Every year, the World Soundtracks Awards are held in Ghent, Belgium, during “Film Fest Gent”. These awards are highly regarded in the film music industry. The award ceremony was held during the World Soundtrack Awards Gala on October 10, 2026, and we were present during the ceremony and our report will follow later.
You can find the overview of nominees for all the awards below, with the winners marked in bold.
Film Composer of the Year
- Alexandre Desplat – Frankenstein; Eagles of the Republic; Jurassic World Rebirth; L’homme qui rétrécit (The Shrinking Man)
- Jonny Greenwood – One Battle After Another
- Hildur Guðnadóttir – The Bride!; Hedda; 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Daniel Pemberton – Project Hail Mary; The Drama; The Bad Guys 2; Masters of the Universe
- Max Richter – Hamnet
Television Composer of the Year
- David Fleming – Widow’s Bay
- Finneas O’Connell – Beef (Season 2)
- Martin Phipps, Benji Merrison – Steal
- Dave Porter – Pluribus
- Jeff Russo – Alien: Earth; Cape Fear; Citadel (Season 2)
Lifetime Achievement Award
- Trevor Jones
Public Choice Award
- Avatar: Fire and Ash – Simon Franglen
- Soy Frankelda – Kevin Smithers
- Project Hail Mary – Daniel Pemberton
- Starbright – Ludek Drizhal
- KPop Demon Hunters – Marcelo Zarvos
WSA Game Music Award
- Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss – Nicolas Garcia
- Crimson Desert – Hwiman Ryu, Inro Joo, Hyoung Woo Roh, Jiyoon Kim, Dongjune Oh
- Dispatch – Andrew Arcadi
- Marathon – Ryan Lott
- UNBEATABLE – rj lake, Vasily Nikolaev, Rachel Lake, and Clara Maddux (D-CELL SOUND TEAM)
Discovery of the Year
- Mari Fukuhara – Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
- Paris Hurley – The Chronology of Water
- Kangding Ray – SIRÀT
- Hannah Peel – Midwinter Break
- Sam Slater – 2000 Meters to Andriivka
Best Original Composition by a Young Composer
- Xabier Doural García
- Lidia Pozo Perez
- Yeakun Yoo
Best Original Score for a Belgian Production
- Margaret Hermant – A la cara (Nothing Personal); Mallorca Confidencial
- Frederik Van de Moortel – De Pupil
- Frédéric Vercheval – Les Tourmentés
Best Original Song
- “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters – written by Kim Eun-jae, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo, Teddy Park | performed by Huntrix
- “House” from Wuthering Heights – written by Charli XCX, John Cale, Nathan Klein, Finn Keane | performed by Charli XCX, John Cale
- “No Place Like Home” from Wicked: For Good – written by Stephen Schwartz | performed by Cynthia Erivo
- “Stolen Tale” from Hedda – written by Hildur Guðnadóttir, Nia DaCosta | performed by Mariam Wallentin
- “Train Dreams” from Train Dreams – written by Nick Cave, Bryce Dessner | performed by Nick Cave
Congratulations to all the winners and the other nominees who can be proud of their nominations.
