Janal Bechthold

Specializing in music for film, television and interactive media, Janal has scored numerous productions including psychological thriller “Art of Obsession”, documentaries “Gods in Shackles”, “The Vatican Deception”, video game “The Rival Books of Aster”, and interactive graphic novel series "Dystopia 2153". Janal brings a unique perspective to the world of film through her professional training as a Music Therapist. "Music Therapy was a natural transition to scoring for film and other media. My specific knowledge of the interplay between psychology and music and heightened awareness of non-verbal communication enables me to recognize the emotional content of a scene at a deeper level and be able to create music which would support the emotions of the actors, the underlying themes, and guide the audience to a greater experience.” Art of Obsession director Ryan M Andrews talks about their collaboration: "She is a creative genius with a killer ear. And with a genre film where building suspense is key, music is such an important component to that. Especially this film because it is such a quiet and moody piece, the music really drives the scenes forward". As one of Canada’s composers to watch, Janal recently scored the gender advocacy film “Reel Women Seen”, supported by Canada’s creative industry guilds and unions, and honoured with the 2018 Jury Choice Award at the Diversity in Cannes Short Film Showcase. Janal has been awarded the 2016 Christopher Dedrick Award for Live Musicians in Media Soundtracks and selected as a participant in the Canadian Music Centre’s EQ: 2018 Women In Electronic Music incubator. She is the founder of Toronto Women Composers, chairs the Women Composers Advisory Council and is Vice President of the Screen Composers Guild of Canada.