Beethoven Lives Upstairs is a 1992 HBO Original Film produced and directed by David Devine. Based on a very popular children's audio recording written and directed by Barbara Nichol, the film stars Illya Woloshyn as Christoph, a young boy who develops a friendship with composer Ludwig van Beethoven (Neil Munro), a boarder in the boy's parents' house. The film was shot in Prague in the Czech Republic and has been broadcast in over 110 countries in numerous languages and has sold over one million DVDs. The film is used extensively, thanks to its American Library Association's reviews and awards, in U.S. and Canadian elementary and middle school music classrooms.

Plot

Ten-year-old Christoph's father, a physician, has died, forcing his family to rent their upstairs room to a boarder to help make ends meet. Christoph's uncle Kurt, a student at the Vienna Conservatory, arranges for Ludwig van Beethoven to rent the room. Despite Beethoven's dismissive attitude toward him, Kurt is thrilled at the prospect of having the famous composer living at his late brother's house, but Christoph does not like the idea of a stranger living with them. Christoph's fears are confirmed when he encounters Beethoven's rude and eccentric behavior, and teasing from the neighborhood children.