- SIMON FRANGLEN WINS SCORE OF THE YEAR, TWO OTHER AWARDS, FOR AVATAR:
FIRE AND ASH - ALEXANDRE DESPLAT WINS COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
- COMPOSERS FROM FRANCE EXCEL IN GENRE CATEGORIES
FEBRUARY 26, 2026 — The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA)
announces its annual list of winners for excellence in musical scoring, in the 2025
IFMCA Awards.
The award for Score of the Year goes to British composer Simon Franglen for his score for
Avatar: Fire and Ash, director James Cameron’s second sequel to his epic space saga Avatar.
IFMCA member Christian Clemmensen wrote that Franglen “continues his intelligent
merging of James Horner origins with his complex thematic narrative for immense fantasy
highlights,” and especially praised the score’s intricate thematic tapestry and gargantuan
performances of full ensemble and choral majesty. Similarly, IFMCA member Jon Broxton
wrote that Avatar: Fire and Ash is “simply outstanding” and commended the cohesive
musical design of the score overall, the emotional impact of the new themes for the
Windtraders and the Mangkwan clan, and the way Franglen blended these new themes
with those from previous Avatar films in a richly developed narrative fabric.
The score also wins its genre category, Best Fantasy/Science Fiction Score, while his new
theme for “The Windtraders” is named Composition of the Year. These mark Franglen’s
fourth, fifth, and sixth IFMCA Awards. He previously won Best Fantasy/Science Fiction
Score and Composition of the Year for Avatar: The Way of Water in 2022, and Best Original
Score for a Drama Film for The Curse of Turandot in 2021.
The award for Composer of the Year goes to Alexandre Desplat. The Frenchman is
especially acclaimed in 2025 for his work on two major scores: director Guillermo del
Toro’s new exploration of the classic horror story Frankenstein, and the latest installment in
the Jurassic Park series, Jurassic World: Rebirth. IFMCA member James Southall called
Frankenstein “one of the year’s most elegant and rich film scores,” writing that “Desplat
brings elegance and grace to the music, exploring feelings and relationships with precision
and care,” and praising its lavish, multi-layered musical storytelling. Similarly, IFMCA
member Florent Groult described Jurassic World: Rebirth as “a fine score” ranging “from the
intimate to the spectacular and the horrific,” and noting that it was “full of melodic features,
shades, and orchestral details.”
Both scores were nominated for Score of the Year, and Frankenstein wins its genre award in
the Horror/Thriller category. Desplat’s other major projects in 2025 included the Arabic-
language political thriller Les Aigles de la République/Eagles of the Republic, the quirky
comedy The Phoenician Scheme which continued his relationship with director Wes
Anderson, and the French-language science fiction film L’Homme Qui Rétrécit/The
Incredible Shrinking Man, based on the classic novel by Richard Matheson. These mark
Desplat’s fifteenth and sixteenth IFMCA Award wins, making him the third-most successful
composer in IFMCA history, behind only John Williams and Michael Giacchino.
American composer Cameron Moody is named Breakthrough Composer of the Year, having
impressed voters with his score for the Hulu period adventure series Washington Black.
Born in 2002 in Georgia, Moody attended high school in Massachusetts, college in New
York, and is now based in Los Angeles. In 2021 he became the youngest-ever winner of
ASCAP’s Henry Mancini Music Fellowship Award, and in 2024 was the youngest composer
selected for the prestigious NBC Universal Composers Initiative. He began working with
composer Michael Abels in 2021, providing additional music for projects including
Nightbooks, Nope, The American Society of Magical Negroes, and the Star Wars series The
Acolyte. Washington Black marks Moody’s first project as solo lead composer.
Reviewing the score, IFMCA member Anton Smit noted the “wonderful melodies that are
emotionally evocative,” while other members described Moody’s work as “a rich and
expressive tribute to the John Williams sound” and “one of the most impressive
mainstream debuts in years,” praising its orchestral sophistication, emotional intelligence,
drama, and narrative structure.
The various other genre awards go to: Nicholas Britell for the ensemble drama Jay Kelly,
about a Hollywood actor reflecting on his legacy; David Fleming for the Amazon adventure
meta-comedy Anaconda; Alan Silvestri for the heist action/adventure film Play Dirty, based
on the Parker book series by Donald E. Westlake; Michael Giacchino for the Pixar animated
sequel Zootopia 2; and Steven Price for the National Geographic nature documentary Ocean
with David Attenborough.
Uniquely, three different French composers win genre awards for their work on television,
video games, and short films. Mathieu Alvado wins the Television award for his score for
Astérix et Obélix: Le Combat des Chefs, a 3D animated series for Netflix based on the
immensely popular comics by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. Lorien Testard wins the
Video Game award for his massive eight-hour score for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which
blends classical opera and heavy-metal rock with emotive orchestral writing. Finally,
Romain Paillot wins the Short Film award for his lushly romantic score for Le Secret de
Martha, a WWII drama that explores the forbidden relationship between a French woman
and a German soldier.
This year’s Archival Award is presented to producers Trevor Jones and Tim Greiving for the
lavish 3-CD expanded release of the score for the 1982 fantasy epic The Dark Crystal on La
La Land Records. The release was conceived by Jones himself, who personally reassembled
and remastered the audio at Abbey Road in London using the original master tapes. The
release includes a wealth of previously unreleased music and contains a 32-page booklet
with exclusive in-depth liner notes by Greiving, and art design by Dan Goldwasser,
featuring rare artwork and photos from the Jim Henson Archive.
