FEBRUARY 9, 2017. The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) announces its list of nominees for excellence in musical scoring in 2016, for the 13th annual IFMCA Awards. In a wide open field, the most nominated composers are Michael Giacchino and Justin Hurwitz, with five nominations each, and Abel Korzeniowski, with four nominations.
Giacchino is nominated for his work on two scores; the action-packed comic book fantasy film “Doctor Strange,” and the popular and socially aware Disney animated film “Zootopia,” as well as for the “Night on the Yorktown” cue from his score for “Star Trek Beyond”. In addition, his score for the first of the Star Wars spinoff films, “Rogue One,” helped him secure a nomination for Composer of the Year. Giacchino is a 36-time IFMCA Award nominee who previously received Score of the Year honors in 2004 for “The Incredibles,” and in 2009 for “Up”.
Hurwitz, on the other hand, is a first-time IFMCA Award nominee, who received all of his nominations for his score for “La La Land,” director Damien Chazelle’s contemporary homage to the Hollywood movie musical starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. In addition to his nominations for Score of the Year, Comedy Score, and Film Music Composition of the Year, Hurwitz also secured personal nominations as Composer of the Year and Breakthrough Composer of the Year; “La La Land” is just Hurwitz’s second theatrical score, following his debut “Whiplash” in 2014.
Polish composer Korzeniowski is nominated for his work on three projects: director Tom Ford’s stylish noir revenge drama “Nocturnal Animals,” the third and final season of the popular Showtime Gothic horror television series “Penny Dreadful,” and the new retrospective compilation album of his career in Poland, “Early Works,” produced by Caldera Records. With these nominations, Korzeniowski is now a 14-time IFMCA Award nominee; he won the Score of the Year award in 2013 for “Romeo & Juliet”.
The other nominees for Score of the Year are Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson for the serious science fiction drama “Arrival,” James Newton Howard for the Harry Potter fantasy prequel “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” and Laurent Perez del Mar for the French animated film “La Tortue Rouge [The Red Turtle]”.
The other composers vying for the title of Composer of the Year are Frenchman Alexandre Desplat and Spaniard Fernando Velázquez. Desplat’s output was wide and varied, ranging from the animated caper “The Secret Life of Pets,” to the historical literary drama “The Light Between Oceans,” the musical comedy “Florence Foster Jenkins,” the biopic of oceanographer Jacques Cousteau “L’Odyssée,” and actor Ewan McGregor’s directorial debut “American Pastoral”. Meanwhile, Velázquez wrote several outstanding scores in 2016, including the irreverent comedy horror “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” the Spanish Civil War drama “Gernika,” the children’s adventure film “Zipi y Zape y la Isla del Capitán [Zip and Zap and the Captain’s Island],” the emotional fantasy-drama “A Monster Calls,” and the animated adventure film “Ozzy,” all of which were roundly praised by many film music critics.
Also worth noting are Ramin Djawadi and Austin Wintory who have two nominations each in one genre; Djawadi for his scores for the immensely popular HBO television series “Game of Thrones” and “Westworld,” and Wintory for his acclaimed scores for the video games “Abzû” and “The Banner Saga 2”.
Each year the IFMCA goes out of its way to recognize emerging talent in the film music world, and this year is no exception. The nominees in the Breakthrough Composer of the Year category include Asian music expert Chad Cannon for his work on “Paper Lanterns” and “The Cairo Declaration”; Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein for the 1980s throwback score for the cult Netflix series “Stranger Things”; Simon Franglen, who completed composer James Horner’s final score for “The Magnificent Seven” after his tragic death; and Daniel Hart, who impressed with his work on the Disney family film “Pete’s Dragon” and the chilling TV horror series “The Exorcist”; as well as the aforementioned Justin Hurwitz for “La La Land”.
As it has in previous years, the IFMCA takes pride in honoring composers from across the film music world; this year’s international nominees include Finnish composer Panu Aaltio for his evocative work on the documentary feature “Järven Tarina (Tale of a Lake]” (the sequel to the IFMCA Award-winning “Metsän Tarina”), German-Italian composer Alexander Cimini for his wonderful music for the horror film “Bellerofonte [Dark Waves],” veteran French composer Bruno Coulais for his delightful score for the nature documentary “Les Saisons [Seasons],” Japanese composer Takeshi Furukawa for his score for the vibrant, exciting video game “The Last Guardian,” Spanish composer Alberto Iglesias for another documentary, “Spain in a Day,” and Korean composer Jo Yeong-Wook for his score for the erotic thriller “Ah-Ga-Ssi [The Handmaiden]”.
