The Winners

Breaking Rachmaninoff(en)

A humorous documentary about the search for a great composer who managed to overcome his depression by spelling his own name wrong.

ULTRA III: Peter Kurten, Sadist & Mass Slayer(en)

A video magazine put out by the Come Organization label. An in-depth documentary of the life & works of Peter Kurten, the monster of Dusseldorf, including previously unpublished pictures and information. With music by WHITEHOUSE, J.S.BACH & BEETHOVEN

Great Russian Composers(en)

These biographical drama documentaries explore the lives and careers of Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Scriabin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninov and Chaliapin.

A Modern Man(en)

You could be forgiven for mistaking Charlie Siem for James Bond. Whether he's driving an orange Porsche to his cliff-top Monaco mansion, ordering martinis or looking suave in a designer suit, he is a man on a mission. It isn't to hunt down SPECTRE, but to find perfection in everything he does. Whether it's performing on stage, recording albums, or selecting a suit, Charlie demands the best, of himself and others. Despite an entourage dubbed ‘Charlie's Angels', he's lonesome, and complains that people can't relate to him. Danish filmmaker Eva Mulvad, with patience and panache, delves into this life of privilege to find commonalities of ambition and desire.

DORA - Escape into Music(de)

The pianist Kyra Steckeweh and the filmmaker Tim van Beveren search for traces where Countess Dora Pejačević (1885-1923) lived and worked. Their documentary is a journey through time to a half brilliant, half broken Europe.

Conductivity(fi)

Conductivity is a film about creative leadership told through the story of three young conductors at the prestigious Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland; I-Han Fu (Taiwan), Emilia Hoving (Finland) and James Kahane (France). When stepping on the podium, they are put under a magnifying glass. Conductor training, in essence, is leadership training. The film gives a unique viewpoint to follow the students, as this is the first film about conductor training at the Sibelius Academy.

Kamenný orchestr(cs)

The Passions of Vaughan Williams(en)

Fifty years after his death, this musical and psychological portrait of Ralph Vaughan Williams explores the passions that drove a giant of 20th-century English music.

Lindsey Stirling: Brave Enough(en)

Beginning on the eve of her thirtieth birthday, “Brave Enough,” documents violinist Lindsey Stirling over the past year as she comes to terms with the most challenging & traumatic events of her life. Through her art, she seeks to share a message of hope and courage and yet she must ask herself the question, “Am I Brave Enough?” Capturing her personal obstacles and breakthrough moments during the “Brave Enough,” tour, the film presents an intimate look at this one-of- a-kind artist and her spectacular live performances inspired by real-life heartbreak, joy, and love.

Leonard Bernstein: The Gift of Music(en)

Leonard Bernstein narrated by legendary screen star Lauren Bacall. The movie also relies extensively on Bernstein's own words to provide the counterpoint to the abundant visual material. Highlights include excerpts of Bernstein conducting masterworks by Beethoven and Mahler, as well as of the maestro with the New York Philharmonic in Moscow in 1959 before an audience which included composer Dmitri Shostakovich and the dissident poet Boris Pasternak. It also contains never-before-seen footage, such as outtakes from televised concerts and interviews. Among these special treats: the dashing 28-year-old maestro representing the U.S. at the 1947 Prague Spring Festival – possibly the earliest extant film of Leonard Bernstein.

Afghan Star(en)

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.

Kalush Orchestra, or How We Stopped Worrying and Won Eurovision During the War(uk)

A documentary story about the participation and victory at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 by the Ukrainian band Kalush Orkestra.

Tanglewood: So you want to be a conductor(en)

In 1985, cameras take a look inside the Berkshire Music Center, the most prominent pre-professional classical music academy in the US. Seiji Ozawa, Leonard Slatkin and others work with the next generation younger conducting talent.

Maurizio Pollini: De main de maître(it)

A unique film portrait of the famous Italian pianist. Maurizio Pollini felt himself that the time had come to submit to the probing of the camera, an exercise made all the more necessary because of his usual avoidance of the public eye.

Leonard Bernstein: A Genius Divided(de)

One of the first US born conductors to receive worldwide fame, Leonard Bernstein is an exceptional composer and certainly not only due to The West Side Story. Instead of concentrating exclusively on his most famous work, Thomas von Steinaecker sets out to paint a complete picture of Bernstein. Thus, the documentary focusses on the American’s less known later works and on three compositions in particular: his Mass, the musical 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and the great final opera A Quiet Place. The film paints a vivid picture of the multitalented Bernstein, struggling with his role as composer and conductor, tackling the tension between successes and flops, between the politics of his time and his own liberal humanitarian claim. It looks back on Bernstein’s major achievements, such as his acclaimed conducting of Mahler and his involvement in the Young People’s Concerts, and it shows Bernstein’s work with young aspiring musicians as well as his political commitment.

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra: The First 50 Years(en)

Go behind the scenes with one of London's most important musical institutions.

Everybody's Cage(en)

In “Everybody’s Cage”, German film artist Sandra Trostel turns John Cage and his approach to art into a tangible fascination, without giving in to explain just a single bit of it.

O, Fortuna! A portrait of the composer of Carmina Burana, Carl Orff(fr)

The Fire and the Rose(en)

A documentary on the life and work of the composer Sofia Gubaidulina.

Shut Up and Play the Piano(en)

The documentary follows Chilly Gonzales from his native Canada to late '90s underground Berlin, and via Paris to the world's great philharmonic halls. Diving deep into the dichotomy of Gonzales' stage persona, where self-doubt and megalomania are just two sides of the same coin.