Acclaimed Documentary, a Critical Hit at the 2021 Sundance Film FestivalPremiering on discovery+ Recalls Conflict Between Activist Nuns and Los Angeles’ Powerful,Conservative Cardinal During the Late ‘60s
(Los Angeles, CA) – June 25, 2021 – Node Records, the independent label devoted to releasing outstanding film and television soundtracks, issued the companion album for Pedro Kos’ widely praised new documentary Rebel Hearts today, Friday, June 25.
WATCH the music trailer HERE + PURCHASE/STREAM the soundtrack HERE.
New original songs by singer-songwriters Rufus Wainwright and Sharon Van Etten are featured on the album, which also includes the original instrumental score by veteran film and TV composer Ariel Marx, whose debut solo album Luthier was released by Node in 2020. Tracy McKnight, who co-runs Node with Schirmer Theatrical president Robert Thompson, served as music supervisor for the feature.
Kos’ film premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, which was held virtually this year. Using interviews shot by co-producer Shawnee Isaac Smith over the course of two decades, contemporaneous news coverage, and newly created animation, it tells the moving, inspiring story of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who served as instructors at Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles.
In the wake of the modernizing second Vatican Ecumenical Council of 1962-63, the inception of a new liberalism within the Catholic Church, and the rising social and political ferment of the ‘60s, the progressive nuns of Immaculate Heart came into direct and very public conflict with the rigid patriarchal rule of L.A.’s conservative Cardinal James Francis McIntyre. The clash was ultimately only resolved by intervention from Rome and an ultimatum from the iron-fisted McIntyre.
The Los Angeles Times named Rebel Hearts among the “24 must-see movies from the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.” Steve Pond of TheWrap called it “an affectionate salute to the women who were dubbed ‘The Pope’s Unruly Flock’ in one magazine headline,” while Guy Lodge of Variety said the “buoyant and infectious” film “neatly threads a global feminist awakening through the very specific experience of a few defiant, no-longer-cloistered women.”
McKnight says of the film, “I am so excited for the world to see Pedro’s incredible documentary about The Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It was an honor to curate the soundtrack of their inspirational, trailblazing journey with masterful contributions highlighted by Ariel’s gorgeous score and the incredible new songs from Rufus and Sharon.”
Rebel Hearts is bookended by Van Etten’s “Conjunction” and Wainwright’s “Secret Sister,” which were penned expressly for the film.
Van Etten has contributed music to 40 film and TV projects, including Never Rarely Sometimes Always, a 2020 Sundance entry in which she also took a supporting acting role.
Van Etten says, “When I was first asked to work on Rebel Hearts, I wasn’t familiar with the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart. However, after I saw the trailer, I knew immediately I wanted to be a part of it and find out more about these renegade women, ahead of their time. It was a welcomed time to reconnect with my friends and musicians and get my partner to brush off his drumsticks to help me flesh out the opening of the film, which greatly sets the tone of their journey and struggle. My bandmate Charley Damski helped with string arrangements, Zeke Hutchins played drums, Zach Dawes played bass, and Dan Knowles engineered and mixed it. They helped me feel like I was working towards something again and that process directly informed what I have been working on currently in my writing. Thank you to Pedro Kos and Tracy McKnight for having faith in me to help support this moving documentary. Working with that dynamo duo kept me on my toes with their attention to detail and emotive references.”
Wainwright’s music has appeared in more than 60 movies and TV shows; he is possibly best known for his version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” which appeared on the original soundtrack album for the animated hit “Shrek.”
Wainwright recalls, “I had heard about the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for years as my grandfather’s girlfriend was a student at the school and two of her sisters became Sisters. When Pedro asked me to write a song for the movie, it almost wrote itself as the story was within me for such a long time already. I recorded it with two of my favorite musicians, Blake Mills on guitars and Matt Chamberlain on drums and percussion. The song is like a mantra, very simple, that builds and builds. I sing all the harmonies that get more and more complex and more and more layered as the song progresses. It is about the loss of innocence as we discover our destiny.”
Ariel Marx has authored the scores for more than 60 feature films and shorts, including the South By Southwest Film Festival entry Shiva Baby and the hit Amazon miniseries Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer.
Her music for Rebel Hearts incorporates full orchestral arrangements, sometimes overlaid with washes of synthesizer and vocal choruses.
Marx says, “Scoring the journey of these trailblazing women was an absolute gift. Pedro’s direction of the film is stunning, as he tells the story of these women with such admiration, humor, and depth. In turn, the score shape shifts to honor the complex tone of the film with lots of varying instrumentation and compositional aesthetics. I had the incredible opportunity to work with Tracy McKnight and musicians in LA, New York, and Macedonia to help bring the score to life.”
Theatrical engagements of Rebel Hearts begin on June 25 at select U.S. theaters; the feature streams on discovery+ starting June 27. For additional information on the soundtrack, visit www.noderecords.com.
Rebel Hearts Track listing
1. Conjunction – Sharon Van Etten2. Genesis Of Resistance – Ariel Marx3. Coritia’s Art – Ariel Marx4. Simply Obey – Ariel Marx5. Defiance – Ariel Marx6. Selma – Ariel Marx7. Experimentation On The Habit – Ariel Marx8. It Was Our School – Ariel Marx9. Discovery of the Modern World – Ariel Marx10. The Amendments – Ariel Marx11. Scandalous – Ariel Marx12. The One Thing People Hate Is Change – Ariel Marx13. Mary’s Day – Ariel Marx14. Blasphemous – Ariel Marx15. Enemy Within– Ariel Marx16. System Of Conformity – Ariel Marx17. Letter To The Cardinal – Ariel Marx18. The Four Points – Ariel Marx19. Hurt By An Institution – Ariel Marx20. Didn’t Deserve Our Devotion – Ariel Marx21. Not Be Accounted Real Sisters – Ariel Marx22. Fall Of The Patriarchy – Ariel Marx23. Can’t Go Back – Ariel Marx24. The Wholeness of A Community – Ariel Marx25. May It Even Unto The End of Time – Ariel Marx26. Secret Sister – Rufus Wainwright
About Node Records
With Co-Presidents Tracy McKnight and Robert Thompson at the helm, Node Records is an independent record label based in New York and Los Angeles, dedicated to releasing film & TV soundtracks and artist driven projects.