The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) announces its list of nominees for excellence in musical scoring in 2020, for the 17th annual IFMCA Awards. British composer Daniel Pemberton and German composer Hans Zimmer lead the field with the most number of nominations, each receiving a total of five.
Zimmer’s five nominations were all for his work on one film, Wonder Woman 1984, the blockbuster sequel to the 2017 DC superhero film directed by Patty Jenkins, and starring Gal Gadot and Chris Pine. The score is nominated for Score of the Year and in its Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Horror genre, Zimmer is nominated for Composer of the Year, and two of Zimmer’s individual cues – “1984” and “Themyscira” – are nominated for Film Music Composition of the Year. IFMCA member Jon Broxton praised the score’s “upbeat attitude, its buoyant sense of fun and optimism, and the unashamed, un-ironic sincerity of its emotional content,” and said that “the depth and complexity of Zimmer’s thematic ideas makes the score satisfying from an intellectual point of view, meaning that the whole thing succeeds on every count.”
Pemberton’s nominations were for his work on three films: the literary adventure Enola Holmes, based on the popular young adult novels by Nancy Springer about the younger sister of the legendary sleuth Sherlock; the political drama The Trial of the Chicago 7, which looks at the real-life trial of a group of anti–Vietnam War protesters charged with inciting riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention; and “Rising Phoenix,” an acclaimed documentary following the stories of nine Paralympic athletes. Enola Holmes is nominated for Score of the Year, and Pemberton is nominated for Composer of the Year. IFMCA member James Southall called Enola Holmes “a great orchestral adventure romp, whose quirks only add to its great sense of fun … conventional by recent Pemberton standards but still features a number of quirks and it feels so continually fresh and energetic … one of the year’s strongest scores.”
The International Film Music Critics Association will announce the winners of the 17th IFMCA Awards on February 18, 2021.
Here is the full list of nominations.
FILM SCORE OF THE YEAR
THE CALL OF THE WILD, music by John Powell
ENOLA HOLMES, music by Daniel Pemberton
FUKUSHIMA 50, music by Tarō Iwashiro
THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD, music by Christopher Willis
WONDER WOMAN 1984, music by Hans Zimmer
FILM COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
FEDERICO JUSID
BEAR MCCREARY
DANIEL PEMBERTON
CHRISTOPHER WILLIS
HANS ZIMMER
BREAKTHROUGH COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
ALEX BARANOWSKI
THOMAS CLAY
PHILIP KLEIN
NAMI MELUMAD
ISOBEL WALLER-BRIDGE AND DAVID SCHWEITZER
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM
DA 5 BLOODS, music by Terence Blanchard
FANNY LYE DELIVER’D, music by Thomas Clay
FUKUSHIMA 50, music by Tarō Iwashiro
NEWS OF THE WORLD, music by James Newton Howard
THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7, music by Daniel Pemberton
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM
AN AMERICAN PICKLE, music by Michael Giacchino and Nami Melumad
EMMA, music by Isobel Waller-Bridge and David Schweitzer
GODMOTHERED, music by Rachel Portman
THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD, music by Christopher Willis
WILD MOUNTAIN THYME, music by Amelia Warner
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER FILM
THE CALL OF THE WILD, music by John Powell
ENOLA HOLMES, music by Daniel Pemberton
MULAN, music by Harry Gregson-Williams
ORÍGENES SECRETOS [UNKNOWN ORIGINS], music by Federico Jusid
TENET, music by Ludwig Göransson
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION/HORROR FILM
THE INVISIBLE MAN, music by Benjamin Wallfisch
THE MIDNIGHT SKY, music by Alexandre Desplat
WENDY, music by Dan Romer and Benh Zeitlin
THE WITCHES, music by Alan Silvestri
WONDER WOMAN 1984, music by Hans Zimmer
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FEATURE
ANIMAL CRACKERS, music by Bear McCreary
FEARLESS, music by Anne-Kathrin Dern
ONWARD, music by Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna
SOUL, music by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Jon Batiste
WOLFWALKERS, music by Bruno Coulais
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY
