Director:Alex Rotaru

 

THEY CAME TO PLAY is a documentary about the International Amateur Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs, hosted by the Van Cliburn Foundation. With humor and drama, it portrays several multi-talented amateur pianists as they strive to balance their work, home and musical lives. Many of them have overcome extraordinary challenges -- like drug addiction, AIDS, heartbreak, or political asylum -- and they all share an overwhelming need to express themselves, musically and otherwise. Their intense preparation comes to a climax during the week-long competition, when they perform in front of a professional jury and discerning audience, in three highly competitive elimination rounds.