New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Emmy Award-winning composer Nainita Desai has crafted a gripping score for Netflix's latest documentary, What Jennifer Did, available everywhere now. With a composition as hauntingly evocative as the real-life events depicted in the film, audiences will be drawn into the unsettling tension that unfolds on screen. Utilizing recurring motifs like the ominous sound of a door opening, alongside atmospheric synths, Desai masterfully guides listeners into the chilling depths of the narrative. Through her score, she ensures that viewers are left both frightened and captivated, mirroring the impact of the documentary itself.
NAINITA DESAI notes, "The score for WHAT JENNIFER DID plays an integral part of the dark tone of the film. I wanted to bring to life the unsettling nature of the themes explored in the film, while avoiding musical cliches that unravel this dark twisted story. The essence of Jennifer's broken personality is represented by the use of the fractured cello and twisted string playing techniques throughout the score. A pivotal moment in the film revolves around the break into the family home with the twist of the door handle. The recurring sound of this door handle features as a menacing percussive and rhythmic mnemonic across the film and score. I wrestled with cold synthetic synth textures and melded visceral edgy strings to enhance the gripping and jaw dropping storyline with its twists and turns. To contrast this darkness, Jennifer studied the piano and brought in prepared piano into the score as a minimalist, emotive but piercing element, introducing something human and terrifying to these moments with a chilling effect. We start off with what seems like a random home invasion with Jennifer and family as victims morph into something ominous and I wanted to take the audience on a gripping, jaw dropping shocker of a journey."
WHAT JENNIFER DID (SOUNDTRACK FROM THE NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY) SCORE BY NAINITA DESAI TRACKLISTING:
1. What Jennifer Did
2. Door Handle
3. Homeboy
4. Who's The Target
5. Tiger Mum
6. Love And Validation
7. Crocodile Tears
8. Home Invasion
9. The Set Up
10. Butterflies And Puppy Dogs
11. Interrogation
12. Truth Or Lies
13. What Actually Happened
14. Hands Are Tied
15. No Forced Entry
16. A
Double Life
It was a violent crime that shook a quiet Canadian town: Mysterious intruders break into the home of Vietnamese immigrants, terrorize the family, and leave a traumatized daughter as the only witness. Neighbors and friends describe the family as hospitable, generous, and hard-working - how could they be targets? This feature-length documentary from director Jenny Popplewell (American Murder: The Family Next Door) uses police interrogation footage and testimony from those involved to unravel a web of complexities that no one saw coming.
Nainita Desai, an Emmy-winning composer with two additional Emmy nominations, was honored as the RTS and World
Soundtrack Award 2021 Discovery of the Year winner. She has received double BIFA and Cinema Eye Honors nominations, named BAFTA Breakthrough Brit, and awarded IFMCA Breakthrough Composer of the Year in 2019. Recognized by
Empire Magazine as one of the Top 5 Composers to Watch in 2022, she also secured the Women In Film & TV Creative Technology Award in 2022.
In her impressive portfolio of BAFTA, Oscar, and Emmy-acclaimed productions, Desai's recent work includes scoring for 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible, leading to Primetime Emmy, Hollywood
Music in Media Award, and ASCAP Composer Choice Award nominations. In April 2024, her latest composition will be featured in Surgent Studios and EA's indie title, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, available for download on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.
One of Desai's recent projects is The Deepest Breath (A24, Netflix), premiered at Sundance 2023, earning her nominations for Best Original Score with the Critics' Choice Documentary Awards, Hollywood
Music in Media Awards, and Best Original Title Theme at the SCL Awards 2024. Her diverse credits encompass notable works such as For Sama, The Reason I Jump, Body Parts, and recent dramas like Crossfire, Funny Woman, Predators, and contributions to the Call of Duty video game franchise. Looking ahead to 2024, Desai is involved in projects like Nautilus and The Tower S3, showcasing her versatility in scoring for premium feature documentaries, Netflix and Universal series, and video games for Sony
Interactive and EA Originals.
