“It’s a habit, not a costume. I’m not dressing up for fancy dress!”
The first trailer for Making The Grade is full of laugh-out-loud moments like that one-liner delivered by a piano teaching nun who genuinely seems like the nicest person in the world.
The new documentary comes from Ken Wardrop, the award-winner director behind His & Hers, that 2009 Irish documentary about the long-term love-lives of women across Ireland.
His new movie focuses on learning and/or teaching to play the piano, but don’t for one second think that isn’t a set up for some great comedy.
According to the movie’s official synopsis, this is what you can expect:
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 due to arrive in cinemas on Friday 13 April.
Clip via Element Pictures Distribution
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