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Joao Carlos Martins started studying the piano at an early age. When he was 17, he began to play Bach. By the early 60s, he was acclaimed as one of the great pianists, after Glenn Gould. While working out with his friends of the Brazilian soccer team, he hurt his arm. Thanks to surgery and re-education, he finally recovered. In 1970, following a disappointing concert, Martins decided to terminate his musical career and do something else. For seven years, he didn’t play a note of music. The years went by and in the early 90s, he decided to go back to recording piano works by Bach, which he had begun in 1979. But one night, he was attacked by a gang of youths who hit him with an iron bar, leaving his right arm paralyzed. He spent eight months in the hospital, during which time his arm was hooked up to a computer and electrodes so that he could finish his recordings. The film follows the pianist in his darkest hours and retraces the dramatic highlights of his life.

Germany / Austria - 2003 - 1 h 36 mn - 35 mm • 1,85 - Colour

Director Irene Langemann Script Irene Langemann Camera Dieter Stürmer, Isabel Alvarez Sound Marc von Stuerler, Christian Lutz Editing Kawe Vakil

Production Lichtfilm, Vogteistr. 16, 50670 Köln, Allemagne Tél : +49 221 972 6517 Fax : +49 221 972 6518 E-mail : info@lichtfilm.de Co-Production Synchro Film GmbH, ARTE G.E.I.E.

Sales Telepool Gmbh, Sonnenstrasse, 21, 80331 Münich, Allemagne Tél : +49 (0)89 55876 233 Fax : +49 (0)89 5587 6188 E-mail : telepool@telepool.de