MovieScore Media’s latest excursion into the world of documentaries is the German television production Unbekannte helden with music by Austrian composer Christian Heschl. Directed by Samuel Ackermann and Bernhard Stegmann, the film features largely unknown and less documented events from the last weeks of World War II, chronicling different forms of rebellion against the madness of the Nazis. The discussed events include a women’s uprising in Pfullingen, the story of three men hanged in the village of Brettheim in Hohenlohe, the Württemberg vicarage chain with Protestant parish families hiding Jews, the prevention of a poison gas catastrophe in Württemberg and a Catholic youth group’s resistance in Vulkaneifel. The film features reconstructed events as well as discussions with witnesses and historians. 

“Scoring this movie gave me the opportunity to pour lots of emotions into the score, focusing on  people’s hopes of surviving these terrible times,” recalls composer Christian Heschl about the music. “From the very beginning, the director asked a strong theme where we both agreed that it needs something reflecting both the drama of that time, but also the hope of these various the rebellion groups  standing strong against eh NS Regime’s plans. I decided very early on that the violin will be the “main voice” of the score and we luckily got Echo Klassik Winner violinist  Yury Revich to play the solo parts. While the score also features strong thematic material as well as several atmospheric cues which reflect the darkness of the time during World War II, the light at the end of the tunnel in the geographically diverse German locations is always represented by the violin – serving as the unifying voice behind all the humanistic acts.”

Austrian composer Christian Heschl started his music career by learning the trumpet and completing a jazz education before turning towards film scoring. His music for Chris Schmid’s documentaries Frozen Warriors and Okavango, showcased on National Geographic, earned him various accolades  at the Los Angeles Film Awards, LA Short Awards, New York Film Awards and at the CineFest LA. His upcoming scores include Michele Gentile’s Witness, the sci-fi TV series Cosmic Rush and Chris Schmid’s new NatGeo documentary, The Remaining Kings – Lions of the Namib.

MMS20011 UNBEKANNTE HELDEN: WIDERSTAND IM SÜDWESTEN (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Music Composed by CHRISTIAN HESCHL
Release date (digital): June 13, 2020