Sancho Panza under exclusive license to [PIAS] are proud to release the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to the multi-award winning animated documentary FLEE by renowned film and TV composer Uno Helmersson.
FLEE, a documentary recounted mostly through animation, follows Amin as he opens up about his past for the first time of his journey as a child refugee from Afghanistan. He begins to look back over his life as he grapples with a painful secret he has keep hidden for 20 years, one that threatens to derail the life he has built for himself and his soon to be husband.
Executive Produced by award-winning artist Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal), the film is written and directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen and produced by Final Cut for Real with distribution through Neon. FLEE has already won numerous awards including most recently a leading seven Cinema Eye Honors 2021 nominations including Outstanding Original Score for Uno Helmersson. Other major honors include Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema - Documentary, Official Selection for Cannes Film Festival, and Best Feature at Annecy International Animated Film Festival and is nominated for a Golden Globe to name a few.
Speaking about his work on “Leaving Family Behind”, a lead track from FLEE, Helmersson said, “When I wrote the music, I tried to get close to Amid's feelings when he tells his story. Listening to his voice, you can sense a deep agony and the heavy burden he has carried with him all these years, as well as his relief letting it all out. It is like waves, emotional waves. I liked to use this analogy for my compositions.” Helmersson added, “The music is subtle and detailed with a lot of textures. It moves subtly between emotional sincerity and the big story about being human, life, and the wheel of fortune.”
https://sanchopanza.lnk.to/Flee
FILM TRAILER
Uno Helmersson, the multi award-winning Swedish composer and multi-instrumentalist, released his debut album FIRST on Sancho Panza Recordings on Friday 7 May 2021.
His debut album, FIRST features 11 tracks, each inspired by a moment in his life, a book, a film or simply a sound. The atmospheric soundscapes, haunting melodies, diverse rhythms and unusual instrumentations, but the album also showcases Helmersson’s talent for emotive music noted in his extensive career composing for TV and film.
Helmersson composed, arranged, mixed and produced his debut album at his own ABHL Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. His method of composing includes trying things that haven’t been done before such as building and repurposing instruments. For this album he demolished a piano, drilled holes into its frame and placed other instruments inside it to create new sounds which contribute to the unique and distinctive soundscape. He performs alongside a string ensemble, playing a variety of instruments including pedal steel guitar, double bass, percussion, piano, organ and harmonium.
Speaking from his home in Stockholm, Helmersson says: “I am delighted to release my debut album which has sprung from different moments in my life. The music on this album is for reflection and comfort."
Documentary short - YouTube
Listen here: https://sanchopanza.lnk.to/first
Uno Helmersson is an award-winning Swedish composer and multi-instrumentalist whose credits include the worldwide hit TV series The Bridge, which was broadcast in more than 100 territories and won him a Golden FIPA Award.
Awarded and nominated for his music, with over 60 composer credits on IMDB and more than 800 registered compositions on his rights society, he is among the top composers for film in the northern part of Europe.
Uno’s latest work includes the Sundance 2021 animated documentary Flee, the TV-series 22. Juli, the BBC documentary Riots, the awarded On The Presidents Orders, and the awarded The Painter and the Thief, as well as the nominated film Nelly Rapp – The Monster Agent which was nominated in Sweden for Best Original Score.
Other major credits include the Emmy-winning Armadillo documentary series following a group of Danish soldiers for 6 months in Afghanistan; Magnus about the life of Norway’s “Mozart of Chess” and directed by Benjamin Ree for Norway’s Moskus Film; Susanne Bier’s A Second Chance, additional score; Mikkei Norgaard’s The Absent One; and Zentropa’s Department Q film series.
A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm, Uno was born and raised in Västerbotten, in the rural parts of northern Sweden. When he was a small child, his parents took note of his talent for music and made him take organ classes in the nearest town. As a teenager, having moved to a larger town, he played in bands and came to realise that he wanted to pursue music as his profession. He studied music in upper secondary school and continued with a number of preparatory courses before being accepted into Royal College of Music in Stockholm in the fall of 2002.
During his college years, he came into contact with Johan Söderqvist, one of the most prominent composers of film music in the Nordics. After graduating, Uno started working as Söderqvist’s assistant on films like Let the Right One In, Kon-Tiki, and Limbo. Their cooperation matured into a partnership that has resulted in acclaimed productions like the TV series The Bridge and Department Q I & II.
Uno got his own international breakthrough with his music for the Danish documentary Armadillo in 2010. Since then he has been frequently engaged to compose music for TV and cinema all around the world.