The World Soundtrack Academy has just announced that world-class composers Angelo Badalamenti and Dario Marianelli will attend the 8th annual World Soundtrack Awards, the closing event for the 35th edition of the Ghent Film Festival (7-18 October 2008).

The 8th edition of the World Soundtrack Awards is once again promising to be the highlight of the year for soundtrack music fans. After the prestigious awards ceremony, the international elite of film music composers will be on hand to present a live performance of their music by the Flemish Radio Orchestra, conducted by Dirk Brossé. For this year’s edition, the World Soundtrack Academy, an initiative of the Ghent Film Festival, managed to bring Angelo Badalamenti and Dario Marianelli on board as its guests of honour.

Angelo Badalamenti is best known for his soundtrack work for American film director David Lynch. He has scored a number of Lynch projects including Blue Velvet (1986), Twin Peaks (1990), Wild at Heart (1990), Lost Highway (1997), The Straight Story (1999) and Mulholland Drive (2001). He also composed the music for La Cité des Enfants Perdus by Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet (1995), Wait Until Spring Bandini (1989) by Dominique Deruddere, and Jeunet’s Un Long Dimanche de Fiançailles (2004), which earned him the WSA’s Composer of the Year award in 2005.

Badalamenti also collaborates with world-class entertainers including David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Julee Cruise and Marianne Faithfull. This year, Badalamenti will be bringing two special guests along to the concert in Ghent: Siouxsie Sioux from Siouxsie & The Banshees, and Beth Rowley, who will be performing songs from The Edge of Love, a biopic on Dylan Thomas starring Keira Knightley and Sienna Miller (autumn 2008 release).

Along with Badalamenti, the World Soundtrack Academy has also managed to recruit British composer Dario Marianelli. Marianelli has composed the soundtracks for The Brothers Grimm (2005), Pride & Prejudice (2005) and V For Vendetta (2005). His score for Atonement (2007) won him the Oscar as well as a Golden Globe for Best Original Score. He is currently working on the soundtrack for the upcoming film The Soloist by Joe Wright. This is his third time collaborating with Joe Wright, who also directed Pride & Prejudice and Atonement. In 2006, Marianelli received a Soundtrack Composer of the Year nomination for his Pride & Prejudice score, but lost out to Alberto Iglesias and his score for The Constant Gardener.

In addition to the works of Angelo Badalamenti and Dario Marianelli, the Flemish Radio Orchestra will also be performing music by Daniel Tarrab and Andrés Goldstein, winners of the World Soundtrack Discovery Award in 2007. There will also be a forum for new Belgian music talent with the annual composition competition for young composers, where candidates are asked to compose music for a clip from Raoul Servais’ Atraksion. The complete programme as well as the nominations for the 2008 World Soundtrack Awards will be announced in August.

Tickets
World Soundtrack Awards Ceremony + Concert, Saturday 18 October 2008 at 8:00pm, De Bijloke music centre, Ghent. Tickets: € 42 (+ € 2,75 reservation fee per ticket), € 32 (+ € 2,25 reservation fee per ticket) via Fnac (www.fnac.be ).

More info: www.worldsoundtrackacademy.com

The Grand Prize for Best Film: "Die Fälscher"
Directed by: Stefan Ruzowitzky.
The Grand Prize for Best Film consists of a distribution premium of 20,000 €, intended to promote the release of the winning film in Flanders and Brussels (in at least five cinemas).

The Georges Delerue Prize for Best Music: "You The Living" (Roy Andersson).
The distribution premium in this case amounts to 10,000 €, intended to promote the release of the winning film in Flanders and Brussels.

SABAM Prize for Best Scenario: "The Savages"
Directed by: Tamara Jenkins
The film receives a distribution premium worth 10,000 €.

Robert Wise Award for Best Director: Saverio Constanzo for "In Memoria di Me"

All winning films receive a media campaign worth 6.000 €.

A Special Mention of the Jury for Best Actor and Actress of "The Band’s Visit."

Prix UIP Ghent: "Raak"
Directed by: Hanro Smitsman
Apart from 2,000 € in prize money, Smitsman was also nominated for the Prix UIP for Best European Short. He is in the running for an award worth 10,000 € in that competition.

Western legend Walter Hill received a Joseph Plateau
Lifetime Achievement Award at the Ghent International Film Festival. Jury president Kathleen Turner handed over the award and praised Hill for keeping the western genre alive. Click:
http://www.filmfestival.be/about.cgi?go=detail&id=449&lang=en
to read more

Actor and Unicef Ambassador Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon, Beloved, Manderlay) received on Monday a Joseph Plateau Lifetime Achievement Award for his rich career. Glover came to Ghent to present Bamako, a film the festival showed because of it's partnership with Unicef.

