Sitka: A Piano Documentary

The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. has been presenting concerts alongside its paintings since 1941. Some of the world's leading pianists have played its Steinway Concert D 542016, but they started hearing something wrong with it: the soundboard. This half-hour documentary — named for the spruce wood that replaced it — tells the story of tearing the piano apart, and bringing it back to life. Along the way, we learn how a piano works, and witness the consummate art of restoration by PianoCraft. Rising international star Olivier Cavé puts it to the test, playing his specialty of Joseph Haydn, in this richly textured cinematic music documentary by independent filmmaker H. Paul Moon.

  • H. Paul Moon
    Director
  • Caroline Mousset
    Producer
  • Olivier Cavé
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    29 minutes 24 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 10, 2015
  • Production Budget:
    1,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English, French
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Skyline Indie Film Fest
    Winchester, Virginia
    United States
    September 9, 2016
    Virginia Premiere
Director Biography - H. Paul Moon

H. Paul Moon (zenviolence.com) is a filmmaker based in Washington, D.C. His body of work includes documentaries, dance films, and experimental cinema, regularly featured at film festivals worldwide. He also worked as a small camera specialist for a Paramount feature film starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, and as cinematographer for director Josephine Decker’s film in “collective:unconscious.” His recent films include “Sitka” (sitkadoc.com) about the craftsmanship of Steinway pianos, and “Quartet for the End of Time” (quatuor.xyz) about Olivier Messiaen’s transcendent wartime composition. He has just completed a feature-length documentary about composer Samuel Barber (samuelbarberfilm.com), and is currently finishing “The West” (westdocumentary.com).

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