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Karl Sölve Steven

Karl Sölve Steven

Composer

Karl Sölve Steven is an award-winning New Zealand/Swedish composer whose recent work includes "Marama" (d. Taratoa Stappard, Official Selection TIFF 2025) scored with Rob Thorne, Ant Timpson's "Bookworm" (starring Elijah Wood, Nell Fisher, and Michael Smiley), "Uproar" (starring Julian Dennison, Rhys Darby and Minnie Driver, d. Hamish Bennett and Paul Middleditch), and "Never Look Away" (Winner, Best Original Music in a Feature Film APRA Screen Music Awards 2024) directed by Lucy Lawless and scored with Jason Smith (World Documentary Competition Sundance Film Festival 2024 and SXSW 2024). His score for Ant Timpson's black comedy thriller "Come To Daddy" (starring Elijah Wood) was celebrated by reviewers (Variety, Rue Morgue, Film Music Magazine), won the APRA Screen Music Award for Best Music in a Feature Film, and was among the Film Music Institute's Best Scores of 2020. Karl's soundtrack to the "Black Hands" series (prod. Warner Bros, series producer Robin Scholes) won Best Original Score in a Series at the APRA Screen Music Awards 2021 and his and Rob Thorne's sore for the limited documentary series "Black Coast Vanishings" (prod. Augusto, series producers Cass Avery and Nicola Smith) won Best Original Score in a Series at the APRA Screen Music Awards 2024. Karl comes from a background in studio engineering, where as a teenager he trained in both digital and tape production, and he has been heavily involved writing and producing a number of platinum selling musical projects over the years. His academic background includes a PhD in Ancient Philosophy from Trinity College Cambridge. Together with Larsen Winiata Tito-Taylor and Ben Tawhiti he has worked on Nova Paul's experimental short films presented at the Centre Georges Pompidou and Sundance Film Festival. Karl is the son of a filmmaker and a writer, and is well known in Aotearoa New Zealand as a thoughtful collaborator and passionate story-teller.

Read more

Biography from IMDb.

Works as
Composer
Titles
18 on MovieCove · 34 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 156 days to Oct 27Down 2% in 30 days

What are Karl Sölve Steven's films like?

Across their 17 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Survival.

Genres

Documentary5 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 54th percentile
: browse their Documentary movies
Drama4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 64th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies
Adventure2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 52nd percentile
: browse their Adventure movies
Comedy2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 50th percentile
: browse their Comedy movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
32%
Survival
25%
Bonds
18%
Morality
8%
Ideas
7%
Society
6%
Power
4%
Family bonds6 titles, browse their movies with this themeGrief6 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity5 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose4 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival3 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth2 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age2 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 14 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 5 · Serious 3 · Dark 6

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 10 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 3 · Charged 6 · Intense 5

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 8 · Shifting 5 · Whiplash 1

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 8 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 1

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 9 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

A split, not a type: Casual 7 · Engaged 6 · Full focus 1

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 10 · Open-ended 4 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Contemplative
8
Melancholic
8
Hopeful
10
Tense
5
Dread
4
Other
12

How their films linger

Hopeful13 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy2
  • Bittersweet12
  • Ambiguous2
  • Other1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Karl Sölve Steven's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 12 of their 18 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (7).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Karl Sölve Steven's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

34 credits, 18 with a MovieCove page.

  • Moss & Freud(2025)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films

  • Marama(2025)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • Holy Days(2026)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films

  • Pike River(2025)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • Rochelle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Composer

  • Bookworm(2024)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • Black Coast Vanishings (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Show 4 episodes · Composer

  • Never Look Away(2024)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films

  • Red, White & Brass (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    Music Producer

  • The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck(2023)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films

  • Dynamic Planet(2023)

    Show Composer

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)

  • Uproar(2023)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • Meng (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Composer

  • Beyond Conversion(2022)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Jessica (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    Composer

  • June (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    Composer

  • Munkie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    Composer

  • The Justice of Bunny King(2021)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • Toke (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)

    Additional Music

  • The Girl on the Bridge(2020)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • The Sounds(2020)

    Show Composer

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all shows

  • Ablaze (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Composer

  • Fools and Dreamers: Regenerating a Native Forest (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Composer

  • Bellbird(2019)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • Come to Daddy(2019)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films

  • In a Flash (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Composer

  • 100 Men(2017)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • Pike River (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Composer

  • The Monster of Mangatiti (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Composer

  • 800 Words(2015)

    Show Composer

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all shows

  • Housebound(2014)

    Additional Music

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • Ross & Beth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Composer

  • Honk If You're Horny (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Music Supervisor

  • Wing Chun (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Composer

Career shape

A full career of 26 titles, 25 of them dated from 2012 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Holy Days (2026)

$1.2M worldwide

Highest rated

800 Words (2015)

Midcredits 86th

By role

only this rolewith another role
Music25 of 26: 25 only music, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score55thOther crew1 of 26: 1 only other crew, 0 with another role

By decade

2010s10 · crew2020s15 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Karl Sölve Steven's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 55th percentile, the median of all 15; across their 14 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 56th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

56thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Approval · how many liked their films

55thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Reach · how many have seen their films

74thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Midcredits score across 18 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up3
  • 50th to 74th9
  • 25th to 49th6

Shape of the crowd

9 of their 18 titles are Mixed.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Loved with Detractors1
  • Divisive1
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser4
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed9

Most divisive · composer

Beyond Conversion (2022)

97th percentile spread · 23% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · composer

800 Words (2015)

Midcredits 86th · 89% liked

Reviewers score the sound and music 63/100 in their films, across 9 reviewed titles; fans 68, detractors 37. The element that speaks to their work as a composer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Karl Sölve Steven's work okay for kids?

Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.

Their medianMedian of all films
Sex & Nudity4 titlesmedian 41 · moderateMedian of all films: 32
Profanity3 titlesmedian 35 · moderateMedian of all films: 36

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.

Who does Karl Sölve Steven work with?

People who share at least 2 of Karl Sölve Steven's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Emma Slade shares the most, 5.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles