Thirty two short films about Glenn Gould

Thirty two short films about Glenn Gould is an inventive and playful film that seeks to portray the genius, complex and eccentric personality of legendary pianist, Glenn Gould. The film borrows its structure from JS Bach’s Goldberg Variations (and name from Beethoven’s “32 variations in C Minor”), and juxtaposes 32 short vignettes to portray the broadly influenced Gould. The film uses a combination of interview, dramatisation and animation, punctuated with the music of Gould’s live performances (mostly Bach, Beethoven and Shoenberg) to humorously fill the portrait of Gould. Included is an excerpt from Norman McLaren’s experimental animation ‘Spheres’ and Gould’s live radio broadcast of 28th December 1967, ‘The Idea of North’. Peppered throughout are Gould’s philosophical ruminations such as, “for every hour you spend with people you need x more hours on your own”.