International Film Music Critics Association

Professional association

The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) is a professional association for online, print and radio journalists who specialize in writing about original film and television music.

## History and purpose

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The IFMCA was founded in the late 1990s as the Film Music Critics Jury by film music journalist Mikael Carlsson (now the owner of film music record label MovieScore Media), and after period of inactivity was re-launched in 2003 under its new title.

Its membership includes 65 journalists from 16 different countries who write for such high-profile film and soundtrack-related publications and websites as Film Score Monthly, Filmtracks, SoundtrackNet, Music from the Movies, MundoBSO and UnderScores, as well as more mainstream publications such as Ain't It Cool News, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and the Irish Times. Members of the IFMCA have also been involved in writing liner notes for major film music record labels such as Film Score Monthly, Varèse Sarabande, Intrada Records, La-La Land Records and Music Box Records.

The group maintains a website documenting its activities; operates a central online review interface which provides links to articles, reviews and interviews written by its members; organizes an annual awards event, the IFMCA Awards, celebrating music for films written during the preceding year; and is involved in organizing major international film music festivals, such as those in Tenerife,[1] Úbeda in Spain,[2] Kraków in Poland,[3] and the World Soundtrack Awards in Ghent, Belgium.[4]

## IFMCA Awards

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The organization is responsible for the annual International Film Music Critics Association Awards, the only awards given to composers by active film music journalists, and which are seen by many as a valuable precursor to the Academy Awards in the absence of a guild for composers.[5] They have been called the "Oscars of film music",[6] have been featured in major daily newspapers in Spain[7] and Portugal,[8] are recognized by major performing rights organizations such as ASCAP in the United States[9] and SGAE in Europe,[10] and most recently have been seen by the video games industry as an important step forward in legitimizing game music as a mainstream creative art form.[11]

Composers as varied as John Debney,[12] Alexandre Desplat,[13] Randy Edelman,[14] George Fenton,[15] Michael Giacchino,[16] James Newton Howard[17] Mark Isham,[18] Andrew Lockington,[19] Abel Korzeniowski,[20] Brian Tyler,[21] Fernando Velázquez[22] and Debbie Wiseman[23] highlight their IFMCA Award wins and nominations in their official biographies.

Major Award Winners  Year  | Score of the Year Award  | Composer of the Year Award

|
|

1998  | Mulan (Jerry Goldsmith) | Jerry Goldsmith
1999  | The Mummy (Jerry Goldsmith) | Jerry Goldsmith
2000  | Gladiator (Hans Zimmer) | James Newton Howard
2004  | The Incredibles (Michael Giacchino) | Michael Giacchino
2005  | Memoirs of a Geisha (John Williams) | John Williams
2006  | Lady in the Water (James Newton Howard) | Alexandre Desplat
2007  | Atonement (Dario Marianelli) | Alexandre Desplat
2008  | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Alexandre Desplat) | Danny Elfman
2009  | Up (Michael Giacchino) | Michael Giacchino
2010  | How to Train Your Dragon (John Powell) | Alexandre Desplat
2011  | War Horse (John Williams) | John Williams
2012  | Life of Pi (Mychael Danna) | Danny Elfman
2013  | Romeo and Juliet (Abel Korzeniowski) | Abel Korzeniowski
2014  | Interstellar (Hans Zimmer) | Hans Zimmer
2015  | Star Wars: The Force Awakens (John Williams) | Michael Giacchino
2016  | Arrival (Jóhann Jóhannsson) | Michael Giacchino
2017  | Phantom Thread (Jonny Greenwood) | Alexandre Desplat
2018  | Solo: A Star Wars Story (John Powell) | James Newton Howard
2019  | Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (John Williams) | Bear McCreary
2020  | The Personal History of David Copperfield (Christopher Willis) | Daniel Pemberton
2021  | Coppelia (Maurizio Malagnini) | James Newton Howard
2022  | The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Bear McCreary) | Bear McCreary
2023  | Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (John Williams) | Christopher Young
2024  | The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Bear McCreary) | Bear McCreary

## References

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1. ^ "Tenerife International Film Music Festival". Fimucite.com. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
2. ^ [1][dead link]
3. ^ "Festiwal Muzyki Polskiej". Fmp.org.pl. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
4. ^ Poland. "IFMCA: the International Film Music Critics Association » Members". Filmmusiccritics.org. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
5. ^ "International Film Music Critics nominees". Incontention.com. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
6. ^ "Araujo, premio IFMCA a la banda sonora de videojuegos por "Lords of Shadow"". ABC. Madrid. 25 February 2011. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
7. ^ Delclós, Tomàs (8 March 2011). "Sinfonías en el videojuego: Premio internacional para Óscar Araujo por una banda sonora". El País. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
8. ^ "Nuno Malo eleito o compositor revelação do ano nos Estados Unidos". Mundoportugues.org. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
9. ^ "ASCAP Composers Score at the IFMCA Awards". Ascap.com. 1 March 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
10. ^ "SGAE: El compositor catalán Óscar Araujo gana el Premio a la Mejor Banda Sonora 2010 para Videojuego de la International Film Music Critics Association". Sgae.es. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
11. ^ Kietzmann, Ludwig (12 February 2011). "Castlevania: Lords of Shadow soundtrack nominated for 2 IFMCA awards". Joystiq.com. Archived from the original on 4 September 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
12. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 5 March 2011.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
13. ^ "Alexandre Desplat's biography". Alexandredesplat.net. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
14. ^ "Bio". Randy Edelman. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
15. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 5 March 2011.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
16. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). www.gsamusic.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2022.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
17. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). www.gsamusic.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2022.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
18. ^ "Mark Isham Music – Bio". Isham.com. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
19. ^ "Composer » Biography". Andrew Lockington. 20 September 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
20. ^ "Info". Abel Korzeniowski. 23 October 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
21. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). www.gsamusic.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2022.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
22. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). www.gsamusic.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2022.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
23. ^ [2] Archived 17 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine

## External links

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