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Torch Song (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Torch Song (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Torch Song (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Torch Song (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

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For years, filmmaker and composer Jeroen Houben wanted to bring together his two great loves, music and film, in one project. The result is the musical film Torch Song, for which he took on the music as well as the script and direction.

Houben wrote several songs from the perspective of the main character Liz, an eccentric singer from America who comes to visit her estranged half-brother in the Netherlands. Her role is played by Swiss actress Carla Juri, known for films like Blade Runner 2049 and Wetlands. Her singing was recorded entirely live on set, giving the film and soundtrack a remarkable authenticity.

Houben: “I thought it was important that the songs in the film wouldn’t become some kind of musical interlude, but would actually fulfill a narrative function. Each song is part of the story and brings you closer to the character of Liz.”

The dreamy songs reveal influences from 1960s songwriters such as Henry Mancini and Burt Bacharach. In the otherwise instrumental soundtrack, Houben suggests romance and darkness with piano and strings, occasionally venturing into a twilight jazz world of double bass and percussion.

Having grown up in his parents’ TV shop, Jeroen Houben's fascination with cinema began at a young age with the making of short films and animations. After graduating as a graphic designer and filmmaker, he made music videos for artists like De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig and Ronnie Flex, and wrote and directed several internationally acclaimed short films, including Best Wishes, Home Suite Home, and Gips. Houben has been a musician all his life and previously wrote music for various short films. His feature film De Matchmaker attracted more than 100,000 visitors to Dutch cinemas and earned him a Gouden Film award.

Torch Song has been selected by the Dutch Film Festival for the Gouden Kalf Competition 2024. The film, produced by Family Affair Films, will premiere on September 21 at the Dutch Film Festival and will be released by Gusto Entertainment on January 23, 2025.