The PianoTuner of EarthQuakes

Name: The PianoTuner of EarthQuakes
Genre: Animation, Drama, Family
Released: 2004-12-22
Duration: 1 h 39 min
Rating: 6.2
Cast: Amira Casar, Gottfried John, Assumpta Serna, César Sarachu, Ljubisa Grujcic

IMDb ID: tt0342882 · Year: 2004 · Rating: 6.2 (1,548 votes)

Genres: Animation · Drama · Family

Dark fairy-tale about a demonic doctor who abducts a beautiful opera singer with designs on transforming her into a mechanical nightingale.

IMDb Details

Content TypeMovieAlternate TitlesAustralia: The PianoTuner of EarthQuakes
Germany: The PianoTuner of EarthQuakes
United Kingdom: The PianoTuner of EarthQuakes
United States: The PianoTuner of EarthQuakes
Canada: Cinderella (English)
Mexico: Cinderella (DVD Title)
United States: Cinderella (Working Title)
Armenia: The Cinderella
Mexico: The Cinderella
World-wide: The Cinderella (English, Alternative Title)
Canada: Cendrillon (French)
Germany: Der Klavierstimmer der Erdbeben (TV Title)
Spain: El afinador de terremotos
Hungary: Földrengések zongorahangolója őrületre hangolva
France: L'accordeur de tremblements de terre
Czech Republic: Ladic pian zemetresení
Brazil: O Afinador de Piano de Terremotos
Poland: Stroiciel trzęsień ziemi
Greece: Ta dihtya tis fantasias (DVD Title)
South Africa: The Cinderella Story (English)
World-wide: The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes (English, alternative spelling)
World-wide: The Piano Tuner of EarthQuakes (English)
Bulgaria: Акордьорът на земетресения (Bulgarian)
Russia: Настройщик землетрясений
CinderellaContent RatingNot RatedRelease Date2004-12-22Runtime99 minutesMetascore66IMDb Popularity0User Reviews24Critic Reviews50Countries / RegionsUnited Kingdom
France
Germany
United StatesLanguagesEnglish
PortugueseKeywordscinderella story
remake
singer
fairy tale
surrealismFilming LocationsGermanyProduction CompaniesARTE
Arte France Cinéma
Koninck StudiosOfficial SitesOfficial site (Japan) - http://www.quay-piano.jp/
Official soundtrack site - http://www.moviescoremedia.com/pianotuner.htmlIMDb URLhttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt0342882/Local Poster/d/file/imdb/03/tt0342882.jpgUpdated At2025-07-10T08:14:56

Directors

Stephen Quay
Timothy Quay
Weiser Quay

Writers

Alan Passes
Stephen Quay
Timothy Quay

Full Cast & Crew

[Cast Group]
Actor: Amira Casar | Character: Malvina van Stille
Actor: Gottfried John | Character: Dr. Emmanuel Droz
Actor: Assumpta Serna | Character: Assumpta
Actor: César Sarachu | Character: Adolfo Blin, Don Felisberto Fernandez
Actor: Ljubisa Grujcic | Character: Holz (gardener)
Actor: Marc Bischoff | Character: Marc (gardener)
Actor: Henning Peker | Character: Henning (gardener)
Actor: Gilles Gavois | Character: Echeverria (gardener)
Actor: Volker Zack | Character: Volker (gardener)
Actor: Thomas Schmieder | Character: Thomas (gardener)
Actor: Regine Zimmermann | Character: Dresser
Actor: Emil Petrov | Character: Musician

[Directors Group]
Name: Stephen Quay | Role: Director
Name: Timothy Quay | Role: Director
Name: Weiser Quay | Role: Director

[Writers Group]
Name: Alan Passes | Role: Writer
Name: Stephen Quay | Role: Writer
Name: Timothy Quay | Role: Writer

[Producers Group]
Name: Michael Becker | Role: Producer
Name: Björn Eggert | Role: Producer
Name: Terry Gilliam | Role: Producer
Name: Keith Griffiths | Role: Producer
Name: Hengameh Panahi | Role: Producer
Name: Alexander Ris | Role: Producer
Name: Jörg Rothe | Role: Producer
Name: Paul Trijbits | Role: Producer

[Music Group]
Name: Christopher Slaski | Role: Composer

[Cinematography Group]
Name: Nicholas D. Knowland | Role: Cinematographer

[Editing Group]
Name: Simon Laurie | Role: Editor

[Production Design Group]
Name: Stephen Quay | Role: Production Designer
Name: Timothy Quay | Role: Production Designer

