The International Film Music Critics Association has announced its list of nominees for the 21st edition of the IFMCA Awards. These awards are significant to me since I am involved in the selection process and have spent much time finding candidates for them. The list of nominees is below, including the new category for short film, and if you want to know more about the awards and the nominees, you can find more information in the official press release.
Score of the Year
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – Takeshi Furukawa
- Here – Alan Silvestri
- The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power S02 – Bear Mccreary
- Kensuke’s Kingdom – Stuart Hancock
- The Wild Robot – Kris Bowers
Composer of the Year
- Volker Bertelmann
- Kris Bowers
- Alexandre Desplat
- Bear Mccreary
- John Powell
Breakthrough Composer of the Year
- Daniel Blumberg
- Stephen Gallagher
- Mick Giacchino
- Lauri Porra
- Wilbert Roget II
Composition of the Year
- “Battle For Eregion” from The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power S02 – Bear Mccreary
- “End Credits” from Here – Alan Silvestri
- “Horizon Montage Begins/Closing Survey” from Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 – John Debney
- “I Could Use A Boost” from The Wild Robot – Kris Bowers
- “The Sun Yet Shines” from The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power S02 – Bear Mccreary
Best Original Score for a Drama Film
- The Brutalist – Daniel Blumberg
- Conclave – Volker Bertelmann
- Here – Alan Silvestri
- Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 – John Debney
- Young Woman And The Sea – Amelia Warner
Best Original Score for a Comedy Film
- The 4:30 Movie – Bear Mccreary
- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – Danny Elfman
- Fly Me To The Moon – Daniel Pemberton
- If – Michael Giacchino
- Paddington In Peru – Dario Marianelli
Best Original Score for an Action/Adventure Film
- Argylle – Lorne Balfe
- Gladiator II – Harry Gregson-Williams
- The Killer – Marco Beltrami
- The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare – Chris Benstead
- Twisters – Benjamin Wallfisch
Best Original Score For A Fantasy/Science Fiction Film
- Dune: Part Two – Hans Zimmer
- Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire – Dario Marianelli
- Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes – John Paesano
- Megalopolis – Osvaldo Golijov
- Wicked – John Powell and Stephen Schwartz
Best Original Score for a Horror/Thriller Film
- Abigail – Brian Tyler
- Alien: Romulus – Benjamin Wallfisch
- The First Omen – Mark Korven
- Nosferatu – Robin Carolan
- The Watchers – Abel Korzeniowski
Best Original Score for an Animated Film
- Dragonkeeper – Arturo Cardelús
- Kensuke’s Kingdom – Stuart Hancock
- The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim – Stephen Gallagher
- That Christmas – John Powell
- The Wild Robot – Kris Bowers
Best Original Score for a Documentary
- Churchill At War – Jeff Danna
- Endurance – Daniel Pemberton
- Our Living World – Pinar Toprak
- Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story – Ilan Eshkeri
- Why Dinosaurs? – Raphaël Dargent
Best Original Score for Television
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – Takeshi Furukawa
- Cobra Kai – Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson
- The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power S02 – Bear Mccreary
- The Penguin – Mick Giacchino
- We Were The Lucky Ones – Rachel Portman and Jon Ehrlich
Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth – Masashi Hamauzu and Mitsuto Suzuki
- Indiana Jones And The Great Circle – Gordy Haab
- Nordic Ashes: Survivors Of Ragnarok – Rubén Melià
- Quidditch Champions – Cris Velasco
- Star Wars: Outlaws – Wilbert Roget II, Jon Everist and Kazuma Jinnouchi
Best Original Score for a Short Film
- An Almost Christmas Story – Daniel Hart
- Carmen Y La Cuchara De Palo [Carmen And The Wooden Spoon] – Iván Palomares
- Go For Grandma – Fabrizio Mancinelli
- The Ice Cream Man – Nami Melumad
- The Only Girl In The Orchestra – Laura Karpman
Best Archival Release
- Backdraft – Hans Zimmer (Intrada)
- Dinosaur – James Newton Howard (Intrada)
- Elliot Goldenthal: Music For Film – Elliot Goldenthal (Wsa/Silva)
- Jerry Goldsmith At The General Electric Theater – Jerry Goldsmith (Intrada)
- Moonraker – John Barry (La-La Land)
- The Old Man And The Sea – Dimitri Tiomkin (Intrada)
- Out Of Africa – John Barry (Intrada)
- The Pink Panther – Henry Mancini (Quartet)
- The Sound Of Lalo Schifrin – Lalo Schifrin (Universal Music France-Écoutez Le Cinéma!)
- The Sugarland Express – John Williams (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
- Moviescore Media, Mikael Carlsson
- Music Box Records, Cyril Durand-Roger and Laurent Lafarge
- Quartet Records, Jose M. Benitez
The International Film Music Critics Association will announce the winners of the 21st IFMCA Awards LIVE on the IFMCA YouTube channel on February 27, 2025.
