Film Fest Ghent reveals the nominees for the 20th anniversary edition of the World Soundtrack Awards

“Now more than ever - in the midst of a global pandemic - we realize the power of film and music, or even better: film music. To see so much diverse talent across all categories is proof of how the industry has evolved and welcomes each and every one. We are pleased to celebrate these wonderful composers, who often not only compose for the big screen, but have broken ground for the small screen as well, becoming more than mere film composers: composers for screen.” - programme director Wim De Witte

All nominees for the WSAward for TV Composer of the Year initially composed music for film. Previous WSA Film Composers of the Year, Nicholas Britell and Carter Burwell are now nominated for their work on the television series Succession and The Morning Show respectively. In the meantime, the duo Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who received an Oscar ten years ago for scoring The Social Network by David Fincher, join the competition along with Lorne Balfe, four-time nominee at the BAFTA Awards and Nathan Barr.

After winning the Oscar for Best Original Song, (I’m Gonna) Love Me Again by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, is now also nominated in the Best Original Song category at the WSA, in competition with songs by Randy Newman, Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez, Regina Spektor and Joshuah Brian Campbell & Cynthia Erivo.

Furthermore, Belgian composer Hannes De Maeyer is nominated in two different categories for his work on Torpedo: Best Original Score for a Belgian Production and the Public Choice Award. In the Public Choice category, the winner of last year, John Powell is again nominated for his work on The Call of Wild. The other scores that are nominated are Klaus by Alfonso G. Aguilar, Blizzard of Souls by Lolita Ritmanis and Kruimeltje by Joep Sporck.

Among the composers competing for the Discovery Award 2020 are the German composer Dascha Dauenhauer (recently awarded at the German Film Awards for scoring the film Berlin Alexanderplatz) and Bryce Dessner, for his work on the film The Two Popes, after already having collaborated with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto on The Revenant. The other Discovery of the Year- nominees are Tom Howe, Daniel Lopatin and Christopher Willis.

This year nominees for the WSAward for Film Composer of the Year:

• Alexandre Desplat, Little Women, J’accuse, Adults in the Room
• Hildur Guðnadóttir, Joker
• Thomas Newman, 1917
• Benjamin Wallfisch, It Chapter Two, The Invisible Man
• John Williams, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

TV Composer of the Year:

• Lorne Balfe, His Dark Materials
• Nathan Barr, The Great, Hollywood, Carnival Row
• Nicholas Britell, Succession (season 2)
• Carter Burwell, The Morning Show
• Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, Watchmen

Best Original Song:

• ‘I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away’, Toy Story 4, Randy Newman
• ‘(I’m Gonna) Love Myself Again’, Rocketman, Elton John & Bernie Taupin
• ‘Into The Unknown’, Frozen II, Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez
• ‘One Little Soldier’, Bombshell, Regina Spektor
• ‘Stand Up’, Harriet, Joshuah Brian Campbell & Cynthia Erivo

Public Choice:

• Alfonso G. Aguilar, Klaus
• Hannes De Maeyer, Torpedo
• John Powell, The Call of the Wild
• Lolita Ritmanis, Blizzard of Souls
• Joep Sporck, Kruimeltje

Discovery of the Year:

• Dascha Dauenhauer, Berlin Alexanderplatz
• Bryce Dessner, The Two Popes
• Tom Howe, A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
• Daniel Lopatin, Uncut Gems
• Christopher Willis, The Personal History of David Copperfield

Best Original Score for a Belgian Production:

• Vincent Cahay, Adoration
• Hannes De Maeyer, Torpedo
• Mauro Pawlowski, Cleo

Sabam Award for Best Original Composition by a Young Composer:

• Hamish Ander
• Louis Edlinger
• Ana Kasrashvili

The 20th anniversary edition of the World Soundtrack Awards will be celebrated in a special way. Adapted to current circumstances, this year's WSA will be an online edition, livestreamed from Kinepolis Ghent, where the ceremony itself will take place. This will give the festival's international audience the chance to enjoy the award ceremony and concert from everywhere around the world in a safe and corona-proof manner. The World Soundtrack Awards will be the closing event of Film Fest Ghent.

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary, the WSA is proud to welcome back Alexandre Desplat, record holder of the World Soundtrack Film Composer of the Year Award, Gabriel Yared, who will receive a Lifetime Achievement, and Michael Abels, Discovery of the Year 2019. Their music, as always performed by the Brussels Philharmonic and Vlaams Radiokoor and conducted by Maestro Dirk Brossé, will be prerecorded in the Brussels Philharmonic's hometown Brussels (Flagey) and will be part of the live event and the livestream.

Register here to stay up to date and follow the ceremony and concert completely free of charge and from the comfort of your sofa, on the 24th of October.