In the recent independent film success Shine, David Helfgott nervously plays Rachmaninoff’s third piano concerto before a huge audience. While his fingers fly over the keys, the music suddenly fades out. He continues to play, and we can see the extreme effort this requires. We know that we are witnessing something terrible: the beginning of his breakdown.

A scene from the award-winning film Soulmates took a similar fascination for music and gave it a positive twist. After an argument with his father, Dean Carter, a young soundtrack composer (Zachary Throne), gives up on music-making and goes to work in a retirement home. Despite his efforts, Carter can’t escape his passion. Listening to a ticking clock and dripping faucet, he finds himself composing a piece inspired by the ambient noise in the hospital. The scene, and the movie, works like magic.

Last Saturday, Soulmates snagged the WorldFest Gold Medal for Independent Features, another award to add to its impressive resume. The film has also won Best English Language Film at the Palm Spring Festival and emerged as the Festival Pick at the Sedona Arizona Film Festival.

Despite receiving these accolades, director Duane Clark and producer Cindy Clark, the children of Dick Clark, are having a difficult time finding someone to fund their movie for theatrical release in the United States.

“We have been rejected by every domestic distributor that exists -- every one,” Cindy Clark said. “You name it, we've been there.”

The search for a distributor continues for the brother/sister team. In the meantime, the movie-going public is missing out on an outstanding film.

“Basically, it is now a matter of going around and winning film festivals and getting awards of some sort,” Clark said. “Shine and Sling Blade had to do the same thing. They were rejected by every film distributor around the country.”

Filled with realistic and positive portrayals of love and friendship, the heartfelt Soulmates seems like the perfect choice for widespread release. In the movie, Carter falls for a sweet young nurse (Christine Cavanaugh) who helps him get over a breakup with his fiancee.

Carter also befriends a gruff black musician (Bill Cobbs), who lives in the retirement home because of a crippling operation. As a team, the pair inspire one another and help to pave their roads to recovery. According to Clark, the movie might seem a little “too pat” for some audiences.

“For anyone who thinks the ending is very schmaltzy and all neatly tied up, there is an actual true story behind it,” she said. “Duane and I have a friend who was a concert pianist and composer who has a tumor in his spine. He had it removed, and he was rendered a quadriplegic. Through a lot of physical therapy and hard work, he learned to walk again. It is actually drawn from real life, and I know a lot of people say ‘Ah, that's Hollywood. It never happens like that.’ This is real.”