“If music be the food of love, play on,” wrote William Shakespeare over 400 years ago, reminding us of the way that music can inspire and speak to our emotions and connections in a deeper and more profound way than simple words. It’s no wonder, then, that the cinema has embraced the power of music to capture and enhance the screen’s powerful connection to the human spirit. No one knows that better than filmmaker John Carney, whose 2006 film ONCE went from being the find of the Sundance Film Festival to winning the Independent Spirit Award for Best Foreign Film, earning a Grammy nomination for its soundtrack, and winning the Best Original Song Academy Award for the romantic ballad “Falling Slowly” (composed and performed by the film’s stars, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova.) The stage play based on the film then went on to win the Tony Award for Best Musical. 
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