The Spanish composer Javier Bayon is the winner of the 5th International Film Music Competition, which took place within the framework of the 12th Zurich Film Festival at the Tonhalle Zürich on Friday evening. Bayon was crowned winner of the Golden Eye for ‚Best International Film Music 2016’, an award endowed with a CHF 10’000 cash prize. A Special Mention went to the Rumanian composer Lucian Zbarcea.
Five soundtracks were shortlisted by an international jury from a total of 202 entries (previous year: 137) from 43 countries (previous year: 28). In addition to Javier Bayon, the following composers were also nominated for the award: Nic Danielson (USA), Marcin Sadowski (Poland), Joakim Unander (Sweden) and Lucian Zbarcea (Rumania).
The five finalists’ compositions were premiered on Friday evening by the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich under the baton of Frank Strobel. A specialist jury comprising Seth Boyden, Sophie Hunger, Brigitte Hofer, Frank Strobel and Jan Müller-Wieland chose the winner of the Golden Eye for Best Film Music on the same evening. The competition required entrants to score Seth Boyden’s six-minute short film AN OBJECT AT REST.
The Film Music Concert that followed took place under the title ‚A Tribute to John Williams’, which was dedicated to this great U.S. film composer and five-time Academy Award-winner. Williams has collaborated with many of the world’s most distinguished directors and scored almost every film by Steven Spielberg. The concert saw the orchestra play the themes from JURASSIC PARK, JAWS, LINCOLN, INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE and E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL.
Also in attendance was Basel-based film composer Niki Reiser, who garnered FONDATION SUISA’s film music award this year for his original soundtrack to the Swiss film HEIDI, an excerpt from which was also performed during the first part of the evening. Presenter Sandra Studer was in charge of proceedings.
The event was organised by the Zurich Film Festival and the Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich in collaboration with the Forum Filmmusik.