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New York Scherzo

NEW YORK SCHERZO is a feature documentary that follows the lives of three diverse classically trained musicians as they try to make it in New York City. Originally from Seoul, Paris and Nashville they are passionate about their art but struggle to make a living, and face a crossroads where they must decide if they can sustain a career doing what they love.

New York Scherzo is a hopeful, yet realistic portrait of three musicians, a provoking story about sustainability in the arts. There are countless documentaries about famous musicians, New York Scherzo is the story of the hustle and what happens before the fame and fortune.

PLOT OUTLINE
Set in the ever changing New York City, the film touches on social issues that transcend music such as the struggles of sustainability living as a artist in New York City, gentrification, diversity, the value of arts in a digital era, and the financial pressure classical musicians face when they try to pursue a career in the arts.

With intimate access, New York Scherzo will follow Tim, Mathieu and Sam's personal and professional journey surviving in the most challenging and exciting city in the world over the course of one full year.

  • Shaan Couture
    Director
    All Eyes on Brazil, Lafayette, Thin Lines
  • Shaan Couture
    Writer
    All Eyes on Brazil, Lafayette, Thin Lines
  • Alix C. Duchene
    Writer
    Call the Cobbs
  • Shaan Couture
    Producer
    All Eyes on Brazil, Lafayette, Thin Lines
  • Mathieu Dunoyer
    Producer
  • Alix C. Duchene
    Editor
    All Eyes on Brazil, Lafayette, Thin Lines
  • Mathieu Dunoyer
    Original Score
    Pages, Call the Cobbs
  • Louis Sansano
    Sound Mixer
    Call The Cobbs
  • Beth Hansen
    GRAPHICS
  • Tim Cho
    Key Cast
  • Mathieu Dunoyer
    Key Cast
  • Sam Quiggins
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 30 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    September 14, 2018
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • 2018 Chelsea Film Festival
    New York
    United States
    October 21, 2018
    World
    AWARD: Special Jury Award
  • 2019 Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival
    Lafayette, LA
    United States
    January 27, 2019
    Louisiana
    AWARD: Special Jury Award
  • 2019 Winter Film Awards International Film Festival
    New York, NY
    United States
    February 15, 2019
    AWARD: Best Documentary. NOMINATIONS: Best Sound Design, the New York Perspective Award
  • 2019 Big Muddy Film Festival
    Carbondale, IL
    United States
    February 18, 2019
    Illinois
    Festival Opening Film
  • 2019 Nice International Film Festival
    Nice
    France
    May 15, 2019
    France
    NOMINATIONS: Best director, Best Feature Documentary, Best Education Award
  • 2019 Harlem International Film Festival
    New York
    United States
    May 17, 2019
    Festival Opening Film
  • 2019 Revolution Me Film Festival
    Brooklyn
    United States
    September 28, 2019
    Nominations: Best documentary / Best director / Best editing / Best soundtrack
  • 2019 Williamsburg International Film & Music Competition
    Williamsburg, BK
    United States
    Runner-up for Best U.S. Documentary
  • 2019 Santiago Independent Film Awards
    Santiago
    Chile
    Nomination: Best documentary
Distribution Information
  • Digital Media Rights
    Country: United States
    Rights: Internet, Video on Demand
Director Biography - Shaan Couture

Shaan Couture is a film director and producer based in New York. Her awarded documentaries and short films often address themes such as music, sports, diversity and the handicap.

Originally from Paris, France, Shaan is a globetrotter. She lived in Montreal, Canada, and Southern California, before moving back to New York. Shaan speaks 5 languages, including ASL that she learned for her awarded short film "Thin Lines" which features Deaf actors.

With an advertising agency background, Shaan co-founded WediaWix in 2011, a film production company that allows her to produce her own projects.Her first feature "All Eyes on Brazil" a documentary about the 2014 FIFA World Cup was broadcast on television in Brazil, China, France and online.

Her passion for music and sustainability of the arts is what inspired her newest long feature doc "New York Scherzo".

Add Director Biography
Director Statement


New York, November 2018

I’m a 29-year-old female director deeply concerned with the sustainability of diversity in the Arts, and this is what inspired my newest long feature doc NEW YORK SCHERZO.

As many of my generation I use Spotify and YouTube to listen to music. In a way, I am embarrassed to do so, especially when my dad has been making a living out off music for the past 40 years. Unfortunately this is the reality of my time. But how will we safeguard diversity if we never pay for what we listen?

As filmmakers, we face a similar challenge.

NEW YORK SCHERZO is a feature documentary that follows the lives of three diverse classically trained musicians as they try to make it in New York City. Originally from Seoul, Paris and Nashville they are passionate about their art but struggle to make a living, and face a crossroads where they must decide if they can sustain a career doing what they love. Tim, Mathieu and Sam, who represent different communities and who became best friends in college, talk about hip hop artists, rock stars and classical composers in the same respect and love. They are hopeful artists yet realistic about the challenge of living such uncertain career.

There are countless documentaries about famous musicians; New York Scherzo is the story of the hustle and what happens before the fame and fortune.

Most of my projects take on the silliness of stereotypes. I’m aware they exist for a reason, and we like to use them to simplify our lives. As long as we keep in mind that they are funny exaggerations, I don’t see a problem with it. Like Paolo, a Harlem born and raised, would say, “saying the truth is funny nowadays”. So let’s be honest, Tim, Mathieu, and Sam, they will break your stereotypes about classical music and their respective communities.

This documentary is meant to build bridges between different people: the musicians and non-musicians, New York residents and outsiders, classical experts and oblivious, young and older, and above all: any frontiers we create between each others.

By discovering the lives of these musicians, it also draws a portrait of young artists living in New York. The city in its own is a character, and it clearly plays a role in their struggles, achievements and dreams.
Refugees of a rapidly changing Harlem neighborhood, these friends bring new beats to the classical genre.

Shaan C.