# Hanan Townshend

Hanan Townshend is a New Zealand-born film composer best known for his work in Terrence Malick films such as The Tree of Life, Knight of Cups, and To the Wonder.

## Career

Townshend was a music licensee on Terrence Malick's Palme d'Or winning film The Tree of Life, where he received his first significant recognition. He has composed for numerous feature films, including Malick’s 2012 film To the Wonder and more recently, Knight of Cups, starring Christian Bale, Natalie Portman, Cate Blanchett and Imogen Poots. He has scored over a dozen large commercials for brands such as Apple, American Express, Nike and Google. He has also collaborated with producers such as Mike McCarthy and Daniel Lanois.

## Themes and style

Townshend’s music reflects the broad background of inspiration from which he draws – the poetic soundscapes of his home country, the eager patterns of popular music, and the refinement of classical training and studies in art composition. Because of this, he has a penchant for approaching film music from a less conventional perspective and producing clever, memorable pieces that support just as much the picturesque as they do the auditory experience.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 2009 | Lya | Nicolas Siegenthaler | Short film |
| 2009 | Western Brothers’ Adventure Story | Drew Xanthopoulos | Documentary Short film |
| 2009 | Georgie | Drew Xanthopoulos | Short film |
| 2010 | The Holy Roller | Patrick Gillies |
| 2010 | By Jude | Angela Chen | Short film |
| 2010 | The Finale | Drew Xanthopoulos | Short film |
| 2010 | Titans | Nicolas Seigenthaler | Short film |
| 2011 | Little Lions | Tony Costello | Short film |
| 2011 | The Tree of Life | Terrence Malick | As music licensee |
| 2011 | When We Fell | Drew Xanthopoulos | Short film |
| 2011 | White Gloves | Courtney Stephens | Documentary Short film |
| 2012 | To the Wonder | Terrence Malick |
| 2012 | Maybe | Pedro Resende | Short film |
| 2012 | American Tintype | Matt Morris | Short film |
| 2013 | Dewars “Live True” Campaign | Nacho Gayán | TV Commercial |
| 2013 | The Curiosity Collective | Ditore Mayo Entertainment | Web Video |
| 2013 | Loves Her Gun | Geoff Marslett |
| 2013 | Sunny Square | Hammad Rivzi | Short film |
| 2013 | Vultures of Tibet | Russell O. Bush | Documentary short film |
| 2014 | The Better Angels | A. J. Edwards |
| 2014 | Believe Me | Will Bakke |
| 2014 | Apple “Your Verse” Campaign | TBWA\Media Arts Lab | TV Commercial |
| 2015 | Knight of Cups | Terrence Malick |
| 2015 | American Express ‘Mindy Kaling’s Journery’ | Ogilvy & Mather | TV commercial |
| 2015 | Echoes of War | Kane Senes |
| 2015 | Google ‘Expeditions | Google Education | Web Video |
| 2015 | Nike ‘Re:RUN’ | Nike | Short film |
| 2015 | Avon ‘Beauty Lovers Wanted’ | Avon | Web video |
| 2016 | Heaven Sent | Michael Landon Jr. |
| 2016 | The Vessel | Julio Quintana |
| 2016 | Voyage of Time | Terrence Malick | Documentary |
| 2016 | Hybrid Vigor | Brandon Fowler |
| 2017 | Song to Song | Terrence Malick | Additional Music Composer |
| 2017 | Strawberry Land | Wiktor Ericsson |
| 2017 | Disgraced | Pat Kondelis | Documentary |
| 2020 | The Book of Vision | Carlo S. Hintermann |
| 2020 | Outcry (mini-series) | Pat Kondelis | American television documentary series |
| 2021 | Blue Miracle | Julio Quintana |