In Deliver Us, the stakes aren’t abstract; they’re life and death. The hard-hitting doc from filmmakers Jenny Kwandham & Randi Matthews sheds light on a system that continues to fail Black mothers in devastating, measurable ways. Composer Alex Yewon steps into that reality with a score that doesn’t just underscore the story but carries its grief, resilience, and defiant hopefulness. I caught up with Alex to talk about navigating such weighty subject matter, crafting intimate sonic identities for each midwife, and more.
JG: Deliver Us carries immense emotional weight about racial bias in Black maternal health in the US. How did you keep the score relatively restrained without losing the impact of such important subject matter?
Alex Yewon: Finding that balance was really important from the beginning because, as you said, the subject is very heavy, but we’re experiencing it through these four midwives who are amazing and very optimistic. They have a very uplifting spirit. The question I asked myself at the beginning of the process was How do I support these midwives with my music while capturing their energy and also not downplaying the heaviness of the subject?
In the film, there is an interview where one of the clients of the birthing center says, “Walking into Kindred Space feels like walking into a family home.” And that’s what I wanted my music to do for the film. I wanted the experience of watching this film to be like walking into a family house, so I reached for a lot of warm and organic instruments. I used a lot of human voices and a very soft piano. Then later, I worked with a cellist and a bassist and recorded them. They played it so beautifully. I feel really lucky to have had them on this project. But I also included a lot of synthesizer sounds that still felt organic and warm.
JG: Did you create distinct musical identities for each midwife, or aim for a unified tone?
Alex Yewon: From my early conversations with Randi Matthews, the director, we talked about their personalities and characteristics a lot, and we spent a lot of time building their individual sounds with music. So with Kim and Allegra, they are the first two midwives we see in the film, and they are running the Kindred Space LA. Their energy was aligned with what I was trying to convey, with how watching this film feels like walking into a family home.
And then with Stephanie, I tried to match her energy with this really fun bassline and this really punchy drumbeat because she’s so passionate about what she’s fighting for, and she doesn’t hold back when she’s expressing that. Then Janine’s music was the most fun to work on because she’s in Chicago, so Randi wanted some Chicago jazz influence in there. And Janine also has this really calm charisma. I was able to build that sound with saxophone, trumpet, and some synth pads.
JG: I know you have a background in jazz and rock. Did you find that you got to pull much from that when working on the score for Deliver Us?
Alex Yewon: My background in jazz and playing in bands is not something I really think about when I’m scoring films. But I do think it helped in shaping my taste and my sense of rhythm. Because I started as a guitarist, I have experience playing in smaller ensembles rather than orchestras. In the smaller ensemble settings, the interactions between the musicians really matter, and small nuances can make a big difference. I think my choices when composing are influenced by that.
JG: Interesting. Did you find there were any moments where you relied on silence to help shape the film or build tension?
Alex Yewon: One of the rules that I followed while working on this film was that I was not gonna touch the scenes where the women were interacting in group settings. Those conversations felt like they were music in themselves already. We see these women caring about each other. They lifted each other, and it had such good energy that I didn’t want to interject it with my music. And then there are some interviews where they’re detailing their experiences with the healthcare system, and it felt so raw and heavy. I felt like those parts of the film also did not need music to help tell the story.
JG: There are more premieres coming up for Deliver Us. Can you tell us a bit about those?
Alex Yewon: Deliver Us just had its world premiere at Cinequest Film Festival. And more screenings will follow, and they will be announced on the Deliver Us doc Instagram page.
You can learn more about Deliver Us here.
