Lydia Tár is a conductor from the Leonard Bernstein school, ambitious, stubborn and with a colossal ego. However, she lacks something serious, an antenna for trouble in the outside world. After savagely putting down a student who critiques the dominance of white, male classical composers, the incident takes on a life of its own on social media. Privately, things are also amiss, and she is at risk of losing everything she has created for herself.

Tár is a perfect character study from the tiniest technical details through to the impression it provides of the lead’s highbrow musical milieu. In a few months, Blanchett learned to speak German, play piano and direct a symphony orchestra, however it is the complex role of a woman experiencing the limits of her power that led to her winning the Oscar for Best Actress. Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir wrote the score.

Conversation with Hildur Guðnadóttir

Prior to the screening, an introductory conversation with Hildur Guðnadóttir will explore what this film means to her and why she chose to show it.

About Hildur Guðnadóttir

The 79th edition of the Holland Festival’s associate artist is Icelandic composer, musician and vocalist Hildur Guðnadóttir (Reykjavik, 1982). She is one of the leading, multifaceted composers of film scores, experimental pop and contemporary music working today. Her work, which is often intense, poetic, dark and unpolished, is inspired by a variety of sources, from the founders of contemporary music such as György Ligeti and Kaija Saariaho to minimal music, ambient and noise. She has collaborated with artists including Ryuichi Sakamoto, Jóhann Jóhannsson, The Knife and Animal Collective.

The general public knows her work from films such as Joker (2019, also to be screened at Eye), for which she won an Oscar, Tàr (2022) or the HBO drama series Chernobyl (2019). This month, Hedda premiered at the Toronto film festival, the radical adaptation on Henrik Ibsen’s play with music by Guðnadóttir.

KLIK - Shorts 10: Refuse & Resist

Confront perceptions of self and normality in this zeitgeist-inspired programme.

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