FESTIVAL REVIEW BY IRENA PAULUS
Another successful festival has been achieved by Samobor’s DreaMaker Productions. The team continues to attract world-class talent, organize inspiring events, and innovate in the world of film sound and music.
“We are all one family,” said Ozren K. Glaser, the artistic director of the International Sound and Film Music Festival, during the Crystal Pine Awards ceremony, which the festival has been awarding for twelve consecutive years.
Indeed, the International Sound and Film Music Festival is unique—not only as one of the top three most significant film music festivals in the world—but also for the warmth it shows its participants, treating everyone equally, from Oscar winners to students, journalists, musicians, scientists, filmmakers, and film music lovers. At the festival, it’s never embarrassing to ask about the difference between sound editing and sound mixing. If you’re unfamiliar, they’ll explain it to you, and if you’re an expert, you’ll soon find yourself deep in discussions with the biggest names in the industry.
ISFMF and Star Guests
This year’s International Sound and Film Music Festival was held from Friday, October 11 to Sunday, October 13, 2024. One of the festival’s distinguished guests, as always, was legendary producer Robert Townson, who has produced over 1,400 albums for some of the world’s most famous film composers, including Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams, and Hans Zimmer.
Among the festival’s regular guests is Mark Ulano, a sound mixer whose name we typically see with admiration in the end credits of films like Titanic, Inglourious Basterds, Ad Astra, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Killers of the Flower Moon and others. It’s hard to imagine encountering a Hollywood sound mixer on the streets of Samobor or in its cinema, where the festival is held. Joining Ulano and Townson this year were sound mixer Stuart Wilson (Star Wars, James Bond, Harry Potter, 1917) and sound designer Wayne Pashley (Mad Max: Fury Road, The Great Gatsby, Happy Feet, Elvis).
Ulano, Wilson, Pashley, and Ozren K. Glaser shared their on-the-ground experiences with the audience on Saturday morning during the panel „The Sound of Silence: Paths of the Industry“, hosted by sound mixer Novica Jankov from Serbia. In a packed auditorium at Samobor’s cinema, they discussed fascinating insights, such as how vintage microphones from Elvis Presley’s era were used in Elvis, how actors in masks (like C3PO from Star Wars) are mic’d, and how directors like James Cameron and Baz Luhrmann prepare for sound recording with meticulous dedication.
Film Screenings
The International Sound and Film Music Festival began with film screenings held at Samobor Cinema and the Pop-Up Art Cinema. Screenings started on Friday morning with the animated film The Inventor for elementary school students (repeated for an adult audience on Sunday) and continued throughout each afternoon of the festival’s days.
On Saturday, the Samobor Cinema featured the visually and audibly captivating Romanian film Enescu, Skinned Alive, about composer George Enescu. Meanwhile, the Pop-Up Art Cinema showcased the animated film I’m Perfectly Fine, the short film L E V A, and many others. The festival concluded on Sunday with a screening of the blockbuster Joker: Folie à Deux at Samobor Cinema,
The festival program was rich with accompanying events, including the opening of the exhibition „Everything is Pinocchio“ by artists Slaven Macolić and Robert Geček at the Prica Gallery in Samobor. Following the exhibition opening, under the title Composer in Focus, a diverse and extensive collection of works by composer Mirko Krstičević was presented at the same venue. Krstičević, known as a founding member of the rock band „Metak“, has also created numerous classical works, theatrical music, and many film scores. His applied music was recently released on the album „All and Nothing at All“ by Fox & His Friends, marking a new chapter in the revival of theater and film music from the 1970s and 1980s on vinyl and streaming platforms. The presentation of Krstičević’s compositional work was led by Dalibor Grubačević, with guitarist Srđan Bulat performing Krstičević’s pieces during the event.
Concerts
The festival program included several musical performances, one of which was „Love Clavi in the World of Film Music“, held on Sunday, October 13, through a collaboration between ISFMF and „Mali muzički atelje“. To the delight of the audience, young musicians performed well-known melodies from beloved film classics.
