A Music Story

Deloris Van Cartier is again asked to don the nun's habit to help a run-down Catholic school, presided over by Mother Superior. And if trying to reach out to a class full of uninterested students wasn't bad enough, the sisters discover that the school is due to be closed by the unscrupulous chief of a local authority.

A documentary about the well-known Latvian youth choir “Kamēr...” and its journey to the Tolosa Choral competition. A debut from a 20 year old singer of the choir, the film offers a deeply personal insight into the most difficult challenge the choir has ever faced. After the head conductor leaving, the choir has just 2 months to get used to a new leader. A test for the new conductor who has to prove his worth at one of the most important competi-tions of the choir’s history. It’s do or die, as nothing less than a victory will be accepted. Following the choir every step of the way, the director puts the audience in a first-row seat at rehearsals, performances, discussions and spectacular moments that can only be seen through the eyes of a singer. An unprecedented view of the personal battles and achieve-ments, that lead up to a real-life story, never captured before.

Fired from his band and hard up for cash, guitarist and vocalist Dewey Finn finagles his way into a job as a fifth-grade substitute teacher at a private school, where he secretly begins teaching his straight-A students the finer points of rock 'n' roll and the power of sticking it to the man. But as the school’s stern principal closes in and the Battle of the Bands looms, Dewey must risk everything to prove that rock 'n' roll can change lives.

In Venice Beach, naive Midwesterner JB bonds with local slacker KG and they form the rock band Tenacious D. Setting out to become the world's greatest band is no easy feat, so they set out to steal what could be the answer to their prayers... a magical guitar pick housed in a rock-and-roll museum some 300 miles away.

When a violin prodigy Xiaochun and his father head to Beijing seeking fame and fortune, they soon discover a fierce world of cutthroat ambition. But when Xiaochun is "adopted" by a famous music tutor, success finally seems within reach - until a shocking discovery begins to unravel his entire world, and the boy must make the most difficult choice of his life. Can he achieve the fame his father had always hoped for without losing the extraordinary passion that sets him apart?

This documentary on the effect the talent competition "Afghan Star" has on the incredibly diverse inhabitants of Afghanistan affords a glimpse into a country rarely seen. Contestants risk their lives to appear on the television show that is a raging success with the public and also monitored closely by the government.

The world’s most talented young pianists compete in the International Chopin Piano Competition, held every five years in Warsaw, Poland. A rare behind the scenes look at the triumphant highs and crushing lows of competition, Pianoforte is both a testament to the remarkable power of music and an intimate coming-of-age portrait.

Stay calm. You’ve spent your whole life practicing and preparing yourself for this moment of truth, and now it has finally arrived. The Cliburn, or more properly, the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, held every four years in Fort Worth, Texas, is about to begin. Pressure? What pressure? Running 17 days, with three grueling rounds, The Cliburn invites 30 of the world’s finest pianists to battle it out for top honors. At stake are prizes worth millions, but more than money, the winner is practically guaranteed a performing career. Did we mention you’re playing not just for the judges, but for a live audience of thousands and a webcast of 170,000 viewers throughout the world? Pressure? What pressure? Just sit back, relax and enjoy the show. No pressure.

In this Tribeca Film Festival selection, filmmaker Bruce Broder trains his camera on a crop of talented young jazz musicians as they play their way through the Essentially Ellington high school jazz band competition. Sponsored by the Jazz at Lincoln Center program, the prestigious contest gives the kids the chance to rub shoulders with legendary trumpeter Wynton Marsalis -- and put their budding improvisational skills to the test.

Tells the story of Justin Bieber, the kid from Canada with the hair, the smile and the voice: It chronicles his unprecedented rise to fame, all the way from busking in the streets of Stratford, Canada to putting videos on YouTube to selling out Madison Square Garden in New York as the headline act during the My World Tour from 2010. It features Usher, Scooter Braun, Ludacris, Sean Kingston, Antonio "L.A." Reid, Boyz II Men, Miley Cyrus, Jaden Smith, Justin's family members and parts of his crew and huge fanbase in a mix of interviews and guest performances.

This documentary delves into the lives, on and off stage, of four young classical musicians who give up the prospect of solo careers to form The Dover Quartet. We are with them from their meeting as students at the Curtis Institute of Music, through their breakthrough win at a prestigious string quartet competition, and when they find themselves touring internationally as their careers take off.

High school student Kasumi Ogino is a member of the school choir and after years of praise for her singing voice thinks she is the absolute bee’s knees. When the object of her desires, classmate and photographer Junichi Makimura, asks Kasumi is he can photograph her singing she accepts, thinking this means she is beautiful as well. However the end result is a comical shot of Kasumi with her mouth wide open, which Makimura likes to a hungry salmon! Distraught by the ensuing humiliation, Kasumi quits the choir, until she is encouraged to return by an unlikely counsel - the brutish leader of thuggish rival all male choir, Hiroshi Gondo.

A street Gang that is also a rap group tries to get a record contract.

Set amongst the unlikely backdrop of cowboy boots, rodeos, and global geopolitics, thirty of the world's most promising musicians travel to Fort Worth, Texas to compete in the renowned Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Vying for gold and their shot at classical piano stardom, the contestants must endure six grueling performances, multiple elimination rounds, and a discerning panel of jurists. Behind the scenes, we uncover the stories of adversity, sacrifice, and heartbreak driving the pianists to perform at the highest level. As fan favorites and early contenders are eliminated, one unassuming genius rises to the top.

After dying in a bus crash and falling to hell, high schooler Daisuke joins a demonic rock band so he can be reincarnated back into the mortal world.

In the years before World War II, a tomboyish postulant at an Austrian abbey is hired as a governess in the home of a widowed naval captain with seven children and brings a new love of life and music into the home.

Set in the early 2000s, "Songs of Zion" is a love letter to all those who dare to dream. It is a reminder to treasure those who believe in your gifts, for they make a powerful difference; and to be kind to ourselves, for we are not our lowest nor worst moments.

Every year thousands compete in the world's greatest singing competition - that you've never heard of. AMERICAN HARMONY journeys deep into the ultra-obsessive, zany, and heartfelt world of competitive barbershop singing, where passion is equaled only by raw talent, and the reward is not fame or fortune, but simply victory. The film focuses on four quartets vying to win the International Championships of Barbershop Singing, in what turns out to be the closest and most controversial victory in its 70 year history. Max Q is the heavy favorite - a superstar quartet comprised of former Champions. Looking to upset them is OC Times (The Heart-Throbs), Vocal Spectrum (The Rookies) and Reveille, an aging foursome who that has been together for 30 years. In total, fifty quartets duke it out for the coveted gold medal, while facing the pressures of quartet life - from big egos to brain cancer and everything in between. - Written by Colin King Miller

War Dancing tells the tale of Slammer, a small-time hood whose life changes when he is allowed to take part in a music video shoot. He begins to feel that a career in music might get him on the right track, but the video's choreographer dismisses Slammer's attempts at dancing. This gives Slammer the righteous anger he needs to improve his skills and show everybody he can besuccessful.

Three legendary synth musicians compete in a cosmic battle for synth dominance, in this recently-unearthed concert from 1986.