From his cool climate home in Hobart, down to underground churches in Coober Pedy and up to the patience-testing humidity of Darwin, Martin Tucker crosses the country plying his remarkable ear for tuning pianos old and new, making fast friends along the way as he champions a dying art.
The Piano Tuner
The Piano Tuner
Director
Natalia Laska
Runtime
88 Minutes
Country
Australia
Classification
All Ages
Gifted with an affably larrikin spirit, piano tuner and childhood ten-pound-pom Martin Tucker is the sort of amiable wandering soul who’ll make you want to chuck it all in and follow along. Fond of shaking off his shoes and feeling the thrum of nature, Tucker has dedicated his life to the care of pianos and the people who love them. A number rapidly dwindling across the country, with the cost of properly caring for one prohibitive for some. Which makes the kooky characters he encounters all the more remarkable. From Amish farmers to pensioner artists who lost everything in bushfires, from self-taught schoolboys to the Chinese mum who’s building her new home around the dream of owning a baby grand, you’ll fall in love with them all. As you will with the beautiful pianos. Some live in air-conditioned recital centre chambers, others in elaborate, buried churches, or teeming with ticks on a cattle station. Natalia Laska’s delightful Documentary Australia Award nominee pays tribute to them all, and Tucker’s life well-lived.
“Martin’s passion and enthusiasm for acoustics is evident from the very beginning … and you can almost feel through the screen the community that he carries with him.”
On the House
Sydney
CinefestOz
Film Credits
Director
Natalia Laska
Year
2025
Country
Australia
Language
English
Type
Feature Documentary
Program Strand
Australian Independents
Producer
Julia Overton & Tom Zubrycki
Writer
Natalia Laska & Fiona Strain
Cinematographer
Natalia Laska
Music
Martin Tucker
Film Source
Antidote Films
Genre
Biographical, Documentary & Music
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