When people gather for the Friday Night Song Circle in Toronto, magic happens. For many, the song circle is the best part of their week, and they’ve been coming for decades. When its founder falls ill, the life-affirming connections in the circle help sustain her — and we discover the glue that binds them together.
IT HAPPENS WHEN WE SING (47 min.) takes us into the song circle's past and present, interweaving intimate personal stories of isolation and connection, hardship and resilience, loneliness and love.
Susan, co-founder of the Friday Night Song Circle
“The song circle is my most important creation.”
John, longtime song circle member
“It’s home. It’s home. Everybody needs to feel like they belong somewhere.”
Ellen, on first discovering the song circle
“The songs that were being sung in this group made me think that these people could understand my story. They could understand me.”
IT HAPPENS WHEN WE SING is a companion to our earlier film WE BEGAN TO SING and was created by the same team:
Polly Wells, Director
Candida Paltiel & Polly Wells, Producers
Deborah Palloway, Editor