Several other composers are receiving their first ever IFMCA Award nominations this year, including Nicholas Britell (“Moonlight,” Drama), David Buckley (“The Nice Guys,” Comedy), Anne Dudley (“Elle,” Action/Adventure/Thriller), Andy Hull and Robert McDowell (“Swiss Army Man,” Comedy), Jasha Klebe (“Planet Earth II,” Documentary), Benny Oschmann (“The Dwarves,” Video Game), Chad Seiter (“ReCore,” Video Game), Jacob Shea (“Planet Earth II,” Documentary), and Rob Simonsen (“Nerve,” Action/Adventure/Thriller).
The International Film Music Critics Association will announce the winners of the 13th IFMCA Awards on February 23, 2017.
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SCORE OF THE YEAR
- ARRIVAL, music by Jóhann Jóhannsson
- FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM, music by James Newton Howard
- LA LA LAND, music by Justin Hurwitz
- NOCTURNAL ANIMALS, music by Abel Korzeniowski
- LA TORTUE ROUGE [THE RED TURTLE], music by Laurent Perez del Mar
COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
- ALEXANDRE DESPLAT
- MICHAEL GIACCHINO
- JAMES NEWTON HOWARD
- JUSTIN HURWITZ
- FERNANDO VELÁZQUEZ
BREAKTHROUGH COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
- CHAD CANNON
- KYLE DIXON AND MICHAEL STEIN
- SIMON FRANGLEN
- DANIEL HART
- JUSTIN HURWITZ
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM
- AH-GA-SSI [THE HANDMAIDEN], music by Jo Yeong-Wook
- HIGH-RISE, music by Clint Mansell
- THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS, music by Alexandre Desplat
- MOONLIGHT, music by Nicholas Britell
- NOCTURNAL ANIMALS, music by Abel Korzeniowski
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM
- EDDIE THE EAGLE, music by Matthew Margeson
- HAIL, CAESAR!, music by Carter Burwell
- LA LA LAND, music by Justin Hurwitz
- THE NICE GUYS, music by John Ottman and David Buckley
- SWISS ARMY MAN, music by Andy Hull and Robert McDowell
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER FILM
- ELLE, music by Anne Dudley
- THE JUNGLE BOOK, music by John Debney
- THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, music by James Horner and Simon Franglen
- NERVE, music by Rob Simonsen
- XI YOU JI ZHI: SUN WUKONG SAN DA BAIGU JING [THE MONKEY KING 2], music by Christopher Young
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION/HORROR FILM
- ARRIVAL, music by Jóhann Jóhannsson
- BELLEROFONTE [DARK WAVES], music by Alexander Cimini
- DOCTOR STRANGE, music by Michael Giacchino
- FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM, music by James Newton Howard
- THE NEON DEMON, music by Cliff Martinez
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FILM
- KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS, music by Dario Marianelli
- MOANA, music by Mark Mancina
- THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS, music by Alexandre Desplat
- LA TORTUE ROUGE [THE RED TURTLE], music by Laurent Perez del Mar
- ZOOTOPIA, music by Michael Giacchino
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY
- JÄRVEN TARINA [TALE OF A LAKE], music by Panu Aaltio
- PAPER LANTERNS, music by Chad Cannon
- PLANET EARTH II, music by Hans Zimmer, Jasha Klebe, and Jacob Shea
- LES SAISONS [SEASONS], music by Bruno Coulais
- SPAIN IN A DAY, music by Alberto Iglesias
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A TELEVISION SERIES
- GAME OF THRONES, music by Ramin Djawadi
- THE NIGHT MANAGER, music by Víctor Reyes
- PENNY DREADFUL, music by Abel Korzeniowski
- STRANGER THINGS, music by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein
- WESTWORLD, music by Ramin Djawadi
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A VIDEO GAME OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA
- ABZÛ, music by Austin Wintory
- THE BANNER SAGA 2, music by Austin Wintory
- THE DWARVES, music by Benny Oschmann
- THE LAST GUARDIAN, music by Takeshi Furukawa
- RECORE, music by Chad Seiter
BEST RE-RELEASE/RE-RECORDING OF AN EXISTING SCORE
