I Am Not a Rock Star follows the coming-of-age story of 20-year-old Marika Bournaki, a girl next door who embarks on a single-minded journey to become a world-class concert pianist, a dream she has had ever since her father first encouraged her to start playing the piano at the age of five. Shot in cinéma vérité style over eight years, I Am Not a Rock Star begins when Marika is 12 years old and commuting every Saturday from Montreal to attend Juilliard’s prestigious Pre-College Program in New York. She moves on her own to New York City at age 14, and starts auditions and performances around the world. The effects of this lifelong sacrifice of her parents to turn Marika into a star begin to reveal themselves, while within the walls of Juilliard she finds a kindred soul and her first love. I Am Not a Rock Star ultimately reveals the gritty realities of making it in the cutthroat classical music world, but also how Marika matures to eventually question her path, appropriating her musical passion to make it her own.
2012
15
Mar