Making The Grade

Making The Grade

A trailer for SXSW-bound Irish piano exam documentary Making The Grade has been released

Making The Grade has been selected for this year’s SXSW film festival. where it will be one of 12 movies in the 34 Beats Per Second strand focusing on the “sounds, culture & influence of music & musicians, with an emphasis on documentary.”

MAKING THE GRADE invites us into the world of the piano lesson. Every year teachers and students throughout Ireland prepare for graded musical exams. These exams can be pleasing for some but daunting for others. Each student has their own goal but reaching Grade Eight is considered a pinnacle. This endearing and uplifting documentary explores the bond between piano teachers and their pupils as they struggle through these grades. This is a story of the transformative power of music and the pride and happiness it provides both the students and teachers. It may inspire us all to keep making the grade.

The filmmakers travelled the length and breadth of the country to film with teachers and their students as they prepared for their piano grade exams. The film features characters from as far afield as Kylemore Abbey in the West, to Derry City in the North and down to Crosshaven, Cork in the South.

MAKING THE GRADE is directed by Ken Wardrop and produced by Andrew Freedman. MAKING THE GRADE is a Reel Art film funded by the Arts Council

Making The Grade opens in Irish cinemas on April 13th

www.makingthegrade.ie

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