By Dennis Tavernetti
“Mozart’s Sister” from The World Series presented by Emerging Pictures in HD at USCB Center for the Arts on Friday, March 9, at 7 p.m.
Synopsis: A speculative account of Maria Anna Mozart, who is five years older than Wolfgang and a musical prodigy in her own right. Originally the featured performer, she has given way to Wolfgang as the main attraction, as their strict and controlling father, Leopold, tours his talented offspring in front of the royal courts of pre-French revolution Europe. Approaching marriageable age and now forbidden to play the violin or compose by her father and society’s norms, she chafes at the limitations imposed on her gender.
Ratings &amp; Reviews: The two leading film websites grant this film an IMDb rating of 6.1 and Rotten Tomatoes critics rating of 73 and audience of 55. Average, but OK marks. Detroit News: “This is a sad story in rich surroundings that makes you wonder how many women of genius were left behind; Roger Ebert: “... uncommonly knowledgeable portrait of the way musical gifts could lift people of ordinary backgrounds into high circles”; and the St. Louis Dispatch calls it an “utterly beautiful film.”
Previewer’s Comment: This World film in French with English subtitles is a fictional account of the result of society’s norms dictating and limiting the future of what was likely to have been a very talented woman, just because of her gender. Its filming and costumes are lush, as is the music and staging. One of the very few films to be allowed to be shot inside the elegant palace of Versailles, and worth seeing for that alone.
Rated: Unrated, but can be considered likely to be PG-13.
Preshow Interview: Join our host and his guest, Dr. Julie Murphy, at 6:40 p.m. for a short 15 minutes of discussion regarding the impact of parental and society’s attempts to control the actions and contributions of adolescents based on gender and bias.  Feel free to take your seat during the interview.
Tickets for adults are $8, seniors $7, students $6. Call USCB Center for the Arts box office @ 843-521-4145 or purchase day of performance. Box office opens one hour prior to show time.

<em>Dennis Tavernetti is a resident of St. Helena Island who retired to the Lowcountry having a lifelong interest in the arts. He encouraged USCB‘s Center for the Arts to investigate the possibility of bringing Indie, World and Documentary HD films to Beaufort.</em>