A new award-winning short film titled The Fries Rebellion features theme music composed by harpist Sarajane Williams and scored for the film by composer Thibaut Falgairette. After hearing music in a dream, Williams expanded it on the harp to become “Kayla’s Journey” (named after the docudrama’s protagonist). The film score based on her original composition won a silver award for Best Original Score at the Los Angeles Independent Shorts Awards in August 2024.
Williams served as screenwriter and executive producer for the drama, alongside two film production companies (ubiFire Video Productions and In the Wee hours). As president of the Lower Macungie Township Historical Society in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, she created the project to celebrate the upcoming 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. The film commemorates a little-known tax revolt called the Fries Rebellion of 1798–99, led by Pennsylvania German farmers who had previously fought in the Revolutionary War. Williams plans to make the 30-minute documentary available to historical societies and schools in the greater Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania to help visitors, residents, and students learn about the region’s culture and history.
Williams says she hopes her “latest foray into the use of harp music to captivate audiences of all kinds… might also inform and inspire [fellow harpists] to look for other possible avenues for musical expression.”
For more information, visit the film’s website.
