Holly
(Digital)

Italians Do It Better presents the soundtrack for the drama Holly. The album fcontains the score composed by Johnny Jewel.

Italians Do It Better presents the soundtrack for the drama Holly. The album fcontains the score composed by Johnny Jewel.

The soundtrack is available to download on all digital music services since October 13, 2023.
Also available on vinyl

Holly is directed by Fien Troch with Cathalina Geeraerts, Felix Heremans, Greet Verstraete, Els Deceukelier, Serdi Faki Alici and Maya Louisa Sterkendries.

One morning, 15-year-old Holly has a premonition and calls her school to say she will be absent. That same day, a section of the school burns down.
Several months later, the mourning community is trying to move on. One teacher, Anna, is especially intrigued by Holly and her strange premonition.
She invites Holly to help with the voluntary work she is doing. It soon becomes clear that Holly has ‘something’ that brings people peace of mind, warmth and hope. Gradually, more people seem to find their way to Holly’s cathartic energy, even without Anna’s direction….

More info at: Official Web Site Fanders Image

More info at: Official Web Site Les Films du Fleuve

Holly is the first solo work Johnny Jewel shares with the public since 2018's 'Themes For Television', featuring music he wrote for David Lynch's Twin Peaks.

Holly is the first solo work Johnny Jewel shares with the public since 2018's 'Themes For Television', featuring music he wrote for David Lynch's Twin Peaks.

In a recent interview, Johnny & Fien discuss working on the film together. Mixed in Amsterdam in April 2023, Holly premiered last week in official competition at the Venice Film Festival. The film received five star reviews from the global press as well as a standing ovation from the audience.

'I used music to usher in the unseen elements of Holly's story. Underscoring the supernatural overtones of the film, I studied the wind in her hair, counted the plumes of smoke billowing from the burning high school, & stared deep into the howling forest swaying in the distance. The looming music foreshadows & mirrors her gifts.
As Holly's character slowly unravels, the score begins to warp as it's stretched to an ominously slow crawl.'
- JOHNNY JEWEL
“I’ve always been drawn to Johnny’s music, as it is reckless & physical. His music is an emotional roller coaster. Every time I see scenes of my film with Johnny's music on, everything I’ve done & worked for is elevated to another level.
It’s an overwhelming feeling. Johnny is extremely strong in translating the narrative of the film, & the emotions that come along with it, into a new lyrical universe.
The melodic grammar he uses becomes both a counterpart to & an ally of everything that’s happening on the screen. There’s moments of perfect harmony, friction & support.
Once this marriage is inaugurated there is no way back for the film, & it can no longer exist without Johnny’s music.”
- FIEN TROCH (Director)
'Throughout the film, vague hues overlap seamlessly like clouds constantly morphing. As the audience, we project meanings to the shapes that emerge from the chaos in what appear to be patterns.
It's abstract enough to be unrecognizable, yet it's somehow familiar. Inspired by the masters of mood like Goblin's blood curdling chimes for Dario Argento, Tangerine Dream's spiraling synthesis for William Friedkin, & John Carpenter's hyper-minimalist approach to scoring his own films with Alan Howarth, I explored a genre-based language to trigger the audience's subconscious. Metallic synthesizers, celeste bells, mellotron flutes & detuned music boxes haunt the recurring musical motif.
Like an inevitable storm rolling in, the soundtrack is eerily elusive & at times, almost formless. At other times, the music is so crystal clear & so sharply in focus you could reach out & touch it.'
- JOHNNY JEWEL
'There is no comparison to working with Johnny Jewel on the score for a film. Of course, every facet of film making is about collaboration, but we're talking about a whole other level here. It's wizardry, labour & craftsmanship combined.
From the very first step, everything he's bringing to the table makes sense & by the end it is unimaginable there was ever a time your film & his music weren't married.'
- NICO LEUNEN (Editor)
'Troch elicits breezily naturalistic performances form the young cast. Thanks to Frank van den Eeden's cinematography & synth-led sound of Johnny Jewel's soundtrack, there's a vibe here that recalls Sofia Coppola's The Virgin Suicides.'
- THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER - 5 STARS
'An elusive, intriguing teen drama. Stephen King's antiheroine from Carrie comes to mind more than once.'
- VARIETY - 5 STARS
'An atmospheric, intriguingly sparse metaphysical drama.'
- SCREEN DAILY - 5 STARS
'An eerie impressive gem. Fien Troch returns with a film that confirms her as a thrilling voice in cinema.'
- EURONEWS - 5 STARS
'A fantastic escape in all meanings of the word.'
- CINEUROPA - 5 STARS
'A mysterious multi-layered parable of the price of doing good.'
- THE FILM VERDICT - 5 STARS
'The film asks philosophical questions about the parasitic nature of the need for spiritual comfort, & whether a truly selfless act can ever really exist.'
- SCREEN - 5 STARS

More info at: Italians Do It Better on Facebook

More info at: Holly on Film Fest Gent