DAVID ATTENBOROUGH: A LIFE ON OUR PLANET, music by Steven Price
ELEPHANT, music by Ramin Djawadi
HARBOR FROM THE HOLOCAUST, music by Chad Cannon
RISING PHOENIX, music by Daniel Pemberton
SADAN HANIM, music by George Kallis
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR TELEVISION
DRACULA, music by David Arnold and Michael Price
HIS DARK MATERIALS, music by Lorne Balfe
LOVECRAFT COUNTRY, music by Laura Karpman and Raphael Saadiq
THE MANDALORIAN, music by Ludwig Göransson
THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT, music by Carlos Rafael Rivera
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A VIDEO GAME OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA
GHOST OF TSUSHIMA, music by Ilan Eshkeri and Shigeru Umebayashi
MEDAL OF HONOR: ABOVE AND BEYOND, music by Michael Giacchino and Nami Melumad
ORI AND THE WILL OF THE WISPS, music by Gareth Coker
THE PATHLESS, music by Austin Wintory
STAR WARS: SQUADRONS, music by Gordy Haab
BEST NEW ARCHIVAL RELEASE – RE-RELEASE OR RE-RECORDING
ENDLESS NIGHT, music by Bernard Herrmann; the Basque National Orchestra, conducted by Fernando Velázquez; album produced by Edouard Dubois and José M. Benitez; liner notes by Frank K. DeWald; album art direction by Nacho B. Govantes (Quartet)
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY, music by Ennio Morricone; album produced by Chris Malone and José M. Benitez; liner notes by Chris Malone and Tim Greiving; album art direction by Nacho B. Govantes (Quartet)
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, music by John Powell; album produced by John Powell, Batu Sener, Bryon Davis, and Cary E. Mansfield; liner notes by Tim Greiving; album art direction by Bill Pitzonka (Varèse Sarabande/5 Cat Studios)
KING OF KINGS, music by Miklós Rózsa; the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Nic Raine; album produced by James Fitzpatick; liner notes by Frank K. DeWald and James Fitzpatrick; album art direction by Nic Finch and Gareth Bevan (Tadlow Music)
ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES, music by Michael Kamen; album produced by Douglass Fake and Roger Feigelson; liner notes by Frank K. DeWald; album art direction by Kay Marshall (Intrada)
BEST NEW ARCHIVAL RELEASE – COMPILATION
FRANZ WAXMAN: THE DOCUMENTARIES, music by Franz Waxman; album produced by Ford A. Thaxton and James Nelson; liner notes by Jon Burlingame; album art direction by Mark Banning (Dragon’s Domain)
JOHN WILLIAMS IN VIENNA, music by John Williams; the Wiener Philharmoniker and Anne-Sophie Mutter, conducted by John Williams; album produced by Bernhard Güttler; liner notes by Otta Biba; album art direction by Büro Dirk Rudolph (Deutsche Grammophon)
MORRICONE SEGRETO, music by Ennio Morricone; album produced by Pierpaolo De Sanctis; album art direction by Leonardo Pellegrino (Decca)
VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA, music by Alexander Courage, Robert Drasnin, Jerry Goldsmith, Lennie Hayton, Joseph Mullendore, Nelson Riddle, Paul Sawtell, Herman Stein, and Leith Stevens; album produced by Jeff Bond and Neil S. Bulk; liner notes by Jeff Bond; album art direction by Mark Banning (La-La Land)
WORLD SOUNDTRACK AWARDS – TRIBUTE TO THE FILM COMPOSER, music by Various Composers; the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra and Vlaams Radiokoor, conducted by Dirk Brossé; album produced by Thomas Van Parys; liner notes by Thomas Van Parys; album art direction by Stuart Ford (Silva Screen/Film Fest Ghent)
FILM MUSIC RECORD LABEL OF THE YEAR
INTRADA RECORDS, Douglass Fake and Roger Feigelson
LA-LA LAND RECORDS, MV Gerhard and Matt Verboys
MOVIESCORE MEDIA, Mikael Carlsson
QUARTET RECORDS, José M. Benitez
TADLOW MUSIC, James Fitzpatrick
FILM MUSIC COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR
“1984” from WONDER WOMAN 1984, music by Hans Zimmer
“Buck Takes the Lead” from THE CALL OF THE WILD, music by John Powell
“Main Title” from THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT, music by Carlos Rafael Rivera
“Symphonic Suite F – 1st Chapter: All Life” from FUKUSHIMA 50, music by Tarō Iwashiro
“Themyscira” from WONDER WOMAN 1984, music by Hans Zimmer
Wonder Woman 1984 image courtesy of Warner Bros; The Trial of the Chicago 7 image courtesy of Nico Tavernise/Netflix
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