 12 weeks. Just 12 weeks to take a bunch of kids who had never met, with varying levels of musical talent (he said generously), and put on a big rock show downtown. The teachers had built the rehearsal space, the kids had the desire to learn and perform, and the venue was booked – 750 seats to fill at Trinity-St. Paul’s United Church on Bloor Street in Toronto.

Taking inspiration from The Band’s performance and film “The Last Waltz,” they decided on the name The First Waltz – it was their first concert after all, and a hopeful nudge towards a long future of music being made at Metro.

In the end, it turned out to be about a lot more than just a concert. It’s about a school, the teachers and the kids, and the invaluable gift that music can add to all of our lives.

The film follows the kids as they learn their instruments and their parts to play and the date of the final performance gets suspensefully closer and closer. Mixed in with scenes of rehearsals and gradually more tuneful performances are interviews with the student musicians. It is here that we get to meet the unique characters in the film, their diversity fading into the background replaced by a shared love of music.

Set to a great soundtrack of classic cover songs played by the band as well as the music of local Toronto bands Broken Social Scene, Do Make Say Think and Born Ruffians, the film has the energy of a catchy pop song you want to sing along with.

Aiming for a cinema verite style, the film explores the themes of the power that music has to bring people together, and how respectful, collaborative education empowers students and gives teachers deeper satisfaction.

Plug in your cables and turn up the amps, The First Waltz is the real high school rock and roll experience.