THEY CAME TO PLAY / One Hit Wonders! January 20, 2010

Amateur is just a word when applied to the seventy-five passionate artists competing in the Van Cliburn Foundation’s International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs, held every four years in Fort Worth, Texas. Emotions run high as the individual stories of astonishingly diverse contestants (many of whom have overcome extraordinary challenges, like drug addiction, AIDS, heartbreak, or political asylum) unfold in the background while performances of breathtaking virtuosity hold the stage, culminating in a nail-biting climax in which only one contestant will be named the year's Outstanding Amateur!
Lifelong dreams come true, or not, as director Alex Rotaru captures the beauty, the pain, the humor and the hard-won triumph in this exhilarating and inspiring documentary. It’s also a feast for the ears for any music lover--composers represented include Debussy, Beethoven, Schumann, Schubert, Cimarosa, Glinka, Sgambatti, Barber, Alkan, and more.

Official Website: http://www.loftcinema.com