The Promise of Music: Tuesday Film Screening: The Soloist

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Inspired by the book, The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and The Redemptive Power of Music, this 2009 film tells the true story of Nathaniel Ayers, a Juilliard-trained former musical prodigy whose schizophrenia has landed him on the streets of Los Angeles. The Soloist stars Jamie Foxx as Nathaniel Ayers and Robert Downey Jr. as Steve Lopez, a journalist who befriends Ayers after hearing him play on Skid Row. As Lopez learns more about Ayers and a once promising career derailed by mental illness, he determines to help undo the tragedy of a talent so remarkable relegated to the streets As Lopez embarks on a quixotic quest to help Ayers pull his life together and launch a career in music, he gradually comes to realize that it is not Ayers whose life is being transformed, but his own. Powerfully and poignantly, the Soloist captures the lifeline that music – and friendship – can provide, even in the face of inner pain and turmoil.

“Music remains the only medicine he willingly takes. Absorbed in Beethoven, Bach or Brahms, he is momentarily healed and temporarily freed from his demons. Sometimes, as he’s lifted by a musical swell, his eyes fill. I always wonder if it’s the beauty that tugs at him or if it’s thoughts of what might have been if schizophrenia hadn’t stolen his dream.”
– Steve Lopez

Hear Steve Lopez talk about his friend, Nathaniel Ayers, here.

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The Promise of Music: Tuesday Film Screening: The Soloist

Date/Time
Tuesday, October 7, 2025
10:30 am - 11:50 am

Location
Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema
506 Bloor St W
Toronto, ON
Canada, M5S 1Y3

Price
$10

Phone
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Website
https://promiseofmusic.com/events/

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