BT-02. Piano to Zanskar

UK, Feature Documentary, 2018, 86 min

Grand Prize winner at the Banff Mountain Film Festival

The whole endgame is delightfully, disarmingly surreal. Edinburgh International Film Festival

Facing his future in retirement ├â┬ó├óΓÇÜ┬¼├àΓÇ£sitting in deck chairs and eating lemon drizzle cake,├â┬ó├óΓÇÜ┬¼├é┬¥ delightful 65-year-old piano tuner Desmond O’Keeffe decides to attempt the most perilous delivery of his career: transporting a 100-year-old classic upright piano from bustling London to a school in the remote heart of the Indian Himalayas. What could possibly go wrong? Aided by two young apprentices, a team of Sherpas and a motley crew of yaks and ponies, the team’s convictions are tested as they cross sheer mountain passes of breathtaking beauty. If successful, the expedition will be the highest piano delivery in history, but more importantly, it could become the ultimate gesture of music’s universal power: bridging cultures, inspiring strength and bringing joy. Featuring an original musical score by Werner Herzog collaborator Ernst Reijseger (Cave of Forgotten Dreams).

Directed by Michal Sulima

US Premiere