Click on: http://www.filmfestival.be/about.cgi?go=detail&id=466&lang=en
to read more

Film Composer of the Year: Alexandre Desplat (The Queen, The Painted Veil)

Best Original Soundtrack of the Year: The Fountain (Clint Mansell)

Best Original Song Written Directly for Film: "You Know My Name" (Casino Royale) written by Chris Cornell and David Arnold – Performed by Chris Cornell

Discovery of the Year: Daniel Tarrab and Andres Goldstein (XXY, Inheritance)

Public Choice Award: The Fountain (Clint Mansell)

The Lifetime Achievement Award went to Mikis: Theodorakis who unfortunately couldn’t be present due to health problems.

The Best Young Belgian Composer prize was awarded to Werner Viaene. He wrote the best score for Belgium, The Movie by Wim Robberechts and won € 2.500.

The World Soundtrack Awards are organized in cooperation with Sabam, the province East-Flanders and the Ghent City Marketing Fund.

The Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the distribution of the World Soundtrack Awards on October20, 2007. Theodorakis has written the music for Zorba The Greek, Z and Serpico. The Flemish Radio Orchestra conducted by Dirk Brossé will play music from Zorba The Greek .

Mikis Theodorakis was born on the Greek island Chios on July 29, 1925. Still being a child he became acquainted with Greek folk music and after hearing Ludwig von Beethoven's Ninth Symphony he decided to become a composer himself. He received a musical formation both in his own country and at the Conservatory in Paris, where he studied under Olivier Messiaen. His gift for music was immediately recognised and he was commissioned with film scores and ballet music. In 1959, his ballet Antigone was performed at Covent Garden in London. The death of a young striker and the poems about the incident he set to music, urged him to return to his homeland. Political incidents have never let him indifferent.

The German occupation of Greece, the Greek civil wars and the never-ending tensions between Turkey and Greece in the Cyprus dispute have marked Mikis Theodorakis deeply. He has always tried to reconcile, but has also taken stands as a result of which he ended in prison more than once and was even tortured. When the Colonels took power in 1967, he was first interned in his homeland and in 1970, under the pressure of an international solidarity movement, released and sent to exile in Paris.

He reached fame with his scores for Michael Cacoyannis' Zorba the Greek (1964) and Costa-Gavras' Z (1969). He also wrote the music for The Trojan Women, The Day the Fish Came Out and Iphegenia in Aulis, three films made by Cacoyannis. Also with Costa-Gavras he hit it off immediately, and the score for Z was followed by music for Etat de Siège. Among his sixty music scores should not be forgotten that for Sidney Lumet’s Serpico.

In the sixties and in the eighties Mikis Theodorakis was a Member of Parliament and a minister. He was even solicited to become Greek president, but he declined that offer because of his age. Although some of his political statements were controversial, he has got several peace prizes.

At the seventh edition of the World Soundtrack Awards the Flemish Radio orchestra conducted by Dirk Brossé will not only perform music of Mikis Theodorakis, but also of the Canadian composer Mychael Danna (Little Miss Sunshine, Capote, Monsoon Wedding, Ice Storm), of Harry Gregson-Williams (Man of Fire, Shrek, Chronicles of Narnia), of Evanthia Reboutsika (My Father & My Son), World Soundtrack Discovery 2006 and of Belgian jazz musician Jef Neve (Dagen Zonder Lief).

7th edition of the World Soundtrack Awards, at Music Centre De Bijloke Ghent at 8 p.m. on Saturday 20 October. Tickets €42/€32 via TeleTicketService (www.teleticketservice.be - 070 345 345)

www.worldsoundtrackawards.com

The 34th edition of the Ghent International Film Festival kicks off on Tuesday October 9 featuring not one but 3 movies. "Closing the Ring," a very strong European première opens the section Festival Previews in the presence of Lord Richard Attenborough. The same evening the competition is launched with "Die Fälscher" by Stefan Ruzowsky and in Vooruit the section Almost Cinema is opened with "Sand & Sorrow," a documentary about the Darfur genocide.