The Award for Best New Recording of an Existing Film Score goes to Intrada Records and
producer Leigh Phillips for their meticulous new restoration and recording of Jerry
Goldsmith’s score for the 1969 political thriller The Chairman. Due to missing master tapes,
the score was previously available only on a series of incomplete and poor-sounding
albums; this new recording was performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under
the baton of conductor William Stromberg, with one of the largest ensembles ever
assembled in a Scottish studio. The album features liner notes by Jon Burlingame and Leigh
Phillips, and album art direction by Kay Marshall, featuring new original cover art by
Stéphane Coëdel.
This year’s winner of the Roberto Aschieri Special Award, which is awarded to an
individual or group of individuals who have made an important and long-lasting
contribution to the art and preservation of film music over a career, is James Fitzpatrick.
The award is named in honor of Roberto Aschieri, the film music journalist and author from
Argentina who was a member of the IFMCA until his death in 2017.
Fitzpatrick began his career in the music industry in 1973, initially working in retail,
managing the specialist music store 58 Dean Street Records in Soho, London. In 1983 he co-
founded Silva Screen Records with Reynold d’Silva, with the aim of releasing soundtrack
albums that were previously unavailable in Europe and introducing international
audiences to a wide range of film music titles. Following the success of albums such as
Crocodile Dundee, he served as executive producer on a series of new recordings of classic
film scores including The Big Country, Lawrence of Arabia, and Music from Hammer Horror
Films, all performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra in London.
Seeking greater artistic control, improved ownership of master recordings, and more
flexible recording arrangements, Fitzpatrick began exploring orchestral recording
opportunities outside the UK, and in 1989 he initiated a collaboration in Prague,
Czechoslovakia, recording an album of Nino Rota’s music from the films of Federico Fellini
with conductors Derek Wadsworth and Nic Raine. The success of this project led to a
longstanding professional relationship with Prague’s orchestral community, and
subsequently saw him produce dozens of recordings for Silva Screen between 1989 and
2000, spanning both commercially focused titles and restorations of classic film scores. In
2000 Fitzpatrick then established Tadlow Music, a music contracting and production
company, and in this capacity he worked with many distinguished composers, recording
new scores for Rachel Portman, Carl Davis, Elmer Bernstein, and Maurice Jarre, among
others in both London and Prague.
Fitzpatrick is a seven-time IFMCA Award winner in various archival categories (for Miklós
Rózsa’s El Cid in 2008, Ernest Gold’s Exodus in 2009, Rózsa’s Quo Vadis in 2013, Jerry
Goldsmith’s The Salamander in 2014, Bernard Herrmann’s Obsession in 2016, Rózsa’s Ben-
Hur in 2018, and Rózsa’s King of Kings in 2021), and received 27 other similar nominations
between 1999 and 2021.
IFMCA voters feel that Fitzpatrick’s long and dedicated service to the art and preservation
of film music over more than 40 years is worthy of special acknowledgment this year.
The winners are:
SCORE OF THE YEAR
• AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, music by Simon Franglen
COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
• ALEXANDRE DESPLAT
BREAKTHROUGH COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
• CAMERON MOODY
COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR
• “THE WINDTRADERS” from AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, music by Simon Franglen
ROBERTO ASCHIERI SPECIAL AWARD FOR CONTRIBUTION TO FILM MUSIC
• JAMES FITZPATRICK
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM
• JAY KELLY, music by Nicholas Britell
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM
• ANACONDA, music by David Fleming
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE FILM
• PLAY DIRTY, music by Alan Silvestri
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION FILM
• AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, music by Simon Franglen
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A HORROR/THRILLER FILM
• FRANKENSTEIN, music by Alexandre Desplat
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FILM
• ZOOTOPIA 2, music by Michael Giacchino
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY
• OCEAN WITH DAVID ATTENBOROUGH, music by Steven Price
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR TELEVISION
• ASTÉRIX ET OBÉLIX: LE COMBAT DES CHEFS, music by Mathieu Alvado
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A VIDEO GAME OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA
• CLAIR OBSCUR: EXPEDITION 33, music by Lorien Testard
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A SHORT FILM
• LE SECRET DE MARTHA, music by Romain Paillot
BEST ARCHIVAL RELEASE
• THE DARK CRYSTAL, music by Trevor Jones; album produced by Trevor Jones and Tim Greiving; liner notes by Tim Greiving; album art direction by Dan Goldwasser (La-La Land)
BEST NEW RECORDING OF AN EXISTING FILM SCORE
• THE CHAIRMAN, music by Jerry Goldsmith; the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by William Stromberg; score reconstruction and orchestrations by Leigh Phillips with music prep by Anna Bonn Stromberg; album produced by Leigh Phillips; liner notes by Jon Burlingame and Leigh Phillips; original cover art by Stéphane Coëdel; album art direction by Kay Marshall (Intrada)
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 70 members from countries such
as Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iran,
Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the
United Kingdom, and the United States of America.
Previous IFMCA Score of the Year Awards have been awarded to Bear McCreary’s The Lord
of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Season 2) in 2024, John Williams’s Indiana Jones and the
Dial of Destiny in 2023, Bear McCreary’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Season
1) in 2022, Maurizio Malagnini’s Coppelia in 2021, Christopher Willis’s The Personal
History of David Copperfield in 2020, John Williams’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in
2019, John Powell’s Solo in 2018, Jonny Greenwood’s Phantom Thread in 2017, Jóhann
Jóhannsson’s Arrival in 2016, and John Williams’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015
For more information about the International Film Music Critics Association go to
www.filmmusiccritics.org, visit our Facebook page, find us on YouTube, follow us on
Twitter/X @ifmca, on BlueSky @ifmca.bsky.social, or e-mail us at ifmca.main@gmail.com.
