Chamber Music

Chamber Music is a 30-minute documentary set within a residential program at the Center for Recovery and Wellness on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Through music education, performance, and filmed conversations, participants reflect on addiction, the role of music in their lives, and the mutual support that sustains recovery.

The documentary emerged from an ongoing creative arts program serving individuals living with substance use disorder. Integrating music education and film practice into the life of the community, the program creates opportunities for reflection, discipline, self-expression, and connection. Developed over several years, the film documents the role of artistic engagement within a recovery community.

Directed and edited by Mariano Wainsztein, a filmmaker, musician, and educator who has taught film and music at the Center for nearly a decade, Chamber Music reflects a long-term commitment to community-based arts practice. The film grows out of sustained relationships formed through teaching, collaboration, and shared creative work. Among its participants is Ev Rock, whose insight, candor, and gift for storytelling make him a central presence in the film.

Rooted in documentary practice and community arts, Chamber Music presents recovery not only as an individual process but also as a social and cultural experience.