In "Closing the Ring" Lord Richard Attenborough tells us a story in two different time zones. It starts during WWII when 3 pilots fall in love with the same woman, Ethel. A few dozen years later, the truth comes to light when in Northern Ireland a boy digs up a ring in which are engraved the names of Ethel and one of the pilotes. He wants to know more… The movie stars Shirley Maclaine, Christopher Plummer, Neve Campbell and Mischa Barton. Lord Attenborough can look back on a vast career. He acted in about 70 movies (a.o. Jurassic Parc). The first movie he directed was the war musical "Oh! What a lovely war". In total he directed 10 movies but peaked in 1982 when he delivered his masterpiece "Ghandi," winning 8 Academy Awards. Lord Richard Attenborough was our esteemed guest in 2004 when he visited us as a Unicef ambassador and featured in “An Evening with…” at Arts Centre Vooruit. The festival warmly welcomes his Lordship once again along with the cast of "Closing the Ring," which will come to our theatres in spring next year.

The competion opens with "Die Fälscher," the Austrian candidate for the Academy Awards. The movie tells us the story of a huge and well organised counterfeiting in Nazi Germany. Salomon “Sally” Sorowitz, Berlin’s champion of forgery, is arrested by Nazi inspector Friedrich Herzog. His lovely life changes abruptly when he is sent to the Mathausen concentration camp. He is ordered to produce masses of false dollars and British Pounds to destroy the allies’ economies. In return for their favours the counterfeiters can live in comfortable barracks. Adolf Burger is one of them. But he is reluctant to use his talents for the benefit of the Nazis and tries to sabotage the operations whenever he can. "Die Fälscher" is based on Adolf Burger’s book Des Teufels Werkstatt. Ruzowitsky wanted to make as truthful a report as possible and so he worked closely with Burger himself, who celebrated his 90th birthday this year. Ruzowitsky made his debut in 1996 with the movie "Tempo" and then directed a.o. the horror movie Anatomy and the comical war movie All the Queen’s Men. In 1998 he won the Grand Prix for Best Movie at the Ghent International Film Festival with "Die Siebtelbauern," a story about a farmer’s family.

The third opening movie is "Sand & Sorrow." It will open the section Almost Cinema, a co-production with the Art Centre, Vooruit. "Sand & Sorrow" is about the Darfur Conflict, and is staged in the refugee camps by the Sudanese border and the mass graves of Darfur itself and even switches to the US Senate. Director Paul Freeman creates a shocking image of the sorrow of a people that stands to be destroyed due to political obstinacy and the shameful indifference of a world only watching. Actor George Clooney who insisted on getting this “forgotten conflict” on the agenda lends his voice to "Sand & Sorrow" and co produces.

The 7th edition of the World Soundtrack Awards on 20th October 2007 promises once again to be an event for lovers of film music. World-class film music composers will come to Ghent for the presentation of the World Soundtrack Awards and concert, with music from Mychael Danna, Harry Gregson-Williams and Jef Neve being the highlight.

Since the World Soundtrack Awards and Academy were established at the Ghent Film Festival 2001, the event has become an annual celebration for lovers of film music. From this year on, the ceremony and accompanying concert will officially close the 34th edition of the Ghent Film Festival. The final phase of the festival is a three-day film music event, beginning on 18th October with a concert from double Oscar winner Gustavo Santaolalla and his Bajofondo Tango Club, followed by a film-music concert by Spanish composer Alberto Iglesias on 19th October.

During the 7th edition of the World Soundtrack Awards, the Flemish Radio Orchestra will give a live performance of music by Mychael Danna (Little Miss Sunshine, Capote, Exotica, Monsoon Wedding), Harry Gregson-Williams (Antz, Shrek, Chicken Run, Veronica Guerin) and the Greek composer Evanthia Reboutsika (My Father & My Son), who won the WSA Discovery of the Year award last year. The orchestra will be conducted by Dirk Brossé. All composers will, of course, be present in Ghent.

In accordance with tradition, a Belgian is always on stage during the presentation of the World Soundtrack Awards. This year, jazz musician Jef Neve, who caused a stir with his first film score for Felix van Groeningen's Dagen zonder lief (With Friends Like These...), will bear the honour. There will also be a forum for new Belgian music talent with the annual composition competition for young composers, where candidates were asked to compose music for a montage from the film Belgium, The Movie by Wim Robberechts. The Flemish Radio Orchestra will perform the winning score live to an international audience.

For the list of nominees for the World Soundtrack Awards 2007 click here. More info on the WSA can be found on the website www.worldsoundtrackawards.com. Film music lovers can already vote for the World Soundtrack Public Choice Award on this website, by voting for their favourite soundtrack from the past 12 months.
Tickets

World Soundtrack Awards, Saturday 20th October 2007 at 8:00pm in De Bijloke music centre, Ghent. Tickets: €42, €32 (+ €2 reservation fee per ticket) via Tele Ticket Service (www.teleticketservice.com - 0032 34 0000 34)