Pipe Dreams follows five young organists as they compete in the prestigious Canadian International Organ Competition. Who will master the ‘King of Instruments’ to take home the top prize?

Interview with Director/Producer Stacey Tenenbaum

Watch Pipe Dreams on DocPlay and Prime Video

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

I made the film to introduce people who know nothing about the organ to this amazing instrument and to show how hard these musicians work.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

It's a competition film so it is very suspenseful - which makes it fun to watch. The characters are young and cool and they are all really likable and different from each other. You will get to know them and be rooting for your favorites through the film. The music is great and it was filmed around the world in really sumptuous and beautiful locations. Finally, the film has some fun and unexpected scenes featuring: dogs, beer, machine guns, mini-putt and chickens. It's a rollicking good time that will have you at the edge of your seat!

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

I'm a really passionate filmmaker and I like to make documentaries about people who are passionate about what they do and are dedicated to their craft. That is certainly true about the organists in Pipe Dreams! They are incredibly dedicated to their music and, like me, they want to move people with their art. It is interesting to see how their personalities shine through in their playing and how they can connect with an audience through their music. Music is a universal language that can be shared with people of all ages and nationalities and I hope to do that with this film.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

For starters, I filmed with more characters than the five who ended up in the film. It was sad to cut some of them out, but I just couldn't fit everybody in. Since it is a competition documentary, with three elimination rounds, it was not possible to predict how things would develop as I was filming. Because of that, it was impossible to script in advance. So basically the competition part of the story took shape throughout the editing. I knew in advance that I wanted to show a lot of the work that goes into competing in an organ competition of this importance. For that reason, I filmed with the characters at various times during their six month preparation period and I structured the film so you can see how they are progressing over time before they get to Montreal to compete.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

Everybody I have shown the film to has been surprised at how suspenseful and fun it is. Even people who don't think they like the organ come out loving the film. It's always interesting to hear who people are rooting for. All of the characters are amazing, and so incredibly talented and likeable, so different people end up having different favorites - which I think is cool. I worked really hard to make people fall in love with each of the characters, and from the feedback, I received so far, I guess that worked!

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

I did get feedback about a scene in the film featuring one of the organists shooting targets at a gun range. The scene makes people quite uncomfortable since he is using high powered, semi-automatic weapons which are associated with mass killings. Even though it makes people feel uncomfortable, I think it is an important scene to include in the film. I am anti-gun myself, but I think filming that scene did change my point of view about guns. The character I filmed wanted to include his target practice in the documentary as it is part of his culture as a Texan and it is what he does to blow off steam. It is a sport for him and not anything dangerous or violent. I still think it's scary to see people walking around with guns like that, and I don't think they should be legal, but if used at a gun range for sport, as it is presented in the film, I think it is OK-ish. My mind is not entirely changed - I still don't see the need for such weapons to be available, even for sport, since the danger is too great that they will be used for other purposes. I have to admit that I shot my first gun during the filming and I must say it is quite an adrenaline rush!

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

I want people to find out a bit more about the film so they don't just see the subject matter and decide that they don't like organs and wouldn't want to see a film about an organ competition. I think if they give the film a chance they will have fun and will be surprised at how much they enjoy it. I also want to get the word out that the organ is cool!

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

I already have a sales agent for the film so I am most interested in reaching journalists, festival directors and potential audiences. I would love young people to come and see the film. I think they will be totally blown away the first time they see an organ being played. I certainly was when I saw it for the first time. It is mind-boggling - they play one keyboard with their feet and 5 others with their hands and then there are tons of buttons they can pull out to make an infinite combination of sounds. It's just so crazy and amazing to watch!

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

I want to get the word out that the organ is cool and that organ music is amazing. People associate the organ with old people and church music but it is so much more than that. The kids in the film are between 19-30 and they play some really cool stuff on the organ from classical music, to jazz, to modern compositions that are really freaky. I also show some of the insides of the organ in the film because it is such an intensely cool and complicated machine. They say it is the most complicated mechanical instrument invented before the Industrial Revolution. I love organs - they're awesome and I hope everybody who sees the film will feel the same.

Behind the scenes of Pipe Dreams (Lynne Trepanier on Sound and Pierre-Etienne Bordeleau on camera at Eastman School of music with Prof. David Higgs and Thomas Gaynor).

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

How do you feel about organ music?

Would you like to add anything else?

There will be a live organ concert on May 3rd after my final screening of the film at Hot Docs. Four of the organists from the film will be playing in a friendly re-match. If you come to a screening of the film you can get 10% off the concert tickets.

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

I am working on a film called Scrap. It's an environmental art documentary about where things like planes, ships and train go to die. I'll be exploring some amazing locations and following an international cast of characters who are connected to the objects we have been left behind.

Interview: April 2019

We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela

Pipe Dreams

Pipe Dreams follows five young organists as they compete in the prestigious Canadian International Organ Competition. Who will master the ‘King of Instruments’ to take home the top prize?

Length: 1:18

Director: Stacey Tenenbaum

Producer: Stacey Tenenbaum

Writer: Stacey Tenenbaum

About the writer, director and producer:

STACEY TENENBAUM is a creative producer, director and writer. In 2014 she founded H2L Productions, a boutique documentary film production company specializing in crafting character-driven stories which are shot internationally. H2L Production’s award-winning documentary feature Shiners was sold to TV5 Quebec-Canada, Documentary Channel Canada, and Independent Lens / PBS. Stacey also produced The Beat (OLN), a documentary series she co-created. In 2012 Stacey was nominated for an International Emmy for In Real Life III. Pipe Dreams is her second feature documentary.

Key cast: Alcee Chriss III, Thomas Gaynor, Nick Capozzoli, Yuan Shen, Sebastian Heindl

Looking for: film festival directors, journalists, buyers

Facebook: Pipe Dreams

Twitter: @PipeDreamsDoc

Instagram: @h2lprod

Hashtags used: #PipeDreams #OrganMusic #PipeOrgan

Website: pipedreamsdoc.ca

Other: IMDb

Made in association with: Documentary Channel

Funders: Telefilm Canada, Documentary Channel , Rogers Group of Funds, Canada Media Fund, Hot Docs Ted Rogers Fund

Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Theatrical release in Canada coming this Summer, More film festival TBC, Documentary Channel broadcast Oct 6th