Merchant Ivory
w/ special guests Director Stephen Soucy and Composer Ryan Homsey
MERCHANT IVORY (2024) is the first definitive feature documentary to lend new and compelling perspectives on the partnership, both professional and personal, of director James Ivory, producer Ismail Merchant and their primary associates, writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and composer Richard Robbins. Footage from more than fifty interviews, clips, and archival material gives voice to the family of actors and technicians who helped define Merchant Ivory’s Academy Award-winning work of consummate quality and intelligence. With six Oscar winners among the notable artists participating, these close and often long-term collaborators intimately detail the transformational cinematic creativity and personal and professional drama of the wandering company that left an indelible impact on film culture.
The Saratoga Book Festival is proud to bring you this exclusive opportunity to peek behind the scenes of Hollywood legends through the lens of locals: Producer/Director Stephen Soucy and Composer Ryan Homsey. Partnering with Saratoga Arts, 518 Film Network, and Scene One Cinemas, we invite you to join us on Saturday, September 20th at the Wilton Mall for a screening of the documentary, followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers moderated by Spencer Sherry. Want more face-time with the creatives behind the film? Limited tickets are available for a VIP reception before the screening.
Tickets: Screening - $20 | VIP Reception and Screening - $50
Schedule
5:30pm - VIP Reception
6:30pm - Doors
7:00pm - Screening
8:55pm - Q&A
Stephen Soucy is a film director and theater producer. His documentary film, MERCHANT IVORY, was released in the U.S. by Cohen Media Group, in the U.K. by Curzon Film, and HanWay reps the film for international sales. Merchant Ivory was nominated for LGBTQ Documentary of the Year by GALECA and was eligible for the Best Documentary Feature Film Academy Award. Other film work includes an animated film, RICH ATMOSPHERE: THE MUSIC OF MERCHANT IVORY FILMS, and the shorts, A GIFTED AMATEUR, ART & PROVINCETOWN, and SLANT. On the theater side, Stephen is a lead/managing producer on ROMY & MICHELE THE MUSICAL which opens Off-Broadway at Stage 42 October 2025. Other theater work includes the Tony Award-winning Broadway productions LIFE OF PI and THE BOYS IN THE BAND.
Ryan Homsey is a versatile, award-winning American composer, equally at home writing for instrumental and choral ensembles, theater, dance, and film (Merchant Ivory). His background in classical, electroacoustic, and popular music draws inspiration from his history as a professional ballet dancer. His works have been performed by JACK Quartet, PUBLIQuartet, Access Contemporary Music, Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra, and ensemble mise-en at such venues as the Taipei Cultural Center, the Museum of Natural History, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, HERE Arts, and National Sawdust. Ryan holds a B.M. from SUNY Purchase College’s Conservatory of Music—where he subsequently taught for fifteen years—and a M.M. from New York University. www.ryanhomsey.com
