Project Detail

Piano to Zanskar

Synopsis

When his 65th birthday approaches, Desmond Gentle, an eccentric piano tuner from London, decides to undertake the most difficult and perilous piano delivery of his career. The challenge entails travelling 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. If Desmond is successful, this will be the highest piano delivery in history, and the crown achievement of his 40-year long career.
Official Selection Edinburgh International Film Festival 2018 - World premiere

Details

Year
2018
Type of project
Features
Running time
86 mins
Format
2K DSLR
Director
Michal Sulima 1st Feature
Producer
Jarek Kotomski
Executive Producer
Desmond O'Keeffe, M J McMahon
Editor
Michal Sulima, Kevin Palmer, Agathe Barbier
Director of Photography
Michal Sulima
Sound
Simon Batchelar
Composer
Ernst Reijseger, Daniel Sonabend
Principal cast
Desmond O'Keeffe, Anna Ray, Harald Hagegard, Kristina Nadler
Colour grading
Studio RM
Film Image
©Jarek Kotomski / Between Friends

Categories

Production Status

Production Company

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

A young farmer, Lucy Robbins, speaking to camera in a spring field in the Cotswolds Cotswolds: Field and Folk

Director: Tea Smart

Year: 2026

Set in the rolling landscapes of the Cotswolds, a documentary exploring the lives, challenges, and traditions of the farmers who shape this iconic countryside. Through intimate conversations with a new generation and those who have worked the land for decades, the film reveals how farming families are navigating change - from shifting economics and environmental pressures to evolving ideas about land stewardship and community. Rooted in place and guided by the voices of those who live it every day, the documentary offers a rare, personal portrait of modern rural Britain and the people working to sustain both land and livelihood for the future.

Ajamu X, Holding the Frame Ajamu X, Holding the Frame

Director: Joseph a. Adesunloye

Year: 2026

A radical Black Queer photographer and archivist challenges respectability politics through his intimate portraits, reclaiming the right to represent Black desire, pleasure and memory on his own terms.

Every Moon Is Atrocious Every Moon Is Atrocious

Director: Yvonne McDevitt

Year: 2026

Structured as a psychogeographic voyage, the film explores place, memory, and sensation through the inner life of a poet whose sense of self gradually dissolves into cinematic reflection. Departing from conventional documentary forms, EVERY MOON IS ATROCIOUS invites audiences into a layered sensory environment where image, sound, and language operate associatively. At its core lies the poetry of the late Niall McDevitt (1967-2022), whose work forms the conceptual and emotional spine of the film, shaping a trance-like rhythm that mirrors the protagonist’s journey towards death and the unknown. Yvonne McDevitt’s filmmaking resists separating form from feeling. Dreamlike visuals, intense durational shots, and richly layered sound design prioritise emotional resonance over linear narrative. Fragmented imagery and superimpositions draw viewers into a meditative mode, presenting the film as a cinematic drift that charts inner terrains as much as physical ones. Movement through cities and coastlines becomes inseparable from movement through memory, grief, and desire. Official Selection Dublin International Film Festival 2026 - World premiere