Sara Andon and Simone Pedroni performed a medley of Morricone’s popular melodies from films such as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Legend of 1900, Cinema Paradiso, The Mission, Once Upon a Time in America, and more. After the official program, the delighted audience was treated to two additional pieces: the concert premiere of the theme from Fateless and the iconic The Ecstasy of Gold from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
During the highly anticipated Crystal Pine Awards ceremony, music filled the air, with performances by the Hollywood Film Music Quartet. They masterfully played film favorites, ranging from James Bond themes to music from Game of Thrones. Their performance was the final touch to an already delightful event. As the awards were presented, the artistic director of the festival, Ozren K. Glaser, shared his philosophy: “Be happy if you’re nominated, as it’s like winning, and if you actually win, be even happier.”
It’s important to note that the ISFMF is one of the few, if not the only, film festivals in the world where the nominated films are primarily recognized for the work of sound artists—sound designers, mixers, recordists, composers, and editors—rather than directors, producers, or actors. The Crystal Pine Awards were preceded by a red carpet event featuring both famous and lesser-known attendees, followed by the eagerly awaited announcement of awards across various categories.
Crystal Pine Awards
In the Best Music Video category, the award went to Vladimir Andrijasevic and Didier Chanot for the French video Old Horse. The Best Film award was given to the American film Film Is Dead, Long Live Film! by director Peter Flynn. In the Best Music for a Trailer category, the award went to the music for the American film Longlegs. Two films shared the Best Short Film award: the Swedish film L E V A (Felix Wallén, Jimmie Jannerfjärd) and the Canadian film Sounds Like Fame (Robert D. Morais).
In the Best Original Music for a Series category, British composer Martin Phipps won for his work on the sixth season of The Crown. In the Best Original Song category, the Crystal Pine Award went to the song “Aidan’s Song” by Nick Blyth, Chris Cheater, David Goode, and Michael Llewelyn Barker from the British film What We Wished We Could Be.
In the Best Original Score for a Short Film category, Hans Nieuwenhuijsen won for the Dutch film I’m Perfectly Fine, and Georges Tomb for the American short Inferno in Paris. The Crystal Pine Award for Best Sound Editing went to Richard King for his work on the film Oppenheimer.
Hsuan-Hung Chou from Taiwan won the award for Best Use of Music for the film Whispers. For Best Original Score in a Documentary, Bernhard Falkner won for the Austrian film Ride Back to Best Age, and Rebekka Karijord for the Norwegian film Songs of Earth. The Best Sound Mixing award went to Mark Ulano, Tom Fleischman, and Eugene Gearty for Killers of the Flower Moon. Romanian composer Sebastian Androne Nakanishi won Best Original Score for a Feature Film for Enescu, Skinned Alive.
The Horizon Award, recognizing outstanding projects that excel in theme, content, and use of music and sound, was given to Silvestar Kolbas for the Croatian film Film Factory, which tells the story of the former film factory Fotokemika in Samobor. Finally, the Honorary Crystal Pine Award was presented to Scottish sound engineer Stuart Wilson. In his acceptance speech, Wilson thanked the DreaMaker Productions team for organizing this unique European festival, which brings together talents from students to top professionals to share ideas and celebrate achievements in film sound.
His conclusion was that the creative energy in Samobor is truly exceptional, and that the discussions and inspiring exchanges will continue in the coming years. This sentiment also applies to the end of this text, especially considering that DreaMaker Productions has more significant projects in the works for current and future professionals in film music and sound, including the establishment of the Film & Media Sound Academy, with lecturers who are primarily Oscar, BAFTA, and Emmy winners. For DreaMaker Productions, the sky is truly the limit.
About the writer of the article, Irena Paulus:
Irena Paulus is a Croatian musicologist and professor, renowned for her expertise in film music. She has made significant contributions to the study and analysis of music in film, with a focus on how soundtracks influence narrative and emotional impact. Paulus has written extensively on this subject, offering valuable insights into the relationship between music and cinema. She is known for her work in both academic and cultural spheres, contributing to film theory, critiques, and discussions on musicology in Croatia and beyond
