The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) announces its list of nominees for excellence in musical scoring in 2022, for the 19th annual IFMCA Awards. Composers Bear McCreary, Michael Giacchino and Daniel Pemberton lead the list of composer nominees with eight, seven, and five nominations respectively, closely followed by Simon Franglen (4), Alexandre Desplat (3), and John Williams (3).
American composer McCreary’s nominations are for his work on the epic Amazon Prime television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power based on the classic fantasy writings of J.R.R. Tolkien; the animated comedy Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank, which is a re-imagining of the classic 1970s comedy Blazing Saddles; the epic video game God of War: Ragnarök; and for his continuing contributions to the most recent of TV series such as Outlander, See, The Serpent Queen, The Walking Dead, and The Witcher: Blood Origin. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power received nominations for Score of the Year – the first television score nominated in that category in IFMCA history since the rule change to allow TV scores to be included was announced in 2022 – plus Best Television score, and for three different tracks in the Composition of the Year category, while McCreary himself was nominated for Composer of the Year.
American composer Giacchino’s nominations are for his work on several of 2022’s most popular and acclaimed films, including: The Batman, the latest re-imagining of the classic DC super hero starring Robert Pattinson as the dark knight; Jurassic World: Dominion, the most recent installment in the classic dinosaur action franchise which brings together the Chris Pratt-led cast of the new trilogy with the original 1993 cast including Sam Neill and Laura Dern; Lightyear, an animated spinoff of the Toy Story franchise, and Werewolf by Night, a beautiful black-and-white homage to classic creature features of the 1940s and 50s, which Giacchino also directed. The Batman is nominated for Score of the Year, Best Action/Adventure Score, and Composition of the Year for the title track, Jurassic World: Dominion is nominated for Best Fantasy/Science Fiction Score, Werewolf By Night is nominated for Best Horror/Thriller Score, Lightyear is nominated for Best Animation Score, and Giacchino is nominated for Composer of the Year.
British composer Pemberton’s nominations span multiple genres and further enhance his reputation as one of the most versatile composers in film music today: Amsterdam, a star-studded drama caper set in the 1930s about a political conspiracy; See How They Run, a comedy murder mystery set in London’s theater world; Enola Holmes 2, the sequel to the popular 2022 film which sees Millie Bobbie Brown returning to play Sherlock Holmes’s younger sister in an all new adventure; and The Bad Guys, an animated heist comedy about a gang of anthropomorphic animal thieves who find it difficult to go straight. Each of the scores is nominated in their respective categories, and Pemberton is nominated for Composer of the Year.
The other nominees for Score of the Year are Avatar: The Way of Water by British composer Simon Franglen, The Fabelmans by American composer John Williams, and Nope by American composer Michael Abels. Avatar: The Way of Water is the first sequel to director James Cameron’s 2009 blockbuster Avatar, and sends audiences back to the lush world of Pandora. The Fabelmans is director Steven Spielberg’s intimate portrait of his own childhood, starring Michelle Williams and Paul Dano. Nope is the latest horror feature from director Jordan Peele, and follows a brother-sister duo of Hollywood horse breeders who discover some very peculiar occurrences on their ranch.
The other nominee for Composer of the Year is French composer Alexandre Desplat. Desplat’s work in 2022 is as rich and varied as always, and includes writing a charmingly whimsical and deeply emotional score – plus half-dozen original songs – for Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio, accompanying the wryly comic story of the efforts to locate the real-life remains of Richard III in The Lost King, adding to the drama and tension of the organized crime thriller The Outfit, and bringing a massive dose of kinetic energy to the French-language zombie action comedy Coupez.
Each year the IFMCA goes out of its way to recognize emerging talent in the film music world, and this year is no exception. The nominees in the Breakthrough Composer of the Year category are a diverse group, spanning continents and styles. Belgian composer Michelino Bisceglia impressed with his beautiful scores for the animated biopic Charlotte and the intimate Irish-set romance My Sailor My Love. British composing duo Robin Carolan and Sebastian Gainsborough gave a powerful, dramatic, contemporary edge to the story of a Viking on a quest for revenge in The Northman. American composer Chanda Dancy wrote a large scale, expansive orchestral score for Korean War drama Devotion. Egyptian composer Hesham Nazih brought authentic sounds of the Middle East to the Marvel Universe with his score for the hit superhero TV show Moon Knight, and Turkish composer Batu Sener built on the style of his mentor, John Powell, for his score for the animated action comedy The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild, as well as it’s TV cousin Ice Age: Scrat Tales.
As it has in previous years, the IFMCA takes pride in honoring composers from across the film music world. In addition to the ones already mentioned, this year’s international nominees include Finnish composer Panu Aaltio for the super hero hamster action comedy Supermarsu 2; Belgian composer Dirk Brossé, who is earning his first ever individual IFMCA nomination for his work on the nature documentary Onze Natuur; Argentine composer Federico Jusid for the expansive western TV series The English; and Dutch composer Matthijs Kieboom for his beautiful score for the nature documentary Wolf.
Other international composers honored by the IFMCA include: Polish composer Abel Korzeniowski for his score for the literary biopic Emily; French composer Philippe Rombi for his score for Le Temps des Secrets, director Christophe Barratier’s ode to childhood nostalgia; Turkish composer Pinar Toprak for her score for the Sandra Bullock/Channing Tatum action comedy The Lost City; and Spanish composer Fernando Velázquez for the homicide thriller Los Renglones Torcidos de Dios.
Several composers are receiving their first ever IFMCA Award nominations this year in addition to the aforementioned newcomers; these are James Everingham (Frozen Planet II, Documentary), Kevin Kaska (The Orville, Television), Adam Lukas (Frozen Planet II, Documentary), Yōko Shimomura (Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, Video Game), Colin Stetson (The Menu, Horror/Thriller), Alan Williams (Secrets of the Sea, Documentary), and Timothy Williams (Pearl, Horror/Thriller).
The International Film Music Critics Association will announce the winners of the 19th IFMCA Awards live on the IFMCA YouTube channel on February 23, 2023. Here is the complete list of nominations.
SCORE OF THE YEAR
COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
BREAKTHROUGH COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR
*Note: there are six nominees in this category due to a tie between the nominees in fifth
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE FILM
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION FILM
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A HORROR/THRILLER FILM
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FILM
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR TELEVISION
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A VIDEO GAME OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA
BEST ARCHIVAL RELEASE
FILM MUSIC RECORD LABEL OF THE YEAR
The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) is an association of online, print and radio journalists who specialize in writing and broadcasting about original film, television and game music.
Since its inception the IFMCA has grown to comprise over 65 members from countries such as Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iran, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.
Previous IFMCA Score of the Year Awards have been awarded to Maurizio Malagnini’s Coppelia in 2021, Christopher Willis’s The Personal History of David Copperfield in 2020, John Williams’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in 2019, John Powell’s Solo in 2018, Jonny Greenwood’s Phantom Thread in 2017, Jóhann Jóhannsson’s Arrival in 2016, John Williams’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015, Hans Zimmer’s Interstellar in 2014, Abel Korzeniowski’s Romeo & Juliet in 2013, Mychael Danna’s Life of Pi in 2012, John Williams’s War Horse in 2011, and John Powell’s How to Train Your Dragon in 2010.
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