| WSA2024 Film Fest Gent and the World Soundtrack Academy reveal the second wave of nominees for the 24th World Soundtrack Awards, the annual culmination of FFG and one of the most prestigious events for film music around the globe. The list includes up-and-coming talents such as classical composer Caroline Shaw and BAFTA nominee Tom Salta, but also demonstrates the impact of critically acclaimed composers like Jerskin Fendrix and Anthony Willis, who are heading into the WSA Ceremony & Concert with multiple nominations. All nominees for this year’s awards have now been announced. After revealing the nominations for Film Composer of the Year, Television Composer of the Year and Best Original Song a month ago, Film Fest Gent and the World Soundtrack Academy announce a second and final wave of nominations for the World Soundtrack Awards 2024, in the categories Discovery of the Year, Public Choice Award, WSA Game Music Award, Best Original Score for a Belgian Production and the Sabam Award for Best Original Composition by a Young Composer. Whereas the first wave featured mainly seasoned composers like Laura Karpman and James Newton Howard, the second wave shines a spotlight on new talent. |
| Discovery of the Year Award With the Discovery of the Year Award, the WSA aims to highlight the upcoming talents of today, the masters of tomorrow. Most of the nominated composers are taking their first steps in the world of film music, but have extensive experience in other branches of the industry. So is American composer Caroline Shaw, who has won a Pulitzer Prize and a Grammy for her concert works. Facing the challenge of scoring a film about silence, her nominated score for the Belgian Julie Keeps Quiet (Julie Zwijgt) is as intimate as the story itself. Leaving high expectations after his Discovery nomination in 2022, British composer Anthony Willis now has another opportunity of taking home this award. His compelling score for Saltburn emphasises the characters’ emotional inner landscape and has also earned him a nomination in the categories Public Choice and Film Composer of the Year. An honour shared by British singer songwriter and composer Jerskin Fendrix, who achieves a second nomination after his previously announced nomination for the Film Composer of the Year Award. His eccentric score for Poor Things was his debut, but brought him immediate name and fame. He is joined by Grammy and two times Emmy winner Carlos Rafael Rivera, whose score for Ezra is only his third film score. Besides his earlier announced nomination in the category Television Composer of the Year, he is now recognized for his impressive attempt of capturing the world view of a child with autism into an intimate soundtrack. The siblings Diego Baldenweg with Nora Baldenweg & Lionel Baldenweg, also nominated in the category Public Choice, close the list with their sweeping orchestral score for action thriller In the Land of Saints and Sinners, featuring harmonica and fiddles. |
| Public Choice Award As every year, the general public has the opportunity of awarding their favourite film score – the score that touched their hearts and left a lasting impression. Hoping to uphold her title after winning last year, British composer Amelia Warner is now nominated for Young Woman and the Sea, a fiction film about the first woman to swim across the canal. Gloriously, Warner fulfilled the challenging task of writing a soundtrack that not only accompanies the main character, but pushes her through the water. Taking up a whole other challenge is Hans Zimmer. With his score for Dune: Part Two, nominated in the category Film Composer of the Year as well, he enhances the futuristic, epic grandeur of the story. He is joined by Italian composer and musician Umberto Scipione, whose score for La Guerra dei Nonni earned him his first ever WSA recognition. His characteristic guitar riffles and energising melodies have excited the audience. Also running for this award are Anthony Willis, who has collected no less than three WSA nominations for his score for Saltburn, and Diego Baldenweg with Nora Baldenweg & Lionel Baldenweg for In the Land of Saints and Sinners. The Baldenweg siblings have not only touched the Academy that nominated them for this year’s Discovery Award, but the general public just as much. |
