JUNOD ETIENNE SCORES ESPN’S “30 FOR 30” MUHAMMED ALI DOCU-SHORT
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Reservoir songwriter Junod Etienne was tapped to compose the score for the latest installment of ESPN Films’ 30 For 30 short film series, which premiered on ESPN’s Grantland website on Wednesday morning. The original 30 For 30 series was developed to commemorate ESPN’s thirtieth anniversary as a network in 2009, producing full-length films about various atheletes, issues, and events that impacted the sports industry between 1979 and 2009. The new spinoff series of shorts capitalizes on the success of the original run’s documentary feel and involvement of high-profile filmmakers.
30 For 30’s premiere short installment, “Ali: The Mission,” was directed by Emmy Award winning producer and director Armani Martin, whose credits include HBOs “Brooklyn Dodgers: The Ghosts of Flatbush” and branded entertainment for Ducati Motorcycles, Tumi, Tommy Hilfiger, and non-profit organizations Millennium Promise and the US Soccer Foundation. Grammy Award-winning R&B singer-songwriter John Legend narrates the film.
Throughout the piece, Etienne’s dramatic composition anchors the story of Muhammed Ali’s courageous, and ultimately successful, venture to Iraq to plead for the release of fifteen hostages held captive by Saddam Hussein. The film’s track changes with each scene to be light and airy in one moment, dark and foreboding the next.
Watch the short “Ali: The Mission” here: