The Sidewalk Film Festival will screen THEY CAME TO PLAY Sunday, September 27 at 6:45 at the Birmingham Museum of Art.  For more information, visit http://www.sidewalkfest.com/

THEY CAME TO PLAY chronicles the Fifth International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs, hosted by The Van Cliburn Foundation. Players from all over the world, ranging from self-taught to classically-trained, aged thirty-five to almost eighty, convene in Fort Worth, Texas for a week of intense competition, music and camaraderie. The film the film provides an intimate look into the lives of these colorful, multi-faceted competitors as they strive to balance the demands of work and family with their love of music. Years of dedicated preparation culminate in critical performances before a professional jury and discerning audience during three nerve-wracking elimination rounds. All of the film's heroes have made their careers outside of music in fields ranging from medicine to business, and professional tennis to education. For competitors who have faced such extraordinary challenges as drug addiction, AIDS, or political asylum, the competition is also a triumph over adversity. For all, it represents an overwhelming desire to express a deeper side of themselves, musically and otherwise.