The Music Lesson

Colour, BETA SP
Poland, 2006, 26 min
Section: Documentary Films in Competition

About the film

The focus of this film is Polish pianist and teacher Tomasz Stroynowski, who is totally immersed in the world of classical music. For him, piano melodies represent the most fundamental and most universal form of communication. The passive camera lens follows the sometimes amusing way in which he tries to pass on his experience to young musicians during their lessons. A winter concert performed in the open air sees Stroynowski and a group of colleagues braving the cold to demonstrate the power and intensity of their favourite works, leaving us in no doubt that classical music means literally everything to this pianist.

About the director

Andrzej Mańkowski (b. 1973) is a screenwriter, director and composer. He completed his studies at the Gdansk Music Academy in 1998 and, in 2002, he took a post-graduate course in screenwriting at the State Film School in Łodż. As a director he debuted with the film The Music Lesson, on which he worked with the famous Polish documentary filmmaker Jacek Blawut.