Film Music Competition
Each year, the Zurich Film Festival collaborates with Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich AG and Forum Filmmusik to host the International Film Music Competition. In 2025, the competition invited emerging composers from around the world to create an original score for a seven-minute animated short film. Composers were asked to write a new score for the short film WILD LOVE, directed by Paul Autric, Quentin Camus, Léa Georges, Maryka Laudet, Zoé Sottiaux, and Corentin Yvergniaux. Out of nearly 170 submissions from 36 countries, three finalists have been selected through an anonymous evaluation process by a jury chaired by Academy Award-winning composer Hildur Guðnadóttir.
Their compositions was performed live by the Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich AG during the Cinema in Concert gala. At the end of the evening, the winner was awarded the Golden Eye for "Best International Film Music 2025", which includes a CHF 10,000 prize.
More about the finalists* of 2025:
Antonio Di Iorio (USA/Italy)
Based in Los Angeles, Antonio Di Iorio is a composer and conductor with master’s degrees in composition, piano, and conducting. He has written music for a wide range of award-winning films and projects, including WINGS OVER WASHINGTON, LIFE IN BETWEEN, and SPIRITIO EROIC. Recently, he contributed additional music to GODZILLA x KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE and ZACK SNYDER'S JUSTICE LEAGUE as part of Tom Holkenborg’s team.
Gary Hirche (Germany)
Gary Hirche composes orchestral and electronic film music. His best-known works include the atmospheric score for JUPITER, which screened at the 2023 Zurich Film Festival, and the thriller BRÜCHE, which won Best Short Film at the 2021 Los Angeles Crime & Horror Festival. He’s a multiple award-winner, including first prize at the 2025 Call for Scores competition. His debut album Awakenings was recorded by the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg. Gary also brings years of experience as a bassoonist and as a bassist and singer in a punk rock band.
*The third nominee, who was awarded the prize during the competition concert, had to be disqualified retrospectively. Following the public performance and award ceremony for the winner of the 13th International Film Music Competition on October 2, 2025, the organizers received information suggesting that the winning work may not have been created entirely independently. The institutions involved—the Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich, the Forum Filmmusik, and the Zurich Film Festival—immediately investigated this information with due diligence. An independent expert was commissioned to conduct a scholarly and music-analytical examination.
The investigation concluded that substantial passages of the winning composition had been taken from copyrighted works without maintaining sufficient distance to avoid copyright infringement. Based on these findings, the prize recipient was subsequently disqualified. In this competition, the jury awards only first place. Therefore, the organizers decided not to designate a winner for the 2025 competition year.
We deeply regret this incident. The International Film Music Competition is intended as a platform for supporting young composers and is founded on the principles of artistic originality and integrity. The juries involved evaluated the submitted works according to artistic criteria, and an in-depth copyright review had not previously been part of the evaluation process. However, the current case demonstrates the need for additional review mechanisms. The organizers have therefore reviewed their procedures and introduced various measures, including the use of appropriate tools for preliminary screening.