- THE BLUE MAX, music by Jerry Goldsmith; conducted by Nic Raine; album produced by James Fitzpatrick; liner notes by Frank K. De Wald; album art direction by Matthew Wright (Tadlow)
- CHINATOWN, music by Jerry Goldsmith; album produced by Douglass Fake and Roger Feigelson; liner notes by Jeff Bond; album art direction by Joe Sikoryak (Intrada)
- GOJIRA [GODZILLA], music by Akira Ifukube; conducted by Kaoru Wada; album produced by nominee to be determined; liner notes by Kaoru Wada and Masaru Hayakawa; album art direction by nominee to be determined (King)
- THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, music by Elmer Bernstein; album produced by Douglass Fake and Roger Feigelson; liner notes by Frank K. De Wald; album art direction by Joe Sikoryak (Intrada)
- THE THIEF OF BAGDAD, music by Miklós Rózsa; conducted by Nic Raine; album produced by James Fitzpatrick; liner notes by Frank K. De Wald; album art direction by Jim Titus (Tadlow/Prometheus)
BEST COMPILATION ALBUM
- ARCHIPIELAGO: A FILM MUSIC RETROSPECTIVE, music by Alberto Iglesias; album produced by José María Benítez; liner notes by Alex Sánchez and Alberto Iglesias; album art direction by Nacho B. Govantes (Quartet)
- THE CINEMA OF QUINCY JONES, music by Quincy Jones; album produced by Stéphane Lerouge; liner notes by Stephane Lerouge, Toots Thielemans, and Alexandre Desplat; album art direction by Jerome Witz-Gilles Guerlet (Écoutez le Cinéma)
- EARLY WORKS, music by Abel Korzeniowski; album produced by Stephan Eicke and John Elborg; liner notes by Gergely Hubai; album art direction by Luis Miguel Rojas (Caldera)
- EPIC HOLLYWOOD: THE MUSIC OF MIKLÓS RÓZSA, music by Miklós Rózsa; conducted by Nic Raine; album produced by James Fitzpatrick; liner notes by Frank K. De Wald; album art direction by Barry Weekley (Tadlow)
- THE JOHN WILLIAMS JURASSIC PARK COLLECTION, music by John Williams; album produced by Mike Matessino; liner notes by Mike Matessino; album art direction by Jim Titus (La-La Land)
FILM MUSIC RECORD LABEL OF THE YEAR
- INTRADA RECORDS, Douglass Fake and Roger Feigelson
- LA-LA LAND RECORDS, MV Gerhard and Matt Verboys
- QUARTET RECORDS, José María Benítez
- TADLOW MUSIC, James Fitzpatrick
- VARÈSE SARABANDE, Robert Townson
FILM MUSIC COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR
- “Epilogue” from LA LA LAND, music by Justin Hurwitz
- “Light of the Seven” from GAME OF THRONES, music by Ramin Djawadi
- “Montage” from SWISS ARMY MAN, music by Andy Hull and Robert McDowell
- Night on the Yorktown” from STAR TREK BEYOND, music by Michael Giacchino
- The Master of the Mystic End Credits” from DOCTOR STRANGE, music by Michael Giacchino
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The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) is an association of online, print and radio journalists who specialize in writing and broadcasting about original film, television and game music.
Since its inception the IFMCA has grown to comprise over 65 members from countries such as Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.
Previous IFMCA Score of the Year Awards have been awarded to John Williams’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” in 2015, Hans Zimmer’s “Interstellar” in 2014, Abel Korzeniowski’s “Romeo & Juliet” in 2013, Mychael Danna’s “Life of Pi” in 2012, John Williams’s “War Horse” in 2011, John Powell’s “How to Train Your Dragon” in 2010, Michael Giacchino’s “Up” in 2009, Alexandre Desplat’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” in 2008, Dario Marianelli’s “Atonement” in 2007, James Newton Howard’s “Lady in the Water” in 2006, John Williams’s “Memoirs of a Geisha” in 2005 and Michael Giacchino’s “The Incredibles” in 2004.
For more information about the International Film Music Critics Association go to www.filmmusiccritics.org, visit our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter @ifmca, or contact us at press@filmmusiccritics.org.
