Keswick Film Club - Piano to Zanskar

Synopsis

Spotted by Ann Martin after premiering at the Edinburgh Film Festival, David Miller spent some months tracking down the director to bring this amazing documentary to Keswick.

"When his 65th birthday approaches, Desmond O'Keeffe, an eccentric piano tuner from London, decides to undertake the most difficult and perilous piano delivery of his career. The challenge entails traveling to the heart of the Indian Himalayas with a 100-year old upright piano, carried across high mountain passes using only yaks and ponies. Destination: a primary school in Lingshed, one of the most isolated settlements in the world, situated 14,000 feet above sea level. If Desmond is successful, this will be the highest piano delivery in history, and the crowning achievement of his 40-year long career" - IMDb

"Director Michal Sulima acknowledges that one of his influences was Werner Herzog's movie 'Fitzcarraldo', about a mad obsession to transport a steamship over the Andes... The characters keep us engaged, and Sulima, who doubled as cinematographer, achieves startling and frightening sequences throughout the journey. The stirring conclusion should satisfy all but the most cynical in the audience. O'Keeffe retained an interest in the village long after the first journey, and he returned several times after the first adventure. Thanks to this immersive piece of filmmaking, adventurous audiences may well want to tag along" – Stephen Farber, Hollywood Reporter.