Driven by the extraordinary central performance of Meninet Abraha Teferi, Madame Luna marks the return of Swedish-Chilean director Daniel Espinosa to a type of social issue cinema reminiscent of the Dardenne brothers, after a decade of star-studded work in America. (Adrien Martin, IFFR)
Inspired by true events, the film is a thrilling drama about an Eritrean refugee who is washed ashore in Libya, and with time becomes one of the most notorious human smugglers with deep ties to the Italian Mafia.
The collaborative journey of composer Jon Ekstrand and director Daniel Espinosa has been one of creative synergy and seamless teamwork, spanning eight projects since their film school days. From the early stages of sketching the film’s musical landscape, Ekstrand and Espinosa made a unique decision that would shape the sonic identity of ‘Madame Luna’.
Choosing the clarinet as a primary narrative tool, Ekstrand initially sketched the score by playing the clarinet himself. Originally planning to bring in a professional clarinet player to replace these sketches, they ultimately decided to retain Ekstrand’s recordings. The raw, untrained quality of the clarinet, played a pivotal role in capturing the intended textural nature and emotional depth, seamlessly blending with the film’s landscape and storyline.
According to Ekstrand, the clarinet, in its unaltered state, became the emotive inner voice of the film, subtly alluding to the region of Northern Africa without overt literalism. This choice provided a unique and evocative sonic palette, offering an emotional resonance that resonates with the film’s narrative. The inclusion of other wind instruments, such as twisting windpipes and woodwinds, further contributed to the atmospheric storytelling, hinting at elements like sea, ship bells and fog horns. Together, these elements crafted a sonic tapestry that illustrated the treacherous journey of crossing the Mediterranean and the complex emotional landscape of the protagonist.
Ekstrand’s original score for ‘Madame Luna’ is set to be released in ATMOS (as it was also mixed in ATMOS), underscoring the commitment to delivering an immersive listening experience. As the score unfolds, it weaves together a rich and nuanced story, where the combination of atmospheric elements paints a vivid sonic landscape that mirrors the visual journey of ‘Madame Luna’.
Jon Ekstrand is a Stockholm based Swedish film composer and artist. Ekstrand began his career under the mentorship of acclaimed sound designer Owe Svensson, where he sharpened his skills at understanding the power of sound and its dramaturgic importance in helping a story realize its potential. In 1998, whilst attending Stockholm Film School, Ekstrand met Director Daniel Espinosa, in which the two formed a tight creative relationship which continues to this day.
Ekstrand and Espinosa have collaborated on 7 feature films, including the hit “Easy Money” Trilogy as well as Marvel film “Morbius” and Hollywood Studio Films “Child 44” and “Life”. Recent works include Amazon Studios drama thriller “All The Old Knives”, Lasse Hallströms “Hilma” a biopic on the life of Hilma af Klint, Milad Alamani´s psychological drama The Opponent andEspinosa´s arthouse drama thriller “Madame Luna”.
Jon has had a rich career within film, having worked the entire spectrum of the sound team, from boom operator, sound recordist, to sound designer and today as accoladed composer. Ekstrand is a self-confessed synthesizer addict, and generally starts building his scores around electro-acoustic elements. His scores range in genre from more minimal arthouse ambient to epic thriller drama´s, where he has recorded with full orchestra´s at both Air Studio in London as well as Colombia Studio´s and Sony Studio´s in Los Angeles. To date Ekstrand has scored over 35 films and TV series and has been awarded The Danish Film Institutes Robert Award, for his score to the 2019 film Queen of Hearts, as well as a Cannes Series Award for his score to the 2020 TV series Top Dog.
Ekstrand is actively engaged in the current diversity dilemma within the film industry and is part of a composer’s mentorship program arranged through the Swedish collecting society STIM.