Tuesday, October 24----The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival will present an inspiring documentary film on contemporary classical music, on Wednesday evening starting at 6:00pm, at the Cinema Paradiso.

PIANISTS - DEFINING CHOPIN is a breathtaking musical documentary that follows the four winners of the 2005 National Chopin Piano Competition, which was held in Miami in March of last year, as they compete in the International Chopin Piano Competition, the oldest and most prestigious in the world.

Mei-Ting Sun In Concert

The film follows the grueling schedule, rehearsals and ultimate competition as the four Americans travel to Warsaw, Poland, to compete with some of the world's greatest young piano virtuosos. The film was produced by The Chopin Foundation of the United States, a national non-profit organization dedicated to the support of talented young American musicians in their struggle for career recognition.

Since its inception in 1977, the Foundation has provided young pianists performance opportunities, exchange programs, special scholarships and awards and a chance to compete in the National Chopin Piano Competition of the U.S., held every five years, since 1975, in Miami. Locally, the Chopin Foundation is best known for its highly popular Chopin Festival, a series of free monthly concerts presented at the Broward County Main Library in Fort Lauderdale and at the Granada Presbyterian Church in Coral Gables.

The director of the film is Tomasz Magierski, who trained as a cinematographer at the prestigious Lodz Film School in his native Poland. Magierski’s began his career with his documentary on the making of the Roman Polanski swashbuckler PIRATES, which was shot on location in in Tunisia. Since then, he has directed dozen of films for European networks, including Channel Four, BBC, Canal+, ZDF, France 2 and Polish Television.

He is best known for the quasi-documentary film THE MAGIC BROTHERS, a contemplation of the Cold War as seen through the eyes of four identical brothers living in Poland. Most of his documentaries focus on issues of social justice. BORDER uncovers the manipulation of the law in order to discriminate against homeless people in Hanover, Germany. FERRY 93 explores the situation of Polish martial-law refugees in Sweden, and the difficulty they experience in integrating into Swedish society. In the film ARKADIUS, the director tells the story of a boy who grew up under Communism in small-town Poland who has a dream of becoming an artist. Magierski, who has numerous other credits to his name, resides in New York City.

ARKADIUS

Of PIANISTS -- DEFINING CHOPIN, Magierski has said that the film "allows the audience makes the journey with these talented young musicians, and allows them to experience the individual highs and lows and the enormous psychological and physical toll they are required to endure. We learn what being a pianist really means.”

The evening event will begin with a wine and cheese courtyard reception. Just prior to the film, Mei-Ting Sun
, who is featured in the film and won the 7th National Chopin Piano Competition in 2005, will give a live performance on a Yamaha concert grand piano. Mei-Ting Sun has performed around the world, with recent concert appearances in Spain, China, Japan and New York’s Alice Tully Hall.

Mei-Ting Sun

The screening of PIANISTS - DEFINING CHOPIN will directly follow Mei-Ting’s performance. A portion of the proceeds from the event will benefit the Chopin Foundation of the United States. Tickets are $25.00 per person.

Sandy Mandelberger
Festivals Editor