The Piano Tuner
Martin Tucker is a ‘piano doctor’, diagnosing glitches in everything from ancient uprights to baby grands. Australia was once home to the largest number of pianos in the world, but electric keyboards have taken over, and most pianos are destined for landfill. Seeking new clients, Martin heads north with a carload of spare keys, strings and other paraphernalia. Everyone he meets along the way, whether hospitable old-timers, isolated eccentrics or enthusiastic families, has a story to tell about their relationship with the piano. Over eight years, director Natalia Laska filmed her partner Martin, capturing his obsession and dedication, and celebrating Australia’s love for this marvellous instrument and its music.
Special Guests
Natalia Laska has over twenty years of experience in journalism, specialising in social reportage and photography. Among other projects, she curated a Polish-German media project, ‘BAUHAUS MOVEMENT IN ISRAEL’, and a video project based on the archives of the Auschwitz Orchestra Conductor, Simon Laks, in Paris, France. Also, she co-produced and directed THE NEW WORLD MANIFESTO – a video series documenting the lives of political activists and the ‘BURNING MAN FESTIVAL’, Nevada, USA. Natalia’s first documentary in Australia – ‘SWEET RUNNING MACHINES’ – premiered at BOFA Festival 2015 in Launceston. She is based ‘one foot’ in Darwin, NT, Australia, ‘the other foot’ in Hobart, Tasmania, but her heart is somewhere in the Tatra Mountains, Poland.
Tickets
Sydney Film Festival acknowledges Australia’s First Nations People as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land, and pay respect to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, upon whose Country SFF is based.
We honour the storytelling and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.
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