An award-winning short film featuring the TSO performing music by Hungarian composer by Béla Bartók.

This 8-minute art film by acclaimed cinematographer Joe Shemesh, pairing evocative music with stunning imagery of the Tasmanian landscape.

It has featured in Palace cinemas and other independent cinemas nationally from 16-20 May as a prelude to The Paris Opera Ballet’s latest on-screen production, Le Parc.

About the short film
Joe Shemesh’s TSO Bartók film won a Silver Cinematography Award from the Australian Cinematographers Society in 2025. Next month’s national cinema screenings mark its public premiere. It is available from 16 May on TSO On Demand.

The project was three years in the making, after TSO Chief Executive Caroline Sharpen invited Joe to create a short film to accompany the orchestra’s new Bartók album.

Below, Joe explains that fog was chosen as the ‘main element of nature to help drive the visual narrative’ – beautifully matching the intense, almost unsettling music. ‘Producing an eight-minute film clip may not sound like too big a challenge, yet completion of the Bartok piece took three years from first inception to premiere.

‘Having chosen fog as the main element of nature to help drive the visual narrative meant total reliance on the weather gods to provide the appropriate conditions for filming.

‘In order to match the intensity of Bartok, I chose to use a number of filmmaking platforms in capturing elemental nature scenes from a variety of perspectives - creating drama to match the music.

'On the Gordon River, the camera was mounted on a gimbal which was fastened to the bow of the boat.

'Up in Tasmania’s rugged highlands, imagery was captured in a similar fashion but from the cabin of a helicopter.'

‘Filmmaking is always a team effort and this project was no different. From original concept meetings with CEO Caroline Sharpen and artistic director/conductor Eivind Aadland to boat skippers, pilots and camera assistants, the resultant piece represents the commitment of all involved aiming for an exceptional end result.

‘Working with the incredible talents of the TSO musicians under the directorship of Eivind Aadland opened a privileged window for me as I went about the process of completing this commission. I’m extremely proud of the Bartok film and look forward to its success out in the world!’ - filmmaker Joe Shemesh.

TSO Chief Conductor and Artistic Director Eivind Aadland
Music Performed by Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
Associate Concertmaster Ji Won Kim
Executive Producers Eivind Aadland, Caroline Sharpen, Simon Rogers
Director of Photography Joe Shemesh
Recording Producer Jørn Pedersen
Recording Engineer Veronika Vincze
Performance Filming Peter Curtis ACS, Joe Shemesh, Caleb Miller
Camera Assistants Lars Cooper, Ian Johnston, Phil Ginges
Editors Phil Mason, Caleb Miller
Colourist Juan Melara
With permission of Universal Edition AG, Vienna

TSO Musicians performing
Violin Ji Won Kim
Violin Lucy Carrig-Jones
Viola Caleb Wright
Cello Jonathan Békés
Double Bass Stuart Thomson
Harp Meriel Owen
Piano Karen Smithies