MONK IN PIECES (Usa-Germany-France, 2025, 94′)

Thursday, October 2nd, at 6:30 p.m.; Cinema Romano, Screen 1, Galleria Subalpina, Piazza Castello, 9

Event in partnership with the associations Guitare Actuelle, Rete al femminile, Torino Città per le donne

On Thursday, October 2nd, at 6:30 p.m., in Room 1 of Cinema Romano, Job Film Days, along with the associations Guitare Actuelle, Rete al femminile, Torino Città per le donne , will present the national premiere of the movie Monk In Pieces by director Billy Shebar . The documentary, presented in the Panorama section of the Berlinale, breaks down and reassembles ( pieces alludes both to the English word “pieces” and to the French word pièces, meaning “plays”) the artistic career of Meredith Monk , Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 2025 Music Biennale, American composer and performer, who, as a female artist, had to fight for recognition and resources in the male-dominated art scene of New York in the 1960s and 1970s.

Event followed by a debate with Barbara Damiano (blogger, Rete al femminile), Dora Filippone (President, Guitare Actuelle), Elisabetta Zurigo (lawyer, Rete al femminile), Deniz Kivage (lawyer, Turin City for Women).

Admission method : you can access the event by purchasing tickets both online or at Cinema Romano box office.

International title: Monk in Pieces
Original title: Monk in Pieces
Directors: Billy Shebar, David C. Roberts
Screenplay: Billy Shebar, David C. Roberts, Melissa Hacker
Photography: Jeff Hutchens, Ben Stechschulte
Editing: Sabine Krayenbül
Sound: Meredith Monk
Starring: Meredith Monk, Björk, David Byrne, Ping Chong, Merce Cunningham, Philip Glass
Production: 110th Street Films

The deep cultural influence of the composer, performer and interdisciplinary artist Meredith Monk is often underestimated. Being a woman, she had to fight to have the right opportunities in the Sixties and Seventies New York art scene, one dominated by men. The movie is a mosaic reflecting the structure of her work and shines a light on her furiously original vocabulary made of sounds and images. Born in 1942, for sixty years Monk has directed and starred in every one of her works. Her art influenced many prominent figures, David Byrne, Björk and Philip Glass among them, while directors like Jean-Luc Godard and the Coen brothers have used her songs in their movies. In 2015, Barak Obama awarded Monk with the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor bestowed for achievements in the arts.

David C. Roberts (USA), director, screenwriter and producer, has created with Billy Shebar the miniseries Trump Bites , broadcast on the New York Times website from 2018 to 2020. His articles appeared in the New York Times, The Atlantic, and Wall Street Journal.

Billy Shebar (USA), director, screenwriter and producer, started his career in the Nineties writing episodes for TV series. He created with David C. Roberts the miniseries Trump Bites , broadcast on the New York Times website.

Filmography (selection)
David C. Roberts, Billy Shebar: High Noon on the Waterfront (sf, 2022), Monk in Pieces (doc, 2025).