18th World Soundtrack Awards announces second wave of nominees

For the third time in a row, the award for Best Original Score for a Belgian Production will be presented on October 17th. The three nominees are Valentin Hadjadj who provided the film music for Film Fest Gent's opening film ‘Girl’, Raf Keunen who wrote the score for ‘Le Fidèle’, and Dutch composer Rutgers Reinders who worked on 2017 Film Fest Gent winner ‘Zagros’. Last year's award went to Jef Neve's score for ‘Speechless’.

Young, international and talented composers are given a spot in the limelight with the Discovery of the Year Award. In addition to the award, the winner receives the opportunity to perform on stage at the next edition of the WSAwards. Remarkable fact, the WSAwards nominees for this year are outweighed in female composers, which is unprecedented in regard to the Discovery of the Year Award.

Within the SABAM Award For best Young International Composers, the contesters received a task to compose music for Isao Takahata's animated film ‘Grave of the Fireflies’. The nominees of 2018 are the American composer Logan Nelson, the Irishman Stefan French and the Portuguese Bruno Ferreira.This award's jury is led by music director of Film Fest Gent Dirk Brossé, artistic director Patrick Duynslaegher, composer Michel Herr, managing director of SABAM Hans Helewaut, VFX Supervisor & Post production Advisor with ACE Image Factory Stefan Rycken and film director Caroline Strubbe.

The Public Choice Award will be announced on the 18th World Soundtrack Awards on the 17th of October at Capitole in Ghent. The score with the most votes, picked from a selection of five nominees, will receive a prestigious prize.

The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Philippe Sarde. The Award ceremony will conclude with a concert performed by Brussels Philharmonic playing the oeuvre of Carter Burwell. Nicholas Britell, winner of the Discovery of the Year Award 2017 for his outstanding work for Barry Jenkins’ ‘Moonlight’, will close the ceremony with an exclusive performance.

THE SECOND WAVE OF NOMINEES

Best Original Score for a Belgian Production

• ‘Girl’ by Valentin Hadjadj
• ‘Le Fidèle’ by Raf Keunen
• ‘Zagros’ by Rutger Reinders

Discovery of the Year 2018

• Laurent Eyquem for ‘Nostalgia’
• Hildur Guðnadóttir for ‘Sicario: Day of the Soldado'
• Valentin Hadjadj for ‘Girl’
• Tamar-kali for ‘Mudbound’
• Amelia Warner for ‘Mary Shelley’

SABAM Award For the Most Original Composition by aYoung International Composer

• Bruno Ferreira
• Stefan French
• Logan Nelson

Public Choice Award

• ‘Kings’ by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis
• ‘Lean on Pete’ by James Edward Barker
• ‘Nostalgia’ by Laurent Eyquem
• ‘Ploey - You Never Fly Alone’ by Atli Örvarsson
• ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ by John Powell

18th World Soundtrack Awards and concert:
17 Oct – World Soundtrack Awards - tickets
18 Oct – 2001 and Beyond: A Symphonic Odyssey - tickets