Tempest Storm Premieres at Hot Docs 2016

Tempest Storm, the feature documentary directed by Nimisha Mukerji, with score by John Welsman, will have its world premiere at Hot Docs Festival on April 30, 2016.

Tempest Storm was mistress to both Elvis and JFK, and became an international star of the stage and screen in the 1950s. At the age of 87 she is considered to be the greatest living exotic dancer, but her success came at a great personal cost. Exploring her dramatic rise to fame in burlesque and her swift fall from grace after pursuing an interracial marriage, “Tempest Storm” is a feature documentary that bares all to tell the controversial life story of an American sex icon.

Welsman comments: 'Tempest endured traumatic experiences growing up in the deep-south town of Eastman, Georgia – experiences that scarred and set the course for her future life in Burlesque. The story of her childhood seemed to call out for a moody, blues-based score, for the cry in the bend of an electric slide guitar. So I started there... but Tempest is a determined, indomitable woman who refuses to see her life as a tragedy. She rises above, and there had to be music in the score that played to her strength and spirit as well.'

Here's the main theme...

2015 CANADIAN SCREEN AWARDS NOMINATION FOR BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC

Composer John Welsman has received a 2015 Canadian Screen Awards Nomination for Best Original Music for a Non-Fiction Program or Series for his score for Ric Esther Bienstock's feature documentary Tales From the Organ Trade, from Associated Producers.

Welsman writes "This was a rare and welcome opportunity for me to work on a film about a subject that is as complicated as it is uncomfortable. This is not a black and white account of exploitation, but, rather, a nuanced and complex story that challenges our moral and ethical beliefs.'

This year, the Canadian Screen Awards will honour Ms. Bienstock with the Gordon Sinclair Award for Broadcast Journalism.

Here's the Main Theme from the score:

‘Babies: Born To Be Good?’ Airs on CBC ‘s The Nature of Things

The Stormy Nights Productions documentary ‘Born To Be Good?’ will air on CBC’s The Nature of Things on Oct. 25th. Directed by Eileen Thalenberg and produced by Gail McIntyre and Amélie Blandchard, BABIES: BORN TO BE GOOD? is a lively look at the moral trajectory of children from the first months of life onward. This film asks the questions:  “Where does our moral compass come from?  Where do our notions of good and bad, our sense of justice and fairness originate?  How do we decide who to trust, who to help?" Blending scientific research and scenes of children in their own environments, the documentary reveals that children seem to have a moral sense from the very get-go.

Here’s a piece from the score by John Welsman:

Score Completed for "The Jungle Prescription"

14 Oct 2011: John Welsman completed the score for ‘The Jungle Prescription’ for director Mark Ellam, which is the tale of two doctors treating their addicted patients with ayahuasca, a mysterious Amazonian medicine rumoured to reveal one’s deepest self. A piece from the score:

Franklin and Friends, A New Series Composed by John Welsman

7 April 2010: Franklin and Friends, with score by John Welsman, is a new series based on Nelvana’s successful animated children’s series Franklin is going into production with 26 new half hours starting in May.

Modra Features Music by John Welsman and Winona Zelenka

30 Jan 2010: Modra, Ingrid Veninger’s follow-up feature to her indie mini hit ‘Only’ features a spare and understated acoustic score. As well as John’s guitar and ukulele playing, the score features a cello performance by Winona Zelenka. 

Gemini Nomination for "My Friend Rabbit"

26 Aug 2009: John Welsman has been nominated for a 2009 Gemini Award for his score 
for Nelvana's ‘My Friend Rabbit’.

Nurse.Fighter.Boy Gets Theatrical Release

2 Jan 2008: Nurse.Fighter.Boy – Directed by Charles Officer, the feature film premiered at Toronto International Film Festival in 2008, gets it’s theatrical release in Canada in February. Its US debut will be in New York at MOMA in April 2009.