March 11, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Erin Burt, Communications/Publications Associate: eburt@cliburn.org
THE VAN CLIBURN FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES THE WORLD PREMIERE
OF THE DOCUMENTARY A SURPRISE IN TEXAS: THE THIRTEENTH VAN CLIBURN
INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION AT THE DALLAS INTERNATIONAL FILM
FESTIVAL
THE DOCUMENTARY, PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY AWARD-WINNING FILM
MAKER PETER ROSEN, WILL PREMIERE AT THE DALLAS INTERNATIONAL FILM
FESTIVAL APRIL 11 WITH A REPEAT SCREENING APRIL 12.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS, March 11, 2010:
Making its world premiere just a few miles from home at the
DALLAS International Film Festival, A SURPRISE
IN TEXAS: THE THIRTEENTH VAN CLIBURN INTERNATIONAL PIANO
COMPETITION brings the viewer backstage during the rigorous
three-week competition schedule in May and June 2009, and offers
insight into the daily lives of the Thirteenth Van Cliburn
International Piano Competition finalists while in Fort Worth.
Hailing from 14 countries, competitors were welcomed with
Texas-sized hospitality by their host families and immersed in a
city best characterized by the Fort Worth Convention and Visitor's
Bureau's advertising slogan, "Cowboys and Culture."
Of the over 200 applicants, 151 were heard in screening
auditions around the world, and 30 were invited to compete in Fort
Worth. Twelve competed in the semi-final round and performed with
the Takács String Quartet. Six finalists performed with the Fort
Worth Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Conlon. When the jury
announced the results, Haochen Zhang of China, 19, the youngest
competitor in the 2009 competition, and blind pianist Nobuyuki
Tsujii of Japan tied for the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Gold
Medal. Yeol Eum Son of South Korea received the Silver Medal.
Finalists were Evgeni Bozhanov of Bulgaria, Mariangela Vacatello of
Italy and Di Wu of China. Unique to the DALLAS International Film
Festival world-premiere screening, director Peter Rosen and Cliburn
medalists as well as other finalists featured in the film will be
on hand for a special reception and to view the world premiere.
Camera crews under the direction of Emmy Award® winning
director/producer Peter Rosen were there to capture their
experience every step of the way. Rare behind-the-scene performance
footage at Bass Performance Hall includes off-stage exchanges
between the musicians and dedicated volunteers. Moments of the
pianists' daily lives were also recorded. Whether it is seeing Yeol
Eum Son release tension by jumping rope, or Haochen Zhang
aggressively playing ping-pong to let go of some of his competitive
energy, viewers become enchanted by the non- concert activities of
the competitors. During the course of the 84-minute film we also
join the winner of the audience online vote, Mariangela Vacatello,
in her host family's kitchen. There she uses her passion and talent
as a chef to entertain her fellow competitor, Evgeni Bozhanov, who
was the recipient of the Stephen DeGroote Memorial Award for the
Best Performance of Chamber Music.
Perhaps the most compelling human journey captured in the
documentary is the story of 20-year-old Nobuyuki Tsujii. Blind
since birth, Mr. Tsujii feels that "there are no barriers in the
field of music," and his award-winning performances affirm his
philosophy. He also won the Beverley Taylor Smith Award for the
Best Performance of a New Work for his performance of John Musto's
composition Improvisation & Fugue. His tie for First Place
stirred the emotions of the audience and jury alike, and has
launched the frenzy that Time Magazine has coined "Nobu Fever" in
Japan.
With the performances of Chopin, Liszt, Beethoven, and
Rachmaninoff and other piano masterpieces setting the impassioned
tone, this film is an inspiration to all people who overcome
disabilities, hurdles, or obstacles in life.
For screening times and venues, see the film festival
Web site at www.dallasfilm.org.
A national broadcast of A SURPRISE IN TEXAS: THE THIRTEENTH
VAN CLIBURN INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION is slated for fall
2010 on PBS. For more information, please visit www.cliburn.org.
The DALLAS Film Society partnered in 2006 to create the AFI
DALLAS International Film Festival. The DALLAS International Film
Festival is one of the fastest growing film festivals in the world.
Named by Movie Maker Magazine as one of the "25 Festivals Worth the
Entry Fee," the Festival has gained the reputation as the
Filmmaker's Festival for its stellar hospitality and dedication to
the art.
In the past three years the Festival programming has included
over 650 feature and short films from all over the world in various
programming strands. A few of the feature films previously
showcased at the Festival include: THE HURT LOCKER, BIG FAN, ROCK
PROPHECIES, ZOMBIE GIRL: THE MOVIE, RUDO Y CURSI, VALENTINO: THE
LAST EMPEROR, BATTLE IN SEATTLE, WHAT JUST HAPPENED?, MONGOL,
CRAWFORD, THE VISITOR, AMAL, MORE SHOES, THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS,
CAPTAIN ABU RAED, GOLIATH, EXILED, THE KING OF KONG, INLAND EMPIRE,
HOT FUZZ, KURT COBAIN ABOUT A SON and THE FAVOR.
The Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Documentary is made possible by ExxonMobil. Additional funding by
the City of Fort Worth, XTO Energy Inc., The Burnett Foundation,and
Alcon, and by the Texas Commission on the Arts.
ExxonMobil is the Principal Corporate Sponsor of the Van Cliburn
Foundation. American Airlines; Crystelle Waggoner Charitable Trust,
U.S. Trust; City of Fort Worth; J.P.Morgan; Star-Telegram; Steinway
& Sons; and XTO Energy Inc. are Official Corporate Sponsors.
Official Sponsors are the Amon G. Carter Foundation, Arts Council
of Fort Worth and Tarrant County, Beaumont Foundation of America,
the Burnett Foundation, the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, and the
T. Boone Pickens Foundation. Star-Telegram is the principal media
partner and WRR 101.1 FM is the official radio station of Cliburn
Concerts.
For more information, please contact: Erin Burt,
Communications/Publications Associate: eburt@cliburn.org
