God’s Beach

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Lydia & Adam

The Circle

God’s Beach

The score for God’s Beach was a miracle, coming at a difficult time in my life. The film itself had an arduous life (I was cautioned about taking it on due to it’s troubled past). And yet, when writer-director Abigail Carpenter showed me the picture and we talked for the first time, I knew I had to do this movie. I believe the resulting score was the only thing I was capable of creating at the time, and she gave me the space and encouragement to find it.

We played with “organic” sounds, finally settling on tuned wine glasses and pot lids struck and bowed as the basis of the score, and built from there. It remains one of my favorite works, not the least because of the amazing collaboration and direction that Abby provided.

Here’s her statement about the film:

I have always been fascinated and dedicated to telling organic and intelligent stories, stories about people, their relationships, and the eventual outcome of these interactions. In trying to describe the films that have an effect on me, I have come up with the term “slice of life” films. Films that are simple, that allow audiences to explore a piece of a character that calls to them, a story that we can all somehow connect to. I think the best films are the ones that fascinate us emotionally, that make us feel raw pleasure and pain.

God’s Beach is just that, raw pleasure and pain. The story centers around young girl’s tumultuous life growing up on a small island off the coast of Maine. It is a meditative and poignant story about loss, life-changing choices, and the moments that change you forever.

This film was one of those moments for me.