What is success?

Find Your Way

Sometimes the first step towards it, is defining it for yourself.

" Excellent documentary on trying to 'make it' as a street performer. "

★★★★★
L. Lawson, Amazon Customer

Trailer features "Just When" by Whitney Mongé

Where to Watch

Stream or rent Find Your Way on your favorite platform

The Artists

Five street performers. Three years. One question: what does it mean to make it?

Whitney Mongé

Whitney Mongé

Americana Soul singer-songwriter who built her career as a prolific street performer before gracing stages alongside Ziggy Marley, KT Tunstall, and the Seattle Symphony.

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Gregory Paul

Gregory Paul

A musician and artist for over 35 years working in various genres, Gregory Paul is a staple of the Seattle music scene and Pike Place Market busking community.

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Sadie Ava

Sadie Ava

Singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist blurring the lines between rock, pop, and R&B. Frontwoman of Sundries, performing alongside acts like Thunderpussy and Deerhunter.

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Emery Carl

Emery Carl

A seasoned street performer and live wire with an organic multi-media show. One of the founding members of the Pike Market Buskers Guild, pumping out real, raw, improvised acoustic rock.

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Ronn Benway

Ronn Benway

Singer-songwriter whose journey has taken him from Seattle to Vegas, Venice, and beyond. Toured the country extensively, creating folk-infused indie rock with Morgan's Orange.

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Joshua Bell

Joshua Bell

Grammy-Winning Violinist

One of the most celebrated violinists of his era, having recorded over 40 albums, won multiple Grammy Awards, and performed with virtually every major orchestra worldwide.

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Chris Ballew

Chris Ballew

The Presidents of the USA

Frontman and founding member of The Presidents of the United States of America, known for global hits like "Peaches" and "Lump." Also creates children's music as Caspar Babypants.

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Gene Weingarten

Gene Weingarten

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author

Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist at The Washington Post and author of multiple books. His 2007 feature "Pearls Before Breakfast" inspired the busking experiment central to this film.

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About the Film

Musician in home recording studio

Filmed over three years in the heart of Seattle's Pike Place Market, this documentary follows five street performers as they navigate art, ambition, and the meaning of making it.

Featuring Grammy-winning violinist Joshua Bell, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Gene Weingarten, 90's rocker Chris Ballew (The Presidents of the United States of America), and some of Seattle's finest busking talent — this film will challenge the way you think about creativity in our culture.

⭐ 7.3 IMDb 95 min 2014 Award Winner

The Joshua Bell Subway Experiment

The story behind "Pearls Before Breakfast" — Gene Weingarten's Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post article

On January 12, 2007, at 7:51 AM, one of the world's greatest violinists stood against a wall in the L'Enfant Plaza Metro station in Washington, D.C., playing Bach on a 1713 Stradivarius worth $3.5 million.

Dressed in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and a Nationals baseball cap, Joshua Bell performed for 43 minutes during rush hour. Three days earlier, he had sold out Boston's Symphony Hall at $100 a seat. Here, he was just another street musician competing for the attention of commuters.

Of the 1,097 people who passed by, only seven stopped to listen for more than a minute. Twenty-seven dropped money in the case — a total of $32.17. Only one person recognized him.

Washington Post journalist Gene Weingarten orchestrated the experiment and wrote the feature "Pearls Before Breakfast," which won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing. The piece posed a simple question: "In a banal setting at an inconvenient time, would beauty transcend?"

The answer — a resounding no — sparked a global conversation about context, perception, and how our surroundings shape our appreciation of art.

Find Your Way is the only documentary to explore this landmark experiment from the inside. Through interviews with Joshua Bell, Gene Weingarten, and the street performers who live this reality every day, the film examines the profound question at the heart of the experiment: why do we value beauty differently depending on where we find it?

"

If a great musician plays great music in a Metro station, do we stop and appreciate it — or do we walk on by?

— Gene Weingarten, The Washington Post

What People Are Saying

NYC premiere audience
Spokane premiere audience
Film screening
Whitney Mongé and Brian Nunes at premiere
★★★★★

"Like a great street busker, Find Your Way gave me a smile and a fresh perspective. I found myself reflecting on what inspires me."

— Rotten Tomatoes

★★★★★

"Compelling, thoughtful film about how we define success — a heartfelt journey into the world of street musicians."

— Audience Review

★★★★★

"This beautifully shot film did a fantastic job of telling these musicians' stories. The editing was especially well done."

— Audience Review

Awards & Festivals

WorldFest Houston REMI award laurels