„Pianoforte” at Deadline Contenders Film Documentary – watch the exclusive interview
Jakub Piątek, the director of “Pianoforte” – a splendid documentary feature about the Chopin Competition, was a guest of Deadline Contenders panel, focused on documentary films. The director talked about the need to look behind the curtain of the famous music competition and conveying his story through “high tensions and emotions” rising in all participants. The movie, co-financed by Polish Film Institute, had its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival 2023. Watch the exclusive interview.
Jakub Piątek introduced „Pianoforte” to the participants of Deadline Contenders Film Documentary panel, by saying that:
“We chose our protagonists during this preliminary round [of the contest], which is like 160 of them, trying to get one of the 90 ‘tickets’ to the main competition. And then we went to visit them in their homes and meet families and start shooting with them. And that created, first of all, this special bond with us. And on the other hand, it guaranteed us this kind of an access to the backstage”.
The director revealed that the driving force of his documentary was his own need for information.
“I was always thinking, ‘What happened before [the participants get on stage]? What kind of effort is behind that?”.
Those questions get a very moving and emotional answer, when the director tells us the story of several contestants and their struggle to achieve greatness. The critics dubbed the film “real-life “Whiplash” and some even compared the ruthlessness and rigor of the competition to something similar to the world of “Game of Thrones” with its power-plays and grabs for power.
„Pianoforte” at Deadline Contenders Film Documentary – where to watch the exclusive interview?
A conversation with Jakub Piątek about his latest film can be found on the official website od Deadline Contenders – here.
“Pianoforte” – what is it about?
“Pianoforte” is a gripping story about the coming-of-age participants of the legendary Chopin Competition. Eighty-seven remarkable musicians advanced to the first stage of the last edition in 2021, and after over a dozen days, only the best twelve were qualified for the finale. The main characters are young people from all over the world. They have one thing in common – since childhood, they have devoted themselves completely to playing the piano.
Their struggles are a real emotional roller coaster. They have to learn to resist the huge pressure connected with competition. For the first time in history, the film crew managed to peek to such an extent behind the scenes of the National Philharmonic in Warsaw to show the atmosphere of the pressure of the competition there. Jakub Piątek also accompanies the characters in their daily lives, presenting the multidimensional picture of talented people with extraordinary personalities.
POLAND, GERMANY 2023
Screenplay and director: Jakub Piątek
Cinematography: Filip Drożdż
Editing: Ula Klimek-Piątek
Producers: Maciej Kubicki (Telemark), co:producers: Artur Szklener, Joanna Chorzępa (Fryderyk Chopin Institute), Anna Spisz (Mazovia Warsaw Film Commission), Mateusz Wajda and Paweł Ziemilski (MX35), Hanka Kastelicova (HBO), BBC Storyville (Lucie Kon), Hans Robert Eisenhauer (Ventana Film), Arte and ZDF.