The digital music streaming service Spotify and Film Gent have signed an exclusive partnership. The Spotify Public Choice Award for best score will be awarded by the public during the 14th edition of the World Soundtrack Awards. Spotify will also present the new music section of the film festival: Sound and Vision

In 2001 Film Fest Gent founded the World Soundtrack Awards, the most prestigious film music awards in the world. Each year the best contemporary soundtrack composers are recognised for their work. Due to this focus on film music, the festival soon became an annual meeting place for both internationally renowned and up and coming musical talents. The Spotify Public Choice Award will be one of the prizes given to the most popular soundtrack of a movie released between 1 July 2013 and 30 June 2014.

Valerie Dobbelaere, coordinator of the World Soundtrack Awards and the music projects at Film Fest Gent: “Thanks to the Spotify Public Choice Award, the World Soundtrack Academy consisting of 370 international film music professionals aren’t the only ones to award the best soundtrack of the past year, but the movie music fans around the world can also vote for their favourite score. By partnering up with Spotify, we hope to at least double the public votes in order to further strengthen the platform for international film music and give some well deserved attention to the film music composers.”

Besides the World Soundtrack Awards the festival also presents a great deal of international films and documentaries dealing with music. These are all programmed in the new section Sound and Vision, named after the brilliant song by David Bowie. The film concert of the Belgian band Arsenal: Dance! Dance! Dance! is the first title of the music section to be announced and will be held on 22 October 2014 in Vooruit. The film concert will combine unreleased soundtrack materials with known songs from Arsenal.

“Music and film, documentary and feature film, new and traditional media are getting more intertwined. Spotify is therefore the ideal partner to endorse Sound and Vision, the new section of Film Fest Gent, where music films are addressed in all its diversity.” says Patrick Duynslaegher, Artistic Director Film Fest Gent.

Spotify’s Marketing Executive for the Benelux, Nienke Dettmeijer believes that: “Music and film are inseparable. And good music makes a film even better. Therefore we are looking forward to sharing our two greatest passions: music and people together with a festival that has such international prominence as Film Fest Gent.”

The shortlist for the Spotify Public Choice Award, selected by the World Soundtrack Academy and the playlist of the Sound and Vision section can be streamed on the Film Fest Gent Spotify account at:http://open.spotify.com/user/filmfestgent.

The 41st edition of Film Fest Gent takes place from 14 to 25 October 2014, with its focus on film, including the 14th World Soundtrack Awards on Saturday October 25th, 2014. Tickets and info at www.filmfestival.be andwww.worldsoundtrackawards.com.