The 14th International Film Music Competition (IFMC) will take place on October 1, 2026, at the Tonhalle Zürich, as part of the 22nd Zurich Film Festival.
Each year, the Zurich Film Festival collaborates with Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich AG and Forum Filmmusik to host the International Film Music Competition. In 2026, the competition invited emerging composers from around the world to create an original score for a nine-minute animated short film. Composers were asked to write a new score for the short film THE SHYNESS OF TREES by Sofiia Chuikovska, Loïck Du Plessis D'Argentré, Lina Han, Simin He, Jiaxin Huang, Maud Le Bras, and Bingqing Shu. Out of 136 submissions from 36 countries, three finalists have been selected through an anonymous evaluation process by a jury chaired by Academy Award-winning composer Gabriel Yared. Their compositions will be performed live by the Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich AG during the Cinema In Concert Gala on October 1, 2026.
Meet this years Finalist:
Brendan Galvin
Brendan Galvin is an American film composer currently based in Wellington, New Zealand. Upon completing his Master's at Victoria University of Wellington in 2025, he scored his first independent New Zealand feature film. Before that, he worked for renowned composer David Long at The Swearing Room. Working under Long proved to be a defining chapter and the greatest experience of Brendan's time in New Zealand: At the time, the studio was working on productions such as THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM, SECRETS AT RED ROCKS, and THE CHOIR GAMES. Before shifting his primary focus to composition, Brendan earned a Bachelor of Music in Trumpet Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying under Mario Guarneri, whose approach to music-making and life left a lasting impact on him.
Carl Falkenau Löfvenhamn
Carl Falkenau, three-time International Film Music Competition nominee of Swedish, German, and Persian heritage, discovered his passion for music and started taking piano lessons in his hometown of Falun at age four. After receiving the Hugo Alfvén Scholarship for piano and composition, he went on to graduate from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm in 2006. Since then, he has cultivated a remarkably diverse body of work spanning classical chamber and symphonic music, scores for educational media, cinematic metal releases and broadcast imaging, alongside his ongoing work as a classical piano educator. In 2024, he was awarded two major grants for the completion of Missa Cruciatis, a powerful eight-movement mass for soloists, chorus, and orchestra dedicated to the victims of war.
Semin Son
Semin Son is a composer currently pursuing a degree in Composition at Seoul National University. Originally trained in classical composition, he later turned his focus to film scoring, drawn to the unique ability of music to shape narrative and emotion on screen. He was selected as a finalist in the 2026 Berlin International Film Scoring Competition (BIFSC) and continues to develop his artistic voice as an emerging composer for film and visual media.
Stricter Screening for Copyright Infringement
The winning composition of last year's competition had to be disqualified retroactively, as it did not sufficiently distinguish itself from existing, protected works. The institutions involved took this very seriously and jointly developed measures. Henceforth, submitted compositions will also be screened for copyright irregularities using specialized online services recommended by musicologists and SUISA.
