World War II was the most destructive bloodletting the world has ever known, leaving 55 million dead, 60 million on the edge of starvation, 35 million in gulags and prisons, 28 million homeless, and 5 million children orphaned.

The war’s end brought sheer euphoria to the leaders and citizens of the winning countries – as we all know from the famous images of VE and VJ Days. But the true face of that victory was more complex than is conveyed by those delirious shots of sailors kissing nurses. The end of the war meant imprisonment and servitude for millions on the losing sides; hunger and privation for many millions more who were caught in the middle. The Face of Victory is a portrait of the variegated surface of that more complex reality.

Eschewing narration,The Face of Victory has instead a rich musical score composed by Alex Pauk and Alexina Louie and performed by The Esprit Orchestra, Canada’s only full-sized orchestra devoted exclusively to new music.