CIFF presents "What Would Beethoven Do?": director Jonathan Keijser

World Premiere of "What Would Beethoven Do?" at the Cleveland International Film Festival

Classical music doesn’t exactly have a reputation for being hip. For too long it’s been seen as a stuffy genre for intellectuals. WHAT WOULD BEETHOVEN DO? follows a number of renegades, from composers flirting with modern mediums, to young musicians dedicated to changing the narrative, to a man who’s bringing turntablists and orchestras together. These innovative individuals are breaking the stereotypes, hoping to take classical music to a whole new audience. They’re also changing the face of the genre; the perception of classical music being performed only by old white men is no longer true. Spotlighting female composers and musicians from a wide variety of ethnic and racial backgrounds, this documentary captures the rise of an exciting revolution happening from within. With insight from such notable artists as Bobby McFerrin, Benjamin Zander, and Eric Whitacre, the film makes a passionate and convincing case for the importance of classical music in a new age. It will certainly appeal to fans of the genre. But more importantly, it’s bound to attract some new ones.

Friday, April 8 at 6:20 p.m.
Saturday, April 9 at 3:45 p.m.
Sunday, April 10 at 9:20 a.m.   

Tower City Cinemas

Director:  Jonathan Keijser

Producers:  Jonathan Keijser, Veronica An, Sabrina Skau, Daniel Beresh

Cinematography: Arjun Kamath, Jonathan Keijser, Sabrina Skau

Editing:  Jeffery Glaser, Jonathan Keijser

Featuring: Benjamin Zander, Eric Whitacre, Britlin Losee, Dinuk Wijeratne

Director Bio
Jonathan Keijser is a musician and filmmaker from Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada. He studied classical double bass at McGill University's Schulich School of Music and later earned an M.F.A. from the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts. He is the co-President of Wire Walker Studios, a media company focused on creating high impact socially-conscious content.