Posted Wednesday 26 Oct 2016
The New Zealand feature film documentary Crossing Rachmaninoff, made by WIFT member Rebecca Tansley is having a heck of an OE. It has picked up a film festival competition selection in the country where much of it was filmed: Italy.
Crossing Rachmaninoff - or Attraversando Rachmaninoff in Italian - will screen in official competition in the International Documentary category at the 16th Rome Independent Film Festival (RIFF) in late November.
RIFF is a popular festival that programmes an array of independent feature-length and short films from Italy and around the world. Director/producer Rebecca Tansley will work with New Zealand-based film industry consultants Italian-Kiwi Film Connectionz to maximise the film's exposure in Rome during the festival outing.
RIFF's selection of Crossing Rachmaninoff comes on the heels of its appearance as a special presentation at the 2016 Napa Valley Film Festival, its selection for official competition in the 2016 Festival International des Programmes Audiovisuels (FIPA) in France and the 2016 Scandinavian International Film Festival in Finland, and its appearance at the 2016 Mendocino Film Festival and 2016 New Zealand Film Festival in China. The film was also a semi-finalist in the Golden Kapok Awards in the 2015 Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival.
Crossing Rachmaninoff premiered and enjoyed nationwide screenings in the 2015 New Zealand International Film Festival. It completed a successful general release season in New Zealand in the first half of 2016 and was released on DVD in New Zealand last month.
Crossing Rachmaninoff is in English and Italian. The film follows aspiring Italian-born pianist Flavio Villani, now resident in New Zealand, as he prepares Rachmaninoff's famous Piano Concerto No. 2 for his first performance with an orchestra back in his homeland. It explores Flavio's relationship with the music, his personal struggles, the story behind the music and the commitment it takes to be a professional musician.