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”.

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COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS

FILM SCORE OF THE YEAR
•    Arrival, music by Jóhann Jóhannsson

COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
•    Michael Giacchino

BREAKTHROUGH COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
•    Justin Hurwitz

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

INTERNATIONAL FILM MUSIC CRITICS ASSOCIATION AWARD NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED; OCTOGENARIAN VETERANS JOHN WILLIAMS AND ENNIO MORRICONE LEAD THE FIELD, MULTIPLE NOMINATIONS FOR MICHAEL GIACCHINO, LATE JAMES HORNER

 

FEBRUARY 4, 2016. The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) announces its list of nominees for excellence in musical scoring in 2015, for the 12th annual IFMCA Awards. The most nominated composers are industry veterans John Williams and Ennio Morricone, as well as Michael Giacchino, and the late James Horner.

 

83-year old John Williams receives four nominations, all for his score for the smash hit sci-fi adventure “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” directed by J. J. Abrams, which is nominated for Score of the Year, Best Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror score, and Film Music Composition of the Year. Williams also receives a personal nomination as Composer of the Year. Williams has previously been nominated for 31 IFMCA Awards, winning on 12 occasions, including Score of the Year for “Memoirs of a Geisha” in 2005 and “War Horse” in 2011.

 

87-year old Italian legend Ennio Morricone receives four nominations; three for his score from director Quentin Tarantino’s dark western “The Hateful Eight,” which is recognized in the Score of the Year, Best Drama score, and Film Music Composition of the Year categories, and one for himself as Composer of the Year. Morricone has been nominated for IFMCA Awards on seven previous occasions; his last Score of the Year nomination was in 1999, for “La Leggenda del Pianista sull'Oceano [The Legend of 1900]”.

 

Michael Giacchino’s nominations are split between three works: the moving Disney-Pixar animated film “Inside Out,” which is nominated for Best Animation score; the ambitious science fiction epic “Jupiter Ascending,” which is nominated for Score of the Year and Best Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror score; and the fantasy adventure “Tomorrowland,” which is nominated in the Film Music Composition of the Year category. Giacchino has previously been nominated for a total of 31 IFMCA Awards, winning twelve of them. He won the Best Score award in 2004 for “The Incredibles,” in 2009 for “Up,” and was named Composer of the Year in both those years.

 

James Horner, who was tragically killed in a plane crash this past June, receives three nominations for his score for the Chinese-language drama “Wolf Totem” directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, which is recognized in the Score of the Year, Best Drama score, and Film Music Composition of the Year categories. Horner is also nominated as Composer of the Year, and in so doing becomes the first composer to be nominated in this category posthumously. Prior to this year, Horner’s lifetime IFMCA tally stood at 14 nominations, with one win, for “The Mask of Zorro,” in 1998.

 

The other nominee for Score of the Year is Patrick Doyle’s score for the romantic Disney fantasy “Cinderella,” while the other composer vying for the title of Composer of the Year is Daniel Pemberton, who wrote several outstanding scores in 2015, including the big-screen reboot of the 1960s spy thriller franchise “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” and “Steve Jobs,” a dramatic look at the inner workings of the Apple corporation across several decades.

 

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 the alternative pop group Cat’s Eyes – comprising English musician Faris Badwan and Italian-Canadian soprano/composer/instrumentalist Rachel Zeffira – who wrote a dream-like score for the experimental British erotic film “The Duke of Burgundy”; British composer Gareth Coker, for his immensely popular score for the video game “Ori and the Blind Forest”; Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson, who brought the spirit of Rocky Balboa back to life with his score for the boxing drama “Creed”; Italian composer Maurizio Malagnini, whose scores for the British fantasy film “Peter and Wendy,” as well as the popular TV series “Call the Midwife,” caught the attention of the group; and Spanish composer Diego Navarro, whose score for the animated film “Atrapa la Bandera [Capture the Flag]” was a rousing celebration of the heroism of space exploration.

 

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 French composer Armand Amar for his score from the expansive documentary feature “Human,” Hungarian composer Robert Gulya for his charming music for the adventurous Mark Twain adaptation “Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn,” Argentine composer Federico Jusid for his superb work on the Spanish TV series “Carlos, Rey Emperador” (the sequel to the multi-IFMCA Award-winning “Isabel”), veteran French composer Michel Legrand for his delightful score for the comedy “La Rançon de la Gloire [The Price of Fame],” Spanish composer Fernando Velázquez for his chilling work on the beautiful gothic horror film “Crimson Peak,” and French-Lebanese composer Gabriel Yared for his score for the poetic and philosophical animated film “Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet”.

