For our latest feature film ForeFans, I ended up creating three original songs. Two of these songs –The Final Destiny Theme and Blame – were true collaborations. But by the time I got to the third song, Simp, I had nothing left. No money. No time. No mental space for another long musical journey.

I needed to edit a teaser for the quickly approaching European Film Market for Sarah to take and show sales agents on the floor. I needed a song for the teaser, and after trying the songs I had already licensed for the film and feeling none captured the vibe I wanted, I wondered what was the quickest and easiest (and cheapest) way to get a song I might like. 

The answer was AI.

In a world that is fast-paced — where humans are expected to do more, absorb more, hustle harder, and take in as much information as possible — there’s a small but growing group of us who’ve cottoned on to something: in the end, stillness and slowing down might actually be more productive. More grounding, more interesting, and better for us overall.

And when it comes to storytelling, filmmaking, and the films I choose to watch, I feel the same way.

Give me long, quiet shots of absolute “nothingness.” Characters sitting in silence, looking out over cliffs, quietly applying makeup, moving through their room looking for a favourite pair of shoes. Couples glancing at each other with nothing left to say. And my personal favourite – Rooney Mara eating pie on the floor for six uninterrupted minutes — no music, no camera movement, no sound design — just grief, just time, just presence.