These are the finalists of the International Film Music Competition

Eine Schwarz-Weiß-Fotocollage von drei Männern. Der erste hat lange Haare und trägt einen Rollkragenpullover, der zweite hat kurze Haare, eine Brille und einen Bart, und der dritte hat kurze Haare und trägt eine Jacke über einem Hemd, alle schauen in die Kamera.

As part of the «Cinema in Concert» gala, the 13th International Film Music Competition will take place at the Tonhalle Zurich during the 21st Zurich Film Festival. Participants were tasked with creating their own new music for a seven-minute short film. The three finalists have now been selected and will compete for the Golden Eye for «Best International Film Music 2025» on October 2. 2025.

Around 170 compositions from 36 countries were submitted for this year’s IFMC. Through an anonymous selection process, the jury, led by Oscar winner Hildur Guðnadóttir, nominated three finalists whose compositions stood out for the seven-minute short film WILD LOVE by Paul Autric, Quentin Camus, Léa Georges, Maryka Laudet, Zoé Sottiaux and Corentin Yvergniaux. During the «Cinema in Concert» gala, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, one of the world’s leading symphony orchestras, will premiere the compositions of the three nominees. That same evening, the winner of the Golden Eye for «Best International Film Music 2025» will be announced.

«We want to use the IFMC to demonstrate to a wider audience the tremendous importance of film music, without which a cinematic work would be only half as emotional. This is also reflected in the high number of visitors that the event attracts each year, » explains Festival Director Christian Jungen. «The ZFF is a film festival that is committed to promoting new talent and strives to connect this new talent with established greats from the film industry. This is also underscored by the IFMC, which features an Oscar winner as its jury president for the fifth year in a row, presenting a huge incentive for the young composers.»

The three nominees

Eine junge Person mit langem, hellbraunem Haar, die einen schwarzen Rollkragenpullover trägt, lächelt sanft vor einem schlichten, hellen Hintergrund.

Mikal Grigorowitsch, born in Germany in 2005, is new to the field of composition. In their youth, John Williams’ STAR WARS soundtrack ignited their passion for film and orchestral music. Mikal would like to further explore this fascination with the composition he submitted for their first participation in the IFMW. They are particularly interested in the musical structures behind film scores and is currently studying them a spart of his musicology degree at Humbold Univeristy in Berlin.

Ein Mann mit Brille und dunklem Haar sitzt in einem Musikstudio, umgeben von Computermonitoren, die bunte Tonspuren anzeigen, Lautsprechern, einer Lampe und einem Bildschirm mit der Aufschrift PICTURE START. Ein Filmposter hängt an der Wand.

Antonio Di Iorio is an Italian composer and conductor based in Los Angeles who holds masters degrees in composition, piano, and conducting. He has composed music for various award-winning films, short films, and projects, including WINGS OVER WASHINGTON, LIFE IN BETWEEN, and SPIROTIO EROICO. Recently, he assisted Tom Holkenborg as an additional composer on GODZILLA X KONG THE NEW EMPIRE and ZACK SNYDER’S JUSTICE LEAGUE.

Ein Mann mit kurzen dunklen Haaren, der ein schwarzes Hemd über einem weißen T-Shirt trägt, steht vor einer schlichten weißen Wand und schaut mit neutralem Blick direkt in die Kamera.

Gary Hirche is a German composer who specializes in orchestral and electronic film music. His best-known works include the atmospheric soundtracks for the feature film JUPITER, which was part of the Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) program in 2023, and the mystery thriller BRÜCHE, for which he won Best Short Film at the 2021 Los Angeles Crime & Horror Festival. Hirche has won first prize in various international competitions, including the 2025 Call for Scores. In 2023, he released his debut album, «Awakenings», recorded by the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg. In addition to his work as a composer, Gary has many years of experience performing as a bassoonist in orchestras and as a bassist and singer in a punk rock band

About the International Film Music Competition:

This year marks the 13th annual competition, which is taking place as part of the 21st Zurich Film Festival. The ZFF and Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich AG organize it in collaboration with Forum Filmmusik. On October 2, 2025, a jury of experts will select the winner, who will be awarded the Golden Eye for «Best International Film Music 2025. » Which comes with a prize of 10,000 Swiss francs.

The Jury

Jury-President: Hildur Guðnadóttir, composer

Eine Frau mit langen, glatten braunen Haaren und einem ärmellosen schwarzen Oberteil posiert im Profil. Sie hat eine kleine grüne Tätowierung auf ihrem Oberarm. Der Hintergrund ist dunkel und sanft beleuchtet.

Frank Strobel, conductor

Ein Mann mit Schnurrbart und kurzen Haaren, der einen schwarzen Anzug und ein weißes kragenloses Hemd trägt, steht in einem Innenraum vor einer weißen Wand und blickt ruhig in die Kamera.

Balz Bachmann, conductor

Ein Mann mittleren Alters mit gepfeffertem Haar und Bart lächelt in die Kamera. Er trägt eine schwarze Jacke über einem weißen Hemd und steht vor einem dunklen Hintergrund, auf dem teilweise weiße Buchstaben zu sehen sind.

Jasmin Gordon, director

Eine Frau mit kurzen, lockigen braunen Haaren, die ein dunkelgrünes, geripptes Hemd trägt und eine Brille auf dem Kopf hat, steht an einer hellen, strukturierten Wand und schaut ruhig in die Kamera.

You can find more detailed information about this year’s jury here.