[Art Direction Group]
Name: Eric Veenstra | Role: Art Director

[Costume Design Group]
Name: Kandis Cook | Role: Costume Designer

[Makeup Department]
Name: Christine Atar | Role: Makeup Department
Name: Jana Lindner | Role: Makeup Department
Name: Martina Richter | Role: Makeup Department
Name: Bianca B. Ruzicanin | Role: Makeup Department
Name: Nadine Tschöpe | Role: Makeup Department

[Production Management]
Name: Björn Eggert | Role: Production Manager
Name: Richard Lloyd | Role: Production Manager
Name: Patty Papageorgiou | Role: Production Manager
Name: Nicole Zscherny | Role: Production Manager

[Assistant Directors]
Name: Tanja Däberitz | Role: Second Unit or Assistant Director
Name: David Houfek | Role: Second Unit or Assistant Director

[Art Department]
Name: Nina Aufderheide | Role: Art Department
Name: Karl-Heinz Lermann | Role: Art Department
Name: David Thummerer | Role: Art Department

[Sound Department]
Name: Tim Alban | Role: Sound Department
Name: Martin Beresford | Role: Sound Department
Name: Philippe Ciompi | Role: Sound Department
Name: Paul Cotterell | Role: Sound Department
Name: Richard Davey | Role: Sound Department
Name: Danny Hambrook | Role: Sound Department
Name: Steve Haynes | Role: Sound Department
Name: David Hilgers | Role: Sound Department
Name: Richard Kondal | Role: Sound Department
Name: Adam Laschinger | Role: Sound Department
Name: Larry Sider | Role: Sound Department
Name: Joakim Sundström | Role: Sound Department
Name: Jessie Taylor | Role: Sound Department
Name: Mark Kenna | Role: Sound Department

[Special Effects]
Name: Gerd Grzesczak | Role: Special Effects
Name: Detlef Lenz | Role: Special Effects
Name: Ian Nicholas | Role: Special Effects
Name: Peter Wiemker | Role: Special Effects

[Visual Effects]
Name: Axel Bohlmann | Role: Visual Effects
Name: Florian Breg | Role: Visual Effects
Name: Marc Briede | Role: Visual Effects
Name: Thomas Diesselhorst | Role: Visual Effects
Name: Wolfgang Emmrich | Role: Visual Effects
Name: Dirk Frischmuth | Role: Visual Effects
Name: Kristin Klotz | Role: Visual Effects
Name: Moji Lai | Role: Visual Effects
Name: Harald Lehmann | Role: Visual Effects
Name: Thomas Mulack | Role: Visual Effects
Name: Markus 'Maggi' Selchow | Role: Visual Effects
Name: Eva Sütterlin | Role: Visual Effects
Name: Stefan Tänzler | Role: Visual Effects
Name: Kristy Wagenknecht | Role: Visual Effects
Name: Eric Westphal | Role: Visual Effects

[Camera and Electrical Department]
Name: Mathias Beier | Role: Camera and Electrical Department
Name: Alexander Bittner | Role: Camera and Electrical Department
Name: Stefan Ciupek | Role: Camera and Electrical Department
Name: Stewart Hadley | Role: Camera and Electrical Department
Name: Barbara Kuznik Joseph | Role: Camera and Electrical Department
Name: Stephanie Kulbach | Role: Camera and Electrical Department
Name: Claudia Mattes | Role: Camera and Electrical Department
Name: Kai Olbrecht | Role: Camera and Electrical Department
Name: Stefan Peters | Role: Camera and Electrical Department
Name: Tiffany Walker | Role: Camera and Electrical Department
Name: Tilo Weiskopf | Role: Camera and Electrical Department

[animation department]
Name: Stephen Quay | Role: Animation Department
Name: Timothy Quay | Role: Animation Department

[Casting Department]
Name: Irene Lamb | Role: Casting Department
Name: Cornelia Mareth | Role: Casting Department

[Costume and Wardrobe Department]
Name: Elena Margaretha Gebele | Role: Costume Department
Name: Ulrike Carolina Simm | Role: Costume Department

[Editorial Department]
Name: Kim Gaster | Role: Editorial Department
Name: Laurie McDowell | Role: Editorial Department

[Music Department]
Name: John Bell | Role: Music Department
Name: Mikael Carlsson | Role: Music Department
Name: Alexander Chaushian | Role: Music Department
Name: Trevor Duncan | Role: Music Department
Name: Gary Kettel | Role: Music Department
Name: Richard Pryce | Role: Music Department
Name: Christopher Slaski | Role: Music Department
Name: Lucy Wakeford | Role: Music Department
Name: Christian Siddell | Role: Music Department

[Production Department]
Name: Sonja Kirch | Role: Production Department
Name: Grischa Petry | Role: Production Department

