At the very last minute (when genius or insanity strike) during our final sound mix, we suddenly had the idea of getting a child to sing one of the hymns used in “All God’s Children”.
One quick phone call to April Ruane Crowley of Celestial Films (she’s got the kids hook-up) and a few days later we have recordings of children singing “Jesus Loves Me” and “Jesus Loves The Little Children”.
We’re currently playing around with the different songs and versions. We think that either song will have a strong effect at the end of the film – it brings out the innocence, vulnerability and the trust children have. In the context of the film this is quite chilling.
For your own religion-themed documentary research, here’s a great website which lists hymns with lyrics, sound samples and copyright information: The Cyber Hymnal