The Cinematic Journal

09/10/2025

Last Saturday evening in Varaždin, the city’s Croatian National Theatre gleamed under a spotlight as the Crystal Pine Awards Gala, part of the 13th edition of the International Sound & Film Music Festival - ISFMF, celebrated exceptional achievements in film music, sound design, and cinematic artistry. The night brimmed with emotion, applause, and a shared passion for the creative forces that give life to stories through sound and score.

Awards were presented in a wide range of categories, including Best Trailer Music, Best Original Song, Best Music Video, Best Short, Best Original Score – Documentary, Best Original Score – Short, Best Picture, and Best Original Score – Feature. The ceremony also featured a special piano performance by acclaimed French composer and pianist Jean-Michel Bernard, adding a refined musical touch to the evening’s celebrations.

One of the night’s highest honours went to Bruno Coulais, celebrated composer of Les Choristes, Coraline, and Microcosmos, who received the ISFMF Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his profound influence and enduring contribution to world cinema through music.

Kathy Kelly, beloved member of The Kelly Family, graced the stage with stirring performances of “An Angel” and Puccini’s “Vissi d’arte” from Tosca. She was presented with the ISFMF Honorary Award for her remarkable career and artistic legacy.

The festival also honoured legendary sound engineer Chris Munro with a Lifetime Achievement Award, acknowledging his outstanding career shaping the soundscapes of modern cinema.

Benjamin Haycock received the Rising Star Award for his emerging voice and authentic storytelling through music. Following the presentation, he took to the stage to perform “Restlessness” and “Brother,” captivating the audience with his emotional honesty and distinctive style — a performance that perfectly embodied the spirit of the award.

04/10/2025

Last night, in a tribute to the prolific composer Lalo Schifrin, pianist and composer Jean Michel Bernard Pianist Composer drew a full house of music enthusiasts to the beautiful National Theatre of Croatia in Varaždin, in a concert that was part of this year's International Sound & Film Music Festival - ISFMF. He performed some of Schifrin's beloved film scores as well as several of his more challenging jazz works. Throughout the evening, the audience enjoyed music from Tango, The Cincinnati Kid, Dirty Harry, Les Félins, Mission: Impossible, among others, as well as Gillespiana and the third movement of his Jazz Piano Sonata.

Kimiko Ono-Bernard, the pianist's wife, provided vocals on three songs, including Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer’s Moon River.

A piano medley of John Williams’ music from E.T., Schindler’s List, and Harry Potter was a delightful surprise, along with music from Les Choristes by Bruno Coulais and the North by Northwest prelude by Bernard Herrmann. Mr Bernard closed the evening with Chopin’s Waltz No. 7.

01/10/2025

We talked with award-winning composer, director, and poet Elias Tadeus, whose beautiful score for The Man Without a Lifeline (Omul Fără Linia Vieții Film) earned him a nomination at this year's International Sound & Film Music Festival - ISFMF in Croatia.

Elias Tadeus is an award-winning film composer, record producer, and director whose work spans over 17 years of professional practice. A largely self-taught artist who began composing at age seven, Tadeus has built an impressive career that includes collaborations with Disney, numerous commercial pr...

15/07/2025

Directed by Nabil Ayouch, "Everybody Loves Touda" (2024) is a character-driven drama that follows a young singer named Touda (Nisrin Erradi), who dreams of becoming a Sheikha – a traditional Moroccan folk singer – and moving to Casablanca for greater recognition and a better life for her deaf-mute son.

The wonderful film was scored by Danish composer Flemming Nordkrog, who told us all about the thought process behind the music.

Directed by Nabil Ayouch, "Everybody Loves Touda" (2024) is a character-driven drama that follows a young singer named Touda (Nisrin Erradi), who dreams of becoming a Sheikha – a traditional Moroccan folk singer – and moving to Casablanca for greater recognition and a better life for her deaf-mu...

28/06/2025

A while back, we caught up with Paul Leonard-Morgan on some of the projects he's worked on in recent years, as well as his creative process and musical journey.

Paul Leonard-Morgan is a classically trained composer and pianist with a diverse work profile. He has composed music for films and the concert hall, written music for video games in multiple styles, including electronica, and produced songs and albums by groups such as No Doubt, Simple Minds, and Sn...

02/05/2025

We had a chat recently with Nainita Desai about her work on "Nautilus", "Secrets of the Penguins", as well as the soundtrack for the "Fiber Optic Symphonic Orchestra" titled "Tessellation". Read the full interview below.

Also, our team at The Cinematic Journal would like to extend heartfelt congratulations to Nainita for winning the ASCAP Composers' Choice Award for Video Game Score of the Year for "Tales of Kenzera: Zau" last night.

Nainita Desai is an award-winning composer for film, television, and video games. She has composed scores for acclaimed documentary feature films such as For Sama, The Reason I Jump, 14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible, and The Deepest Breath, along with television drama series The Tower, Funny Woman, C...

03/06/2024

We recently had a conversation with Drum & Lace aka Sofia Hultquist to discuss her background, her work on media projects such as Cobweb, Rosaline, The First Monday in May, and Red, White & Royal Blue, as well as her upcoming album titled ONDA, set to be released in June of 2024.

Sofia deglia Alessandri, aka Sofia Hultquist, who also records under the moniker Drum & Lace, is an Italian-born composer who earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the United States, and post-Covid shutdown, is now based in London. She has several media composition credits, including The...

16/05/2024

London-born and Scottish-raised composer and musician Anna Meredith has torn down the boundaries between popular, “classical,” and film music, proving to be an exceptional musical force in all genres. In her conversation with The Cinematic Journal, she discussed shaping film cues, the need for visual sketches for musical compositions, and using bumper cars to signal musical shifts.

London-born and Scottish-raised composer and musician Anna Meredith has torn down the boundaries between popular, “classical,” and film music, proving to be an exceptional musical force in all genres. A classically-trained musician, she received her master’s degree in composition from the Roya...

28/03/2024

We recently sat down with Russian-born composer Anna Drubich to discuss her path to composition, her most recent work for The Master and Margarita and Desert Road, as well as selecting significant projects that have the power to affect positive change in the world.

Anna Drubich is a Russian-born composer of both concert and film music, and has studied across Europe and North America. A student at the illustrious Screen Scoring program at the University of Southern California, she began working in Hollywood film as an assistant to composer Marco Beltrami. In ou...

23/02/2024

Erik Heine sat down with the London-based composer and sound designer, Adam Janota Bzowski, to discuss his recent work on Out of Darkness, which was released in the US earlier this month, and Femme, coming to Netflix UK on 29 February and hitting the US theatres on 22 March.

Adam Janota Bzowski is a London-based composer and sound designer who has been working in film and television music composition for over a decade. Adam’s music is featured in two upcoming and recent films, Out of Darkness, which premiered at the 2022 BFI London Film Festival, and earned another BI...

22/12/2023

Songs of Earth is Margreth Olin’s critically acclaimed nature documentary which is both an intimate and an eye-opening experience. The director’s own father takes us on a breathtaking existential journey through the seasons of the vast Norwegian landscapes.

Described as ‘The cinematic nature experience of the year.’ and ‘A magnificent existential journey.’ by CPH:DOX, the film is already collecting accolades and is Norway’s Oscar submission.

By employing a unique scoring process, Rebekka Karijord crafted a beautiful symbiotic relationship between the sounds of nature and those produced by instruments.

Songs of Earth is Margreth Olin’s critically acclaimed nature documentary which is both an intimate and an eye-opening experience. The director’s own father takes us on a breathtaking existential journey through the seasons of the vast Norwegian landscapes. Described as ‘The cinematic nature e...