Synopsis

Alena Cherny is a concert pianist through and through. Raised in rural Ukraine, her mother sent her to boarding school in Kiev at the age of nine – a childhood far from home. Following the trauma of Chernobyl and leukemia, she relocated to Switzerland, leaving her daughter at home with her parents. Today, she is an established artist and wants to fulfill her heart’s desire: to donate a piano to the music school in the village where she was born. Alena sets off with her instrument on a journey into her past. She visits her mother, the places of her childhood, her boarding school, and Chernobyl. *Appassionata* is a portrait of a strong woman and her passion.

Director

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  • Christian Labhart
  • Born in Zurich in 1953, Christian Labhart worked as a lighting and camera assistant at Condor Films from 1972 to 1974. From 1974 to 1980, he also worked as a teacher, and in 2001, he started producing independent films with the work *Children of Kosovo*. *Appassionata* is his seventh film.