The Piano is a 1993 film about a mute female pianist and her daughter, set during the mid-19th century in a rainy, muddy frontier New Zealand backwater. The film was written and directed by Jane Campion, and stars Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, Sam Neill and Anna Paquin. It features a score for the piano by Michael Nyman which became a bestselling soundtrack album. Hunter played her own piano pieces for the film, and also served as sign language teacher for Paquin, earning herself three different screen credits. The film was an international co-production by Australian producer Jan Chapman with the French company Ciby 2000.
Alistair Fox has argued that The Piano was significantly influenced by Jane Mander's The Story of a New Zealand River. The Piano is the original soundtrack, on the Virgin Records label, of the 1993 Academy Award-winning film The Piano starring Holly Hunter (who won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as "Ada McGrath" in this film), Harvey Keitel, Sam Neill and Anna Paquin (who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as "Flora McGrath" in this film). The original score was composed by Michael Nyman.