Thursday, April 10----The Palm Beach International Film Festival, which opens this evening, has announced that its Closing Night Film on April 17 will be the inspirational comedy “Young@Heart,” directed by Stephen Walker. 

The film captures seven unforgettable weeks in the lives of the members of the Young@Heart Chorus, a group of spirited seniors based in Northampton , Massachusetts , who specialize in reinterpreting rock, punk and R&B classics from a unique perspective with their covers of songs by everyone from The Clash to Coldplay.  Starting out as a lighthearted look at a quirky musical group, the film gains unexpected gravitas when two members of the chorus die within days of each other and the lyrics of the group’s repertoire take on powerful new significance. 

After almost two months of shooting, the Young@Heart Chorus delivers a triumphant performance that celebrates the joy of music and the lives of lost friends.  The end result is an inspirational journey with a singular group of people who may be old in body, but refuse to grow old in spirit! 

The UK film was produced by Walking George Films and Working Title Films, and will be released by Fox Searchlight (the company behind this year's indie hit JUNO) next week. The film won the Audience Award for Best International Feature at the Los Angeles Film Festival.

Sandy Mandelberger, Palm Beach FF Dailies Editor