Discover the first nominees for the 21st World Soundtrack Awards!

Nainita Desai is a trailblazer in the world of documentary, having brought her unique voice to the scores of hundreds of acclaimed documentaries, including Academy Award and Cannes winning film For Sama. Her recent scores include Kevin MacDonald’s The Day That Changed Britain (2021) and John Dower’s Sophie: A Murder in West Cork (2021).

Following a degree in Maths and studying sound for film at the NFTS in the UK, Nainita began her career as a sound designer on feature films for directors including Werner Herzog and Bertolucci, as well as being an assistant music engineer to Peter Gabriel. She moves seamlessly between working with orchestras, to creating scores that incorporate electronics, ethnic elements and found sound, all of which has informed her experimental and deeply immersive approach to composition.

One of the most versatile and respected composers currently working in film, James Newton Howard’s career spans over thirty years. He has composed music for over 120 films, including the Academy Award-nominated scores for The Village, The Fugitive and My Best Friend’s Wedding, and Academy Award-nominated songs for Junior and One Fine Day. Howard also received a Golden Globe nomination for his massive orchestral score for Peter Jackson’s blockbuster remake of King Kong.

Howard won the 2009 Grammy Award for his co-score with Hans Zimmer for The Dark Knight, and received a Grammy Award nomination for music from Blood Diamond. In addition, he received an Emmy nomination for the theme to the long-running series ER. In 2008, the World Soundtrack Awards named him Film Composer of the Year.

Emile Mosseri is an award-winning composer, pianist, singer and producer who has quickly made a name for himself in the world of film and television scoring with his song-based approach to crafting emotionally-stirring compositions. He made his feature film score debut with Sundance standout The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019). A breakout moment for the young composer, the sweepingly romantic score cemented Mosseri as a sought-after collaborator, next joining director Miranda July for her Kajillionaire (2020).

Meanwhile, Mosseri’s television credits include Terence Nance’s HBO series Random Acts of Flyness as well as season 2 of Amazon’s Homecoming. Mosseri’s latest project is director Lee Isaac Chung’s family drama Minari. The score has earned Mosseri an Academy Award nomination.

Daniel Pemberton has scored projects for Ridley Scott (All The Money In The World), Danny Boyle (Yesterday, Steve Jobs), Aaron Sorkin (The Trial Of The Chicago 7, Molly’s Game), Darren Aronofsky (One Strange Rock), Edward Norton (Motherless Brooklyn), Louis Leterrier (Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance) and Guy Ritchie (The Man From UNCLE).

His unusual and innovative arrangements and incredibly bold styles of composing and production have seen the soundtracks constantly singled out for critical acclaim, whether they are studio films such as such as the Oscar winning Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, Birds Of Prey, Enola Holmes and Oceans 8 or smaller independent features. He was previously honoured as Discovery of The Year at the World Soundtrack Awards in 2014 and nominated as Film Composer Of The Year in 2016 and 2019.

Composer and pianist Nicholas Britell is known for his critically acclaimed scores on feature films with writer-directors Barry Jenkins and Adam McKay. In 2016, he was responsible for the score for Jenkins' Best Picture winner Moonlight. The year prior, he wrote the score for McKay’s The Big Short. In 2018, Britell scored Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk and McKay’s Vice. His most recent film work is the score for Disney’s Cruella. For television, he won an Emmy for Succession's title theme. Most recently, he scored Jenkins’ limited series The Underground Railroad.

In 2019, Britell was honoured by the World Soundtrack Awards as Film Composer of the Year. In 2020, the World Soundtrack Awards honoured Britell with the TV Composer of the Year Award for Succession.

Natalie Holt's film and television credits include the Marvel television series Loki, the BBC’s Wallander (starring Kenneth Branagh), Knightfall (starring Mark Hamill), Paddington (starring Hugh Bonneville) and Deadwater Fell (starring David Tennant). She co-scored the WW1 film Journey’s End with Oscar winner Hildur Guðnadóttir (Joker), The Honourable Woman and Victoria with Martin Phipps (The Crown) and composed additional music for Hans Zimmer and Martin Phipps on the film Woman in Gold.

An accomplished violinist and violist, she has performed at the Royal Albert Hall and the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games. She is known for her experimental string-based scores, on which she plays violin, piano and vintage synthesizer, as well as for her large orchestral music.