Kult Kino #18: Klavierbauer Bernhard Balas

There’s another Cult Cinema Evening. These are cozy nights where personalities from the arts and culture scene choose a film and watch it together with the audience. We look back on memorable cinema moments with Erni Mangold, Voodoo Jürgens, Hermes Phettberg, Erwin Steinhauer, Hubsi Kramar, Der Nino aus Wien, and many more.

This time, we’re inviting piano maker Bernhard Balas, who can truly be called a cult figure in Vienna. His workshop is located in the 15th district, just a short walk from the Breitenseer Lichtspiele cinema. A piano from his workshop stands on our cinema stage for silent film performances. One day, Bernhard Balas simply walked into the cinema and said, “Do you need a good piano? I’ll bring one by tomorrow.”

Film of the evening:
Summer in Vienna
(Walter Größbauer, AT 2015, 100 min)

In Vienna’s 15th district lies the workshop of piano builder and restorer Bernhard Balas. Bernhard is a passionate fisherman and dedicated cook. Every day, he prepares lunch for his team in the workshop kitchen. In the summer heat, tables and chairs are set up on the sidewalk in front of the shop, and everyone gathers for a shared meal. But it’s not just the staff—friends and acquaintances also take a seat in the improvised street café.

The workshop becomes the epicenter of stories told by real people from Vienna:
Max, the collector of parasols;
Christin, who just six months ago was still Christian;
John, who has just published his first novel.
What these different people have in common is that they are active pockets of resistance against the mainstream, living deliberately outside of a consumer-driven society.

Remarkable individuals, a rare craft, and a city full of music—these are the ingredients of this unique city portrait. It is a film about shellac and carp, about passion and courage, about the necessity of failure, and about human warmth in the middle of a hot Viennese summer.

Doors open: 7:30 PM
Film starts: 8:00 PM

klavierbau-balas.at