Behind the scenes of one of the most ambitious opera projects of the 20th century

In 2025, the theatre and opera world lost one of its greatest innovators: Robert ‘Bob’ Wilson. At La Monnaie, this visionary director presented several memorable productions, including Einstein on the Beach (Glass), Aida (Verdi) and Alceste (Gluck).

In the early 1980s, Wilson set out to create the CIVIL warS, a multinational opera planned for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Arts Festival. This film follows his collaborations with an eclectic mix of artists such as Philip Glass, David Byrne and Gavin Bryars, capturing both the excitement and the strain of constructing the work in separate segments across the globe. As logistical and financial challenges grow, the documentary becomes an intimate portrait of Wilson at a creative crossroads, reflecting on artistic ambition, cultural exchange and the fragility of grand ideas in the face of reality.