Every Note You Play: TV premiere on ARTE

Anyone who missed Finnish director Mika Kaurismäki’s “Every Note You Play” in the cinema will soon be able to watch it on ARTE.

“Every Note You Play” is the cinematic documentary of ‘The Prequel’ 2024 of the Monheim Triennale. The film offers a look behind the scenes and shows how “musical boundaries were crossed, energy was released, and the deepest essence of creativity came to the fore.” (Kulttuuritoimitus, Finland)

“Sixteen world-class musicians representing different musical genres were invited to the second Monheim Triennale to improvise together. It was a bold and daring move. Director Mika Kaurismäki was also invited and spent three days capturing the musicians’ performances and thoughts. The result was the documentary film ”Every Note You Play.” The artistic director of the festival, Reiner Michalke, led the event from the beginning like an orchestra conductor and did not want to organize a jazz festival, as he believed that was a thing of the last millennium.
Recording a live concert is no easy task. One might think that the cameramen bustling about on stage would disturb the musicians. Kaurismäki ventured quite close to the music sessions with his cameramen Sabine Panossian and Jörg Adams, but he obviously did so very carefully, because the connection between the musicians and the intensity of the concert moments come across very well. While the musicians improvised, Kaurismäki creatively developed his recording techniques. In this outstanding recording, the camera got incredibly close to the artists, almost like another instrument.
Kaurismäki, who has a musical background himself, has his own perspective on recording music and musicians. The recording of the concert parts and the small musical moments is particularly impressive. The expressive close-ups of the musicians’ faces and finger movements are an important part of conveying the mood and music to the viewer. Changing camera angles and tight frames bring the performers very close to the viewer. And the music, with its many nuances, sounds impressive. Sometimes you feel as if you are at a live concert yourself.
Kaurismäki has made a name for himself as the director of several music documentaries. These include “Moro no Brasil“ (2002) and “Brasileirinho“  (2005), which deal with Brazilian music, “Sonic Mirror“  (2008) with jazz drummer Billy Cobham as musical accompanist and “Mama Africa“  (2011) about Miriam Makeba. Incidentally, Kaurismäki’s first feature film was the music documentary “Saimaa-ilmiö“  (1981), which he made together with his brother Aki. In it, musicians travel by boat across Lake Saimaa from one gig to the next.
In a sense, the circle has come full circle: Kaurismäki jumped into the water again, this time to a group of musicians who brought their own cultural and musical perspectives to the improvisation.
“Every Note You Play“  is a very intensely realized music documentary that will not quickly lose its relevance. The film is Kaurismäki at his best. It conveys a musical experience in a sensitive and profound way and tells of the encounter between global sounds and the courage to surrender to the unknown in a way that captivates the viewer. It is also an important documentary about the triennial, which only took place twice, and about a unique improvised concert that would otherwise have been lost. “Every Note You Play“  is also a perfect festival film that deserves a long tour of film and music events around the world.“ (Marita Nyrhinen, Kulttuuritoimitus, Finland, November 1, 2025, transl. by Monheim Triennale)

All information at a glance:
• Broadcast date: April 24, 12:15 a.m., ARTE (D)
• Title: Every Note You Play
• Director: Mika Kaurismäki
• Topic: Documentary about the Monheim Triennale
• Media library: Available for six months after broadcast in the ARTE media library