Friends of the National Library/Reel McCoy Film Screening
PIANOMANIA
(Austria/Germany 2009) 93 min. DVD
Directors: Robert Cibis, Lilian Franck
Cast: Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Stephan Knupfer, Lang Lang
Austrian documentary about a piano tuner who works for famous pianists like Lang Lang and Pierre-Laurent Aimard. The first step to making a good documentary is picking an interesting subject, and the filmmakers have succeeded here.
Ostensibly about the intricate craft and skill involved in the maintenance of high quality pianos , it also has a broader theme of examining the obsessiveness (or "mania") that drives the enthusiastic and contagious energy of the expert (or "geek"). This was a nominee for Best Documentary at the 2009 European Film Awards.
DVD courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia
Entry is free, but you must be a member of the Friends of the National Library or the Reel McCoy Film Society. Membership cards must be shown at the door. Bookings not required.
