The World Soundtrack Awards (WSA) is an award show and concert for film music that has been around for more than two decades. I attended these concerts well before I founded Soundtrack World and in the early days, it was just a concert with maybe one or two side events, like a meet-and-greet. In recent years, the organizer, the film festival Film Fest Gent, has expanded their film music events by introducing the WSA Film Music Days. During this multi-day event, the audience can attend a series of panels, workshops and meetings with people from the film music industry, as well as those who work in film itself, like directors. Having attendees from both worlds is one advantage of WSA being part of a film festival. After skipping last year, I returned to Ghent to celebrate three days of film music.
In past years, in addition to the World Soundtrack Awards ceremony, an additional concert was organized with a full orchestra, but unfortunately, this edition only had one. During Film Fest Gent, there are also smaller events that combine music with film in a more artistic way, called Videodroom, but I have not attended those.
World Soundtrack Awards Ceremony & Concert
For this concert, a great balance has been found between handing out the awards and playing music. The evening always starts with the young talent contest, where the orchestra performs live music written for a specific scene by the best three contestants. If you are curious who won this competition and the other awards, you can find the results in my WSA nominees and winners report.
In past years, this concert has always focused on the music of two main guests and this year, these guests were Lifetime Achievement Award winner Trevor Jones and guest of honor Hildur Guðnadóttir. Normally, we would listen to music from last year’s Discovery of the Year award winner first, but apparently that wasn’t in the books this year, so we jumped straight into Guðnadóttir’s music. When you think about her music, an orchestra does not really come to mind, but the music performed during her block in the first half was quite intriguing to listen to. The pieces were music from Women Talking, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple and The Bride!, and were mostly performed by the string section of the orchestra.
In Jones’s block in the first half, we listened to music from his long career. I know many of his scores, but apparently not all of them. His music started with the iconic Cliffhanger, with its gorgeous melodies, and afterwards we could listen to the beautiful pieces from Notting Hill and Last Place on Earth, music I have not heard before.
After the intermission and the next batch of awards, we could listen to Guðnadóttir’s music again. I especially liked the music from A Haunting in Venice and Joker. The last one was especially wonderful, since Guðnadóttir came on stage with her cello to perform the haunting melodies of “Bathroom Dance” herself.
The last part of the program was again dedicated to Trevor Jones, who received the Live Time Achievement Award first. He was clearly touched by the well-deserved positive response from the audience, and he gave a long speech from the heart. After leaving the stage, the Brussels Philharmonic, conducted by Film Fest Gent’s music director Dirk Brossé, started to play two pieces from The Dark Crystal, which I liked very much. It is one of my favorite scores from Jones. However, it’s not my favorite because that is The Last of the Mohicans, which was the last piece on the program, and I really enjoyed that long suite.
This all made for an amazing program once more. I knew I would adore Trevor Jones’ music, but I was also quite surprised by Guðnadóttir’s work, which made for a great evening. De Bijloke is an interesting venue. It is quite small, and from my position I could really enjoy the sounds from the orchestra, but I also heard from my friends in the back that they could not hear all the details. Hopefully that will be resolved for the next edition, because I really think the way this concert is being organized is a fantastic idea, by finding the perfect balance between old and new film music that’s easy to listen to. It is a fantastic celebration of the genre, outstandingly performed by the orchestra.
Concert information
Orchestra: Brussels Philharmonic conducted by Dirk Brossé
Host: Carlo Siau
Guests: Hildur Guðnadóttir and Trevor Jones
Program
- Xabier Doural García / Lidia Pozo Pérez / Yeakun Yoo – Excerpt from Ratched
- Hildur Guðnadóttir – “Speak Up” from Women Talking
- Hildur Guðnadóttir – “The Bone Temple” from 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Hildur Guðnadóttir – “Til the End of Time” from The Bride!
- Trevor Jones – “End Credits” from Cliffhanger
- Trevor Jones – “Will and Anna” from Notting Hill
- Trevor Jones – “Axel Heiberg” from Last Place On Earth
Intermission
- Hildur Guðnadóttir – “Pipes” from A Haunting in Venice
- Hildur Guðnadóttir – ‘Allegro’ from Tár
- Hildur Guðnadóttir – “Meeting Bruce Wayne” from Joker
- Hildur Guðnadóttir – “Bathroom Dance – The Kiss” from Joker
- Trevor Jones – “Overture” from The Dark Crystal
- Trevor Jones – “Love Theme from The Dark Crystal
- Trevor Jones – Suite from The Last of the Mohicans
Panels, meetings and workshops
During the Film Music Days, many events were organized, as I stated in my introduction. With festival accreditation, you can attend these for free; otherwise, you have to pay a small fee. As in previous years, there were professional workshops where a composer goes in depth about his way of working. Since I am not a composer, and since they are intimate and sell out quickly, I did not attend these this year.
I attended many panels at the Kinepolis movie theater, where I absorbed a lot of interesting information. For example, Trevor Jones mentioned that Al Pacino was quite hands-on with the music and attended the recording sessions. Jones also said it’s important to keep the passion for the craft rather than do it for the money. The panel with Lukas Dhont (director), Valentin Hadjad (composer) and Pierre-Marie Dru (sound supervisor) was also intriguing, as they discussed how they used songs and music in the movie Coward. This Belgian film may be in the running for an Oscar.
I also attended a panel about A.I. that included Martin Phipps and Simon Franglen. During this panel they saw the dangers of A.I., but they were also optimistic about what the future will bring. Composers will still be needed because, as Simon Franglen said, “We as composers sometimes choose the wrong notes; that is where the magic lies,” something an A.I. will never do, since it always tries to find the right ones.
The panel with Hildur Guðnadóttir was also quite interesting to attend. She usually starts writing music from the script. For The Bride!, that was not possible, since she was replacing someone else. I also like the fact that for Chernobyl she did not just go to a power plant to bang on all the walls for sounds, but she was listening to the environments within the plant to find these sounds.
On the last day, there were the nominee panels where we could see clips from the movies and TV shows for which they had received their nominations. Unfortunately, during the first panel, they played these clips a bit too fast, which was amusing, but not really how it was meant to be. Luckily, this was fixed for the other panels.
The final event I would like to mention is the Meet-and-Greet session, where the nominees were sitting behind a desk while fans could get their stuff signed and take photos. I always love these events and for many visitors, it is a dream come true. It was great to see Guðnadóttir and Jones take the time to spend a few minutes with each person on the other side of the table and give them the time of their lives.
Interviews
Film Fest Gent always has some fantastic interview opportunities. During this edition, I had the chance to speak with Simon Franglen, whom I had been trying to interview for the last couple of years. I also wanted to speak with Daniel Pemberton, but since he was at the festival for a limited time, I could only speak with him alongside other journalists. It was a unique experience, since they asked completely different questions than I would have. These interviews will follow soon.
Conclusion
It was fantastic to attend WSA Film Music Days again. If you want to work in the film music industry, this festival is an outstanding way to learn the ins and outs of the industry and make connections. For film music enthusiasts, it is also amazing to attend since you get a chance to speak with your favorite composers, and get an autograph or a photo.
While this year’s concert was outstanding, with great film music, I would have loved to have had the traditional second one. Many of my friends and I had to travel far to attend the festival, and having more than one concert with an orchestra would make the trip worth it a bit more. It is just a minor detail, because WSA Film Music Days, with its concert, was fantastic again. I heard a lot of new information, spoke with many composers I admire, and listened to fantastic film music.
I am looking forward to the 28th edition next year.
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