INTERNATIONAL FILM MUSIC CRITICS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF 2016 IFMCA AWARDS; “ARRIVAL” TAKES SCORE OF THE YEAR, JUSTIN HURWITZ AND “LA LA LAND” WINS THREE OTHERS
FEBRUARY 23, 2016 — The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) announces its list of winners for excellence in musical scoring in 2016, in the 2016 IFMCA Awards.
The award for Score of the Year goes to Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson for his work on the critically acclaimed science fiction drama “Arrival,” directed by Denis Villeneuve, starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner. IFMCA member Jon Broxton said that “Jóhannsson’s approach to solving the film’s musical problems [is] absolutely fascinating, and the way he was able to musically convey some of the film’s more challenging cerebral ideas involving language and communication is astonishingly accomplished,” while IFMCA member Daniel Schweiger said that Jóhannsson “brilliantly captures both a sense of wonder and fear with beholding the mind-boggling, verbally-scrambled unknown, as whale cry motifs join with alternately moaning and chattering voices, backed by a strong orchestral sound that serves as a powerful universal musical translator in a way that’s both harmonically understandable, and profoundly strange.” This is the first IFMCA Award win of Jóhannsson’s career, him having previously been nominated for Best Original Score for a Drama Film for “The Theory of Everything” in 2014.
Composer Michael Giacchino is named Composer of the Year for the second year in a row, having written four outstanding works spanning multiple genres in the past year. His work in 2016 included the action-packed Marvel comic book fantasy film “Doctor Strange,” the socially aware Disney animated film “Zootopia,” the third installment of the rebooted Star Trek franchise “Star Trek Beyond,” and the score for the first of the Star Wars spinoff films, “Rogue One”. IFMCA member James Southall called “Rogue One” “a very impressive achievement indeed,” while IFMCA member Christian Clemmensen described “Doctor Strange” as “a mystical, optimistic, and smart superhero score with an alluring primary identity and generally excellent combination of electronic and ethnic accents with standard orchestral and choral elements.” This marks the fourth time Giacchino has been named Composer of the Year, following his previous wins in 2004, 2009, and 2015.
Composer Justin Hurwitz won three awards – Breakthrough Composer of the Year, Best Original Score for a Comedy Film, and Film Music Composition of the Year – all for his work on the massively popular and critically acclaimed musical comedy-drama “La La Land” directed by Damian Chazelle, starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. “La La Land” is only the second full theatrical score of Hurwitz’s career, and for it he wrote a jazz-inspired orchestral score, and half a dozen original songs (with songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul), the melodies of which flow through the majority of the underscore. IFMCA member Mihnea Manduteanu called “La La Land” “delightful and playful” and claimed that it captures “what it means to fall in love, to play, to dream,” while IFMCA member Jon Broxton heralded the score as “a masterpiece”.
The various other genre awards are won by Abel Korzeniowski for his music for the darkly stylish revenge drama “Nocturnal Animals”; Christopher Young for his wildly exciting action score for the Chinese historical adventure “Xi You Ji Zhi: Sun Wukong San Da Baigu Jing [The Monkey King 2]”; James Newton Howard for his score for lush and whimsical fantasy score for the Harry Potter prequel “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”; Laurent Perez del Mar for his evocative, emotional music for the French animated film “La Tortue Rouge [The Red Turtle]”; and Panu Aaltio for his wonderful music for the Finnish nature documentary “Järven Tarina [Tale of a Lake]”.
In the non-film categories, composer Ramin Djawadi wins the award for Best Original Score for a Television Series for his magnificent work on the sixth series of the critically acclaimed HBO fantasy drama “Game of Thrones,” while composer Austin Wintory wins the award for Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media for the second year in a row, this time for his work on the meditative, dream-like undersea adventure game “Abzû”.
Oakland, California-based Intrada Records is named Film Music Record Label of the Year in recognition of their ongoing excellence in restoring and releasing the most beloved film scores of the past. They were also honored with the award for Best New Archival Release - Re-Release or Re-Recording of an Existing Score for their lavish expanded release of Elmer Bernstein’s classic 1956 score “The Ten Commandments,” which IFMCA member Craig Lysy described as “one of the finest [scores] ever written and a glorious example of Golden Age film scores”. Finally, Burbank, California-based La La Land Record and producer Mike Matessino wins the award for Best New Archival Release – Compilation for their superb re-mastered release of “The John Williams Jurassic Park Collection”, a compilation of the timeless 1990s dinosaur adventure scores “Jurassic Park” and “The Lost World”.
=============================================
COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS
FILM SCORE OF THE YEAR
- Arrival, music by Jóhann Jóhannsson
COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
BREAKTHROUGH COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
FILM MUSIC COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR
- “Epilogue” from La La Land, music by Justin Hurwitz
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM
- Nocturnal Animals, music by Abel Korzeniowski
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM
- La La Land, music by Justin Hurwitz
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER FILM
- 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
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, music by James Newton Howard
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FEATURE
- La Tortue Rouge [The Red Turtle], music by Laurent Perez del Mar
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY
- Järven Tarina [Tale of a Lake], music by Panu Aaltio
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A TELEVISION SERIES
- Game of Thrones, music by Ramin Djawadi
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A VIDEO GAME OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA
- Abzû, music by Austin Wintory
BEST NEW ARCHIVAL RELEASE - RE-RELEASE OR RE-RECORDING OF AN EXISTING SCORE
- 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)
BEST NEW ARCHIVAL RELEASE - COMPILATION
- 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, Roger Feigelson
#######################################
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
Comments by an IFMCA member:
Though I agree with many of these choices, I also disagree with others. I disagree with the choice of ARRIVAL as Best Score of the Year and much preferred the LA LA LAND score. I might be one of the few critics who disliked the ARRIVAL film and found it quite boring but the score served its purpose quite effectively. I was pleased that Justin Hurwitz received three other IFMCA Awards, especially for "Epilogue," since I believe his score for LA LA LAND was far and away the best of the year.
I agree with the choices for the Archival releases and Record Label of the Year and believe these are worthy of praise for their efforts to preserve worthwhile film music from the past.
-- Roger Hall, Film Music Review
What is your opinion of these awards? Send your comments to -- ILFMCA Awards
INTERNATIONAL FILM MUSIC CRITICS ASSOCIATION AWARD NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED; MICHAEL GIACCHINO AND “LA LA LAND” COMPOSER, JUSTIN HURWITZ, LEAD THE PACK
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 Pixar 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.
Finally, 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 composer vying for the title of Composer of the Year is Spaniard Fernando Velázquez, who 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 multi-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.
#######################################
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
#######################################
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
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.
