EACH OF US music Pitch DECK
Dear Neus, Anne, Stina and Anna,
We’re Michael and Matteo, two film music composers from Switzerland, both of immigrant descent.
We are very touched by the screenplay to EACH OF US. The story feels deeply human. It questions our very human being and how each of us would act under these extreme circumstances.
We’re living in times where the last survivors and witnesses of the Nazi horrors are slowly passing away. There certainly is a danger of forgetting, especially for future generations.
We believe that the importance to tell stories like EACH OF US is higher than ever.
I, Michael, basically live because a German soldier didn’t shoot my Polish grandfather when he was a child. He was already aiming at him with his gun when a second soldier came and convinced him not to.
Hearing this story as a child had a profound impact on me. I was always amazed what a delicate gift it is to be alive. And how humanity can survive even under the most extreme circumstances.
To make the audience experience just a glimpse of what it must have been like for the women in Ravensbrück, will have a profound impact on them.
We believe that music can help make this story a profound experience. We would be very proud to contribute musically to the story and would treat the work on the project with the necessary preparation and respect.
Please find below some excerpts of our work as well as a few thoughts on possible musical routes for EACH OF US.
Sincerly,
Michael & Matteo
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Michael Künstle and Matteo Pagamici make up a dazzingly skilled team creating evocative scores across all genres of film, TV and advertising.
They are known for their genre-bending music and joy in collaborative work. They are interested in finding the most creative solution for a given project and determined to push the possibilities of musical storytelling forward.
Recent work highlights include the recording session for their solo debut album at Abbey Road Studio 1 with 92 musicians, Etsy’s new Super Bowl commercial and the feature film Sisi & I featuring Academy Award and Golden Globe nominee Sandra Hüller (The Zone Of Interest).The have also scored the highly successful Swiss feature films Needle Park Baby (2020) and The Neighbours from Upstairs (2023), the Gaumont Television crime series Hors Saison (2022), and New Heights (2022) - the first Swiss TV series sold to 190 countries on Netflix.
They are determined to work with the best possible musical collaborators in the field, including: Anthony Weeden (conductor: The Theory of Everything), Everton Nelson (violinist: Guillermo Del Toros Pinocchio), Katherine Tinker (pianist: Spencer, Phantom Thread), Nick Wollage (engineer: The Northman, Solo – A Star Wars Story), musicians of the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Contemporary Orchestra.
They share an incredible passion for sampling and lock themselves regularly up for several days in their studio.
The weirder the sound the more excited they are. Sometimes they end up with a small forest and all the broken chairs from the neighbourhood. -
2021 German Newcomer Composer Award | Winner | Rolf-Hans Müller Preis for “Jagdzeit”
2019 Berlinale Talents | Official Selection
2018 Swiss Film Award | Winner | Best Film Music for „Die Kleine Hexe“ (Orchestrator)
2018 Fondation SUISA “Get Going” Grant | Winner | Start-Up financing for the project “Orchestral Spaces”
2018 Fondation SUISA Best Swiss Filmmusic | Winner | “Bis ans Ende der Träume” (Co-Composer)
2014 Golden Eye Award | Nomination | 3. International Filmmusic Competition, Zurich Film Festival
2012 Golden Eye Award | Winner | 3. International Filmmusic Competition, Zurich Film Festival
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Deadline: "Ascot Elite Remaking Hit Spanish Comedy ‘Sentimental’"
Voyage LA: "Daily Inspiration: Meet Michael Künstle"
Little Black Book: "Dream Teams: Michael Künstle and Matteo Pagamici’s Expanding Musical Horizons"
The Hollywood Reporter: "Zurich Film Festival to Keep Music Score Competition for 2013 Edition"
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2022-25 Quasi Detectives | Dir. Michael Steiner, Timo von Gunten
2021-24 New Heights | Dir. Pierre Monnard, Sabine Boss, others
2023 Sisi & I | Dir. Frauke Finsterwalder
2023 Neighbours From Upstairs | Dir. Sabine Boss
2023 September Babies | Dir. Julien Wagner
2023 From The Gates Of Hell To Paradise (Doc) | Dir. Peter Reichenbach
2022 Hors Saison | Dir. Pierre Monnard
2022 Muschg - Der Andere (Doc) | Dir. Erich Schmid
2020 Jagdzeit | Dir. Sabine Boss
2019 Needle Park Baby | Dir. Pierre Monnard
2018 Sohn meines Vaters | Dir. Jeshua Dreyfus
2017 Glow (Doc) | Dir. Gabriel Baur
OUR WORK
We specialise in bringing a unique musical voice to every individual project we work on.
We are drawn to compelling stories that makes us want to know more about the subject and investigate how to approach it musically and emotionally.
Starting a project we try to put ourselves into a state of mind of not-yet-knowing how to solve the challenges of a story musically.
Keeping our minds open allows us to dive into a phase of research and experimentation. Usually that's where the essential musical ideas are created.
Ideally we work on initial ideas before principal shooting.
This allows you to edit the film with original music instead of temp tracks. And it gives us all more time to experiment with different approaches.
The goal is to create a score that captures the essence of the story and that's highly unique to the project.
OUR PROCESS
The conversations with the directors, writers and other creatives of the team are the core to our work.
We want to understand your vision, before we can marry it with ours.
"In order to express yourself creatively, you have to experience."
We believe that the best creative work comes to life when we fully immerse ourselves in a story.
For EACH OF US we would like to understand as closely as possible how it was to be imprisoned in Ravensbrück. This will allow us to stay true to the historical context and the essence of the story.
We usually start a new project with a research phase. For EACH OF US this phase could be expanded for real emotional understanding.
RESEARCH & THOUGHTS
Would it be possible to meet Neus Català and other survivors from the camp?
Would it be possible to meet historian Mathias Heyl?
Apart from experiencing first-hand narration we would like to research whether at Ravensbrück or in other camps there were any musical rituals practised. There were poems, but was there any singing or other musical activities?
RECORDINGS AT RAVENSBRÜCK MEMORIAL
If possible, we would like to make recordings in one of the original concentration camp buildings.
It’s always fascinating how many unexpected sounds one finds.
THOUGHTS ON THE MUSICAL FORM
Since the narrative is so focused on the individual characters and their individual experiences it could be interesting to do the opposite with music:
Connect their shared experiences and moments where humanity shines through with a musical voice.
Thank you for your time
If there is any possibility to introduce ourselves to you in person, we would be very happy to tell you more about our work.
For further questions we’re available per phone or e-mail:
+41 79 757 29 36
michael.kuenstle@icloud.com
Thank you and all the very best,
Michael & Matteo