| WSA Game Music Award Presented for the second time ever, the Game Music Award celebrates the audiences’ favourite game score of the past year. Both nominated in this category last year, Emmy-winning composer Nainita Desai has impressed with her atmospheric score for Tales of Kenzera: Zau and L.A. based composer Maclaine Diemer stands a chance with his soundtrack for Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure. Working alongside him, Bryan Atkinson, Bobby Brader, Jarryd Elias, Jaimee Jimin Park, Michael Paraskevas and Bobby Rose all contributed to the compelling score for this much anticipated game. Bulgarian composer George Strezov is recognized for the musical universe he created for Jagged Alliance 3, a tactical role-playing strategy game, and multi-branched composer Brandon Boone stands out with his score for horror game Slay the Princess. With his haunting orchestral, dark organic soundtrack for The Outlast Trials, BAFTA nominee Tom Salta closes the list. |
| Best Original Score for a Belgian Production Reflecting the growing importance of the Belgian film and film music industry, the category Best Original Score for a Belgian Production celebrates impressive scores that were written for some of the most remarkable Belgian films of the past year. Nominated for this award are Bjorn Eriksson for the Toronto-selected drama When it Melts, post-metal band Amenra for their first feature film Skunk and Geert Hellings for the WWII film Wil by Tim Mielants, whose third feature Small Things Like These will open the 51st edition of Film Fest Gent. |
| Sabam Award for Best Original Composition by a Young Composer Finally, the Academy announces the nominations for the Sabam Award for Best Original Composition by a Young Composer, worth 2.500 euros. The participating composers were invited to write a brand new score for an excerpt from Nicolas Roeg’s The Witches (1990). In this fantasy cult classic the attempt of two evil witches to turn children into mice is accompanied by a compelling, symphonic soundtrack written by British composer Stanley Myers. American composer Alex Mansour, German composer Georg Mausolf and Dutch composer Florian van der Reijden are the young film music talents competing for this prize. Their new compositions will be performed during the WSA Ceremony & Concert. |
| Overview Discovery of the Year Award In the Land of Saints and Sinners | Diego Baldenweg with Nora Baldenweg and Lionel Baldenweg Poor Things | Jerskin Fendrix Ezra | Carlos Rafael Rivera Julie Keeps Quiet (Julie zwijgt) | Caroline Shaw Saltburn | Anthony Wills Public Choice Award Dune: Part Two | Hans Zimmer In the Land of Saints and Sinners | Diego Baldenweg with Nora Baldenweg and Lionel Baldenweg La Guerra dei Nonni | Umberto Scipione Saltburn | Anthony Willis Young Woman and the Sea | Amelia Warner WSA Game Music Award Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure | Maclaine Diemer, Bryan Atkinson, Bobby Brader, Jarryd Elias, Jaimee Jimin Park, Michael Paraskevas, Bobby Rose Jagged Alliance 3 | George Strezov Slay the Princess | Brandon Boone Tales of Kenzera: Zau | Nainita Desai The Outlast Trials | Tom Salta Best Original Score for a Belgian Production Skunk | Amenra When it Melts | Bjorn Eriksson Wil | Geert Hellings Sabam Award for Best Original Composition by a Young Composer Alex Mansour Georg Mausolf Florian van der Reijden Film Composer of the Year Jerskin Fendrix | Kinds of Kindness; Poor Things Ludwig Göransson | Oppenheimer Laura Karpman | American Fiction; The Marvels; Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed Anthony Willis | Saltburn Hans Zimmer | Dune: Part Two; The Creator Television Composer of the Year Nick Chuba, Atticus Ross, Leopold Ross | Shōgun Natalie Holt | Loki S02 James Newton Howard | All the Light We Cannot See S01 Martin Phipps | The Crown S06 Carlos Rafael Rivera | Griselda; Lessons in Chemistry; Monsieur Spade Jeff Russo | Fargo S05; Ripley S01 Best Original Song “Dance The Night” from Barbie | written by Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt, Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa | performed by: Dua Lipa “I’m Just Ken” from Barbie | written by Andrew Wyatt, Mark Ronson | performed by: Ryan Gosling “It Never Went Away” from American Symphony | written by Dan Wilson, Jon Batiste | performed by: Jon Batiste “Road to Freedom” from Rustin | written and performed by Lenny Kravitz “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” from Killers of the Flower Moon | written by Scott George | performed by Osage Tribal Singers “What Was I Made For?” from Barbie | written by Finneas O’Connell, Billie Eilish | performed by Billie Eilish “You’ve Never Had Chocolate Like This” from Wonka | written by Neil Hannon, Paul King, Simon Farnaby | performed by Timothée Chalamet, The Cast of Wonka |
