Appassionata

The Ukrainian-Swiss pianist Alena Cherny is a woman impassioned. As she describes her life growing up under Communism and her subsequent work on international concert stages, her emotions color her entire being. Originally from Romny, Ukraine, Alena was sent to a music boarding school in Kiev. Though religion was forbidden, she was drawn to the church as a refuge from her close living quarters and the competition at school. Now Alena travels back in time — in a van with a beautiful grand piano, which she is donating to her first music school in Romny. Since the country she abandoned for Switzerland no longer exists, it’s not exactly a homecoming. Wistfully, she visits her parents and old music teachers, and everywhere she hears the ghostly refrains of the past. But it’s time to move on. In an emotional farewell, Alena dedicates the piano to her school, thus leaving a part of herself behind. APPASSIONATA is a moving portrait of a sensitive soul whose life begins and ends with music. (In German, Russian, and Ukrainian with subtitles) – B.B.