The Bowmakers
“The story of the most important instrument you’ve never heard of.”
8.0
2019
1h 46m
Documentary
This documentary film explores the world of the bow and the extraordinary masters who make them. The bow is the Cinderella of the orchestra—the overworked and overshadowed ally to its more glamorous partners. Few people, even among lovers of classical music, think of the bow as an instrument in its own right, but players of stringed instruments see them differently. To musicians, the bow is as essential to expressing the soul of the music as the violin or cello. The film follows the journey of the “silent servant” of the music world—from the workshops of the virtuosos of the trade, to the birthplace of the bow in France, and to Brazil, home to the imperiled tree from which the world’s finest bows are made.
Key Crew
Director
Ward Serrill
Producers
Rocky Friedman
Writers
Ward Serrill
Cast (21)
Charles Espey
Self, bow-maker
