How do you score a film about a fisherwoman who asks a basket maker to weave her a husband? Ask electronic and acoustic composer, producer and performer Anna Meredith.  That’s what writers and directors Eleanor Wilson and Alex Huston Fischer did for their film “Wicker,” which is based on a short story, “The Wicker Husband,” by Ursula Willis-Jones, and premiered last weekend at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.  The film stars Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård and Peter Dinklage. “It has sort of a classic feeling to it, but it was very modern at the same time,” Fischer said during a discussion at the ASCAP Music Café, moderated by Amanda Shoffner, ASCAP senior director film and TV/visual media. “It wasn’t set anywhere specific, and we liked that. (So) we went with an anachronistic setting, which allowed us to make a lot of stuff up. We picked and chose what we wanted, and invented.” That opened up the possibilities of what the music could be, Wilson said. “It’s like a fable, but there are a lot of modern themes in it,” she said. The filmmakers had just met Meredith, and they asked her if she would be interested in creating some music for a scene involving the woman, played by actress and one of the film’s producers Olivia Colman. “Al and El asked if I could write something for this very special dance moment, so they could choreograph to it,” she said. “That already sounded quite fun to give the woman a little bit of a sonic identity. It was sort of a dip of a toe before I properly started writing last year.” Wilson confessed asking Meredith to write a piece of music was a bold request at that time. “It’s because we just met (and said), ‘We’re doing choreography in a week, but no pressure. But if you want to…” she said with a laugh. “And then Anna pulled out something incredible.” The piece is reminiscent of an old folk song, according to Meredith. “But it has this horrendous time signature,” she said with a laugh. “I was worried all the cast was going to hate me because it has many numeric properties.” The counting was so syncopated that Meredith sent along a hand-written cheat sheet of time signatures to accompany the music, Wilson said. “It was a psychotic list of ones and twos and all of these numbers, and Anna said, ‘Just follow along,’” she said. “But it did actually help.” Conversations between filmmakers and composer followed, and Fischer knew they wanted Meredith to do more with their film. “What we loved about Anna’s music and her scores is that they are very bold and strange and compulsive,” he said. “In this movie, we have the opportunity to foreground the score in a way. It’s not just all undertones and backgrounds, and we thought this is a chance to go big. And we were excited about that.” That path also appealed to Meredith. “It’s such an amazing thing when someone says, ‘Yeah, yeah. We want the music to be bold. It’s like, ‘Roll up your sleeves and get stuck in,’” she said. “I was thrilled to do that.” While Meredith’s other scores feature electronic music, she decided to use acoustic instruments to adhere to the organic theme of basket weaving that runs throughout the film. “In some ways what felt more important with this film is to make sure I got the sound right,” she said. “There is a sort of a simplicity and a purity to some of the characters, (and) I really wanted to write something that had a character, an identity that felt authentic, real and natural, but also a little bit alternative and sort of not quite regular as well.” So, the composer decided to utilize recorders. “For many of us they are the first instruments we learn, and they are pared back to pure sounds,” she said. The filmmakers loved the idea, and the instrument was easy for Meredith to play. “The good thing about recorders is I could temp and demo quite a bit myself with my primary school recorder,” she said. “But (the decisions) also meant a whole, big, deep dive into the admittedly terrifying and enormous world of recorders.” Meredith discovered “millions” of recorders.  “There are so many different sizes, different tunings, different materials,” she said. “We used teeny-tiny soprano recorders, and there are medium sizes that go right up to this bonkers-looking, Ikea, flat-pack bass recorder that looks like nothing you’ve ever seen.” Then there’s a contrabass recorder that has a very low sound, Meredith said. “The instrument was so massive that we had to move recording to a room with a skylight so the player could fit the recorder in,” she said. At first the composer and the filmmakers worked remotely, Wilson said. “We did that until we were able to set aside some time for Anna and our music editor to come to L.A.,” she said. “Then we did a whole intensive together. It was really fun, and punishing and challenging and, at times, very frustrating. But it was so fruitful to be in the same space together working on it. We wouldn’t have been able to do that remotely.” “There was an incredible amount of music that was created in three weeks, and it sounds good,” Fischer said. “We’re so happy with the score.” Meredith couldn’t create music fast enough. “Smoke was coming off the keyboard from the amount of music, and there’s so much music in this film,” she said.  She also let her ideas lead the creative process. “I write in lots of different contexts, but thinking about trying to write in any particular style or (use) any reference points I find actually unhelpful creatively,” she said. “This was an opportunity to rip up the rule book (and) think dramatically about what the score could do.” “Wicker” is the second film Wilson and Fischer have debuted at Sundance. Their first was 2020 adventure comedy “Save Yourselves!,” and Fischer said the Sundance Institute helped get things rolling. “We got to do a screenwriting lab in 2018, and they pluck you out and tell you, ‘You are an artist. Go forth and here’s some tools,’” Fischer said. The two actually met Colman that year in a crowded cafe, and she was the one who, a couple of years later, sent Wilson and Fischer Willis-Jones’ short story. “(She) thought it would be a fantastic film, and we agreed,” Wilson said. “We loved the premise and thought it was so visual. It was ripe for adaptation. And Sundance has created the opportunity for this to happen. We feel so honored to be a part of it, especially this last year here in Park City.”  ‘Wicker’ in-person screenings 9:15 p.m., Jan. 28, Rose Wagner Center, Salt Lake City 6:15 p.m., Jan. 29, Eccles Theatre, Park City 11:30 a.m., Jan. 30, The Ray Theatre Tickets: festival.sundance.org The post Composer and filmmakers weave a score for ‘Wicker’ appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less