With his scores for Poor Things and Kinds of Kindness, Jerskin Fendrix did what no one ever did before him: winning both the Discovery and Film Composer of the Year Award. In the category Television Composer of the Year, Natalie Holt won the prestigious award with her score for Loki S.02, after two previous nominations. Following their win in 2022, Finneas O’Connell and Billie Eilish take home the award for Best Original Song with their Barbie song “What Was I Made For?”. Joining them on stage were upcoming composer Brandon Boone, whose score for Slay the Princess was awarded the second ever WSA Game Music Award, and Italian composer Umberto Scipione. His score for La Guerra dei Nonni was his first WSA nomination and led to an instant win. The Best Original Score for a Belgian Production Award was presented to post-metal band Amenra, and the Sabam Award for Best Original Composition by a Young Composer to the young Florian van der Reijden. American veteran composer Elliot Goldenthal received a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Film Composer of the Year Starting at the top rather than the bottom, Jerskin Fendrix’ first ever film score for Poor Things has brought him immediate success. His music for Yorgos Lanthimos’ multiple Oscar winning film, along with his score for the director’s more recent Kinds of Kindness, has earned him the Film Composer of the Year Award. Besides these collaborations with the Greek director, Fendrix is known for his work as a singer-songwriter and his critically acclaimed debut album Winterreise. His score for Poor Things has received a range of Best Original Score nominations from the Oscars, BAFTAs and Golden Globes and was awarded the Georges Delerue Award for Best Soundtrack / Sound Design at the 50th anniversary edition of Film Fest Gent.

Television Composer of the Year Following two previous nominations in this category as well as a Discovery nomination, Natalie Holt has won the Television Composer of the Year Award with her score for Loki S02. Working along fellow-nominee Martin Phipps, she composed the scores for the renowned series The Honourable Woman and Victoria, which earned them a BAFTA- and Emmy-nomination, respectively. Turning from historical drama to fantasy, her score for Loki’s first season impressed both fans and critics and led to yet another BAFTA-nomination, and a first WSA-nomination in this category.

Best Original Song Odds were high that Barbie would deliver the winning song in this category, with no less than three nominated songs from the movie. Standing against “Dance The Night”, “I’m Just Ken” and four other songs, Finneas O’Connell and Billie Eilish took home the award for their intimate “What Was I Made For?” The musical duo, known for their Grammy winning hits, has impressed the WSAcademy once again. Their “No Time to Die” from the eponymous James Bond film was awarded Best Original Song in 2022.

Discovery of the Year For the first time in the World Soundtrack Awards’ history, the winner of the Discovery of the Year Award is crowned Film Composer of the Year as well. Sharing in this honour is the British composer Jerskin Fendrix. His debuting score for Poor Things has earned him two of the WSA’s most coveted awards.

Public Choice Award As every year, film music fans can vote for the film score that touched their hearts the past year. The Italian Umberto Scipione already made a name for himself in his home country, where he gained four David di Donatello nominations for, among others, Benvenuti al Sud. With his joyful score for La Guerra dei Nonni, he has now impressed film music fans around the globe. His first ever WSA nomination turned out to be an immediate win.

WSA Game Music Award Presented for the second time ever, this year’s WSA Game Music Award goes to Brandon Boone for Slay the Princess. The American composer has worked in a wide range of disciplines of the music industry, scoring multiple short films, popular podcasts like The NoSleep Podcast and video games like Scarlet Hollow and the awarded Slay the Princess. He is resident composer at Black Tabby Games since 2020.

Sabam Award for Best Original Composition by a Young Composer As the winner of the yearly WSA Composition Contest, Florian van der Reijden received the Sabam Award for Best Original Composition by a Young Composer. He convinced the jury with the score he wrote for an excerpt of Nicolas Roeg’s The Witches (1990), for which Stanley Myers composed the original score.

Best Original Score for a Belgian Production The Belgium-based, internationally recognized post-metal band Amenra won the award Best Original Score for a Belgian Production for their music for the compelling and thought-provoking Skunk. Their very first feature film score ever, the band has left high expectations for the years to come.

Lifetime Achievement Award Honouring his rich oeuvre and audacious musical choices, the WSAcademy presented this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award to Elliot Goldenthal. Since the 1980s, the American composer has scored no less than forty films and received recognition for his scores for Batman Forever, Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles, Michael Collins, Public Enemies and Heat. He has frequently collaborated with directors like Michael Mann and Julie Taymor, his artistic and life partner. His score for Taymor’s Frida earned him an Academy Award for Best Original Score (and nomination for Best Original Song), a Golden Globe and two World Soundtrack Awards. This year, Film Fest Gent’s annual film music album is dedicated to Goldenthal and includes a selection of his most famous scores.

WSA Industry Award This year’s WSA Industry Award was presented during the WSA Nominees Celebration Dinner on Tuesday 15 October to film music supervisor and producer Maggie Rodford, in honour of her remarkable contributions to the film music industry. As managing director of the Air-Edel Group, one of the world’s leading music agencies, she works with composers and music team members, negotiating contracts, producing, music supervising and coordinating music recordings. She has worked on high-profile films like Pride & Prejudice, The King’s Speech and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, among others. With her expertise in various branches of the industry, she solidifies her position as a pivotal figure in the field.