 

Several other composers are receiving their first ever IFMCA Award nominations this year, including Jessica Curry (“Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture,” Video Game), Bryce Dessner (“The Revenant,” Action/Adventure/Thriller), Darren Fung (“The Great Human Odyssey,” Documentary), Tom Holkenborg (“Mad Max: Fury Road,” Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Horror), Joshua Johnson (“I Am Big Bird: The Carroll Spinney Story,” Documentary), Joe Kraemer (“Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation,” Action/Adventure/Thriller), Matthew Margeson (“Kingsman: The Secret Service,” Action/Adventure/Thriller), Alva Noto (“The Revenant,” Action/Adventure/Thriller), and Ryuichi Sakamoto (“The Revenant,” Action/Adventure/Thriller).

 

The International Film Music Critics Association will announce the winners of the 12th IFMCA Awards on February 18, 2016.

 

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FILM SCORE OF THE YEAR

 

• Cinderella, music by Patrick Doyle
• The Hateful Eight, music by Ennio Morricone
• Jupiter Ascending, music by Michael Giacchino
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens, music by John Williams
• Wolf Totem, music by James Horner

 

COMPOSER OF THE YEAR

 

• Michael Giacchino
• James Horner
• Ennio Morricone
• Daniel Pemberton
• John Williams

 

BREAKTHROUGH COMPOSER OF THE YEAR

 

• Cat’s Eyes (Faris Badwan and Rachel Zeffira)
• Gareth Coker
• Ludwig Göransson
• Maurizio Malagnini
• Diego Navarro

 

FILM MUSIC COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR

 

• “L’Ultima Diligenza di Red Rock” from The Hateful Eight, music by Ennio Morricone
• “Brothers in Arms” from Mad Max: Fury Road, music by Tom Holkenborg
• “The Jedi Steps and Finale” from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, music by John Williams
• “Pin-Ultimate Experience” from Tomorrowland, music by Michael Giacchino
• “Return to the Wild” from Wolf Totem, music by James Horner

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM

 

• Carol, music by Carter Burwell
• Creed, music by Ludwig Göransson
• Far From the Madding Crowd, music by Craig Armstrong
• The Hateful Eight, music by Ennio Morricone
• Wolf Totem, music by James Horner

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM

 

• Krampus, music by Douglas Pipes
• The Lady in the Van, music by George Fenton
• La Rançon de la Gloire [The Price of Fame], music by Michel Legrand
• The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, music by Thomas Newman
• Spy, music by Theodore Shapiro

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER FILM

 

• Kingsman: The Secret Service, music by Henry Jackman and Matthew Margeson
• The Man from U.N.C.L.E., music by Daniel Pemberton
• Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, music by Joe Kraemer
• The Revenant, music by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Alva Noto, and Bryce Dessner
• Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, music by Robert Gulya

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION/HORROR FILM

 

• Cinderella, music by Patrick Doyle
• Crimson Peak, music by Fernando Velázquez
• Jupiter Ascending, music by Michael Giacchino
• Mad Max: Fury Road, music by Tom Holkenborg
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens, music by John Williams

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FEATURE

 

• Atrapa la Bandera [Capture the Flag], music by Diego Navarro
• Gamba, music by Benjamin Wallfisch
• The Good Dinosaur, music by Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna
• Inside Out, music by Michael Giacchino
• Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, music by Gabriel Yared

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY

 

• The Great Human Odyssey, music by Darren Fung
• He Named Me Malala, music by Thomas Newman
• Human, music by Armand Amar
• The Hunt, music by Steven Price
• I Am Big Bird: The Carroll Spinney Story, music by Joshua Johnson

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A TELEVISION SERIES

 

• Carlos, Rey Emperador, music by Federico Jusid
• Fargo, music by Jeff Russo
• Outlander, music by Bear McCreary
• Texas Rising, music by Bruce Broughton and John Debney
• Wolf Hall, music by Debbie Wiseman

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A VIDEO GAME OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA

 

• Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate, music by Austin Wintory
• Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, music by Jessica Curry
• Ori and the Blind Forest, music by Gareth Coker
• Revelation, music by Neal Acree
  • Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth - Rising Tide, music by Geoff Knorr, Griffin Cohen, and Grant Kirkhope

 

BEST NEW ARCHIVAL RELEASE - RE-RELEASE OF AN EXISTING SCORE

 

• A.I.: Artificial Intelligence; music by John Williams, album produced by Mike Matessino, liner notes by Jeff Bond, album art direction by Jim Titus (La-La Land)
• Braveheart; music by James Horner, album produced by Dan Goldwasser and Mike Matessino, liner notes by Jeff Bond, album art direction by Jim Titus (La-La Land)
• Dances With Wolves; music by John Barry, album produced by Didier C. Deutsch, Mark G. Wilder, and Ford A. Thaxton, liner notes by Randall D. Larson, album art direction by Mark Banning (La-La Land)
• Jaws; music by John Williams, album produced by Mike Matessino, liner notes by Scott Bettencourt, album art direction by Joe Sikoryak (Intrada)
• Obsession; music by Bernard Herrmann, album produced by George Litto, Laurent Lafarge, and Cyril Durand-Roger, liner notes by Daniel Schweiger, album art direction by David Marques (Music Box)

 

BEST NEW ARCHIVAL RELEASE - RE-RECORDING OF AN EXISTING SCORE

 

• Back in Time: 1985 at the Movies; music by Various Artists, performed by the Varèse Sarabande Symphony Orchestra cond. David Newman, album produced by Robert Townson, liner notes by Robert Townson, album art direction by Robert Townson, Bill Pitzonka, and Matthew Joseph Peak (Varèse Sarabande)
• Concert Suites/Music For Films; music by Fernando Velázquez, performed by the Euskadi Symphony Orchestra and Landarbaso Chorus cond. Fernando Velázquez, album produced by Fernando Velázquez and José M. Benitez, liner notes by Fernando Velázquez, Koldo Serra, Juan Antonio Bayona, and Oskar Santos, album art direction by Nacho B. Govantes (Quartet)
• Obsession; music by Bernard Herrmann, performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra cond. Nic Raine, album produced by James Fitzpatrick, liner notes by Christopher Husted, album art direction by Matthew Wright and Damien Doherty (Tadlow)
• Sodom and Gomorrah; music by Miklós Rózsa, performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra cond. Nic Raine, album produced by James Fitzpatrick, liner notes by Frank K. DeWald, album art direction by Matthew Wright, James Fitzpatrick and Ginko Digi (Tadlow/Prometheus)
• The Music of Patrick Doyle for Solo Piano; music by Patrick Doyle, performed by Patrick Doyle, album produced by Patrick Doyle and Robert Townson, liner notes by Patrick Doyle, album art direction by Robert Townson and Bill Pitzonka (Varèse Sarabande)

 

BEST NEW ARCHIVAL RELEASE - COMPILATION

 

• Alan Silvestri: World Soundtrack Awards; music by Alan Silvestri, album produced by Sian Bolland and Reynold d’Silva, liner notes by Raf Butstraen, album art direction by Stuart Ford (Film Fest Gent/Silva Screen)
• Double Indemnity: Film Noir at Paramount; music by Various Artists, album produced by Lukas Kendall, liner notes by Scott Bettencourt, album art direction by Joe Sikoryak (Intrada)
• Lost in Space: 50th Anniversary Soundtrack Collection; music by Various Artists, album produced by Jeff Bond and Neil S. Bulk, liner notes by Jeff Bond, album art direction by Joe Sikoryak (La-La Land)
• Mission: Impossible – The Television Scores; music by Various Artists, album produced by Jon Burlingame, liner notes by Jon Burlingame, album art direction by Joe Sikoryak (La-La Land)
• Walt Disney Records: The Legacy Collection; music by Various Artists, album produced by Randy Thornton, liner notes by Various, album art direction by Lorelay Bové (Disney)

 

FILM MUSIC RECORD LABEL OF THE YEAR

 

• Intrada Records, Douglass Fake, Roger Feigelson
• La-La Land Records, MV Gerhard, Matt Verboys
• Quartet Records, José M. Benitez
• Tadlow Music, James Fitzpatrick
• Varése Sarabande, Robert Townson

 

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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, 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 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.