[Script and Continuity Department]
Name: Kristin Franke | Role: Script and Continuity Department
Name: Alexandra Vogt | Role: Script and Continuity Department

[Additional Crew]
Name: Kim Brandstrup | Role: Additional Crew
Name: Stefan Ciupek | Role: Additional Crew
Name: Frank Hellmann | Role: Additional Crew
Name: Steffen Knabe | Role: Additional Crew
Name: Ana-Mona Müller-Schwerin | Role: Additional Crew
Name: Andreas Teichert | Role: Additional Crew
Name: Andrew Jack | Role: Additional Crew

Trailers

The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes | Type: Trailer | IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/video/vi1526202649/ | Playback: https://imdb-video.media-imdb.com/vi1526202649/1434659607842-pgv4ql-1563998199598.mp4?Expires=1788333154&Signature=UDJTmQjQ0OtihZ708O0OclETEI3JXM7rlcd6dC86LkmWbel-4iAwztVld1Jnj7Z0VxFDzvrwFNCcT7CVkQ~wMBTYDm2heVhVrjdj33MRg~oYUhF2SQySxjPSbNyENVnGOhKv-0OaJnrYZ2nRpwtx1LvBnWlBz7OS28ormgQMROnB3s4flPuQ2w5wm3LT~77F5XkM~r37nqe1Xon~Jjfk7TGObIhOFfsaV1u5m02Cmh9DqrrDjr0MKDCWvyPUt-NPbtxuDgq9Y0qgPQ4qNwAlYRUP1yhUXNADf2tEzbrbvaWmZCEpRkeUOrV3yxJO0uBJ6OS81SqJIp63gNYmbebpfg__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAIFLZBVQZ24NQH3KA

Release Schedule

Jamaica: August 11, 2004
Bangladesh: October 1, 2004
The Democratic Republic of Congo: October 8, 2004
South Africa: October 8, 2004
Luxembourg: October 15, 2004
Syria: December 22, 2004
United States: December 22, 2004
Switzerland: August 9, 2005 (Locarno Film Festival)
Canada: September 9, 2005 (Toronto International Film Festival)
France: September 12, 2005 (L'Étrange Festival)
France: October 8, 2005 (Cinessonne Film Festival)
Spain: October 16, 2005 (Festival Internacional de Cinema de Catalunya)
United Kingdom: October 31, 2005 (BFI London Film Festival)
Canada: December 21, 2005
United Kingdom: February 17, 2006
United States: April 1, 2006 (Wisconsin Film Festival)
Hungary: April 2, 2006 (Titanic International Filmpresence Festival)
South Korea: May 2006
United States: May 26, 2006 (Seattle International Film Festival)
Romania: June 6, 2006 (Transilvania International Film Festival)
France: July 6, 2006 (La Rochelle Film Festival)
Germany: August 17, 2006
France: September 20, 2006
United States: November 17, 2006 (New York City, New York)
Australia: April 24, 2007 (DVD premiere)
Spain: April 24, 2007 (DVD premiere)
Singapore: August 9, 2007 (limited)
Hungary: March 20, 2008
Netherlands Antilles: October 3, 2008 (TV release)
Japan: October 18, 2008
Poland: July 24, 2010 (New Horizons Film Festival)
Czech Republic: April 1, 2011 (limited)

Awards

Nominee | 2007 | Chlotrudis Awards | Chlotrudis Award | Best Visual Design | The PianoTuner of EarthQuakes
Nominee | 2005 | Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival | Best Film | Stephen Quay, Timothy Quay, The PianoTuner of EarthQuakes
Winner | 2005 | Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival | Best Special Effects | Thomas Mulack, The PianoTuner of EarthQuakes
Winner | 2005 | Locarno Film Festival | Special Mention | Stephen Quay, Timothy Quay, The PianoTuner of EarthQuakes | For the visionary athmosphere in the film.
Winner | 2005 | Locarno Film Festival | Youth Jury Award - Special Mention | Stephen Quay, Timothy Quay, The PianoTuner of EarthQuakes | A stupefying psychological investigation into madness and the desire to possess the life of another. The fantastical setting is imbued with poetic images. An original attempt to transfer «a magical realism » onto the screen through a sophisticated and intriguing symbolism capable of stimulating the imagination of the spectator. The constant obssesion with trying to imprison eternity raises a deep philosophical reflection, sustained with excellent photography constructed out of games of light and colour.
Nominee | 2005 | Locarno Film Festival | Golden Leopard | Stephen Quay, Timothy Quay, The PianoTuner of EarthQuakes
Nominee | 2005 | Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival | Grand Prize | Timothy Quay, Stephen Quay, The PianoTuner of EarthQuakes

Box Office