As part of the 21st Zurich Film Festival, the International Film Music Competition (IFMW) is being held for the 13th time at the Tonhalle Zürich. The task was to create a new score for the seven-minute short film "Wild Love" by Paul Autric, Quentin Camus, Léa Georges, Maryka Laudet, Zoé Sottiaux and Corentin Yvergniaux.
Around 170 compositions from 36 countries were submitted this year. In an anonymous selection process, this year's jury led by Oscar winner Hildur Guðnadóttir nominated the three finalists, whose compositions will be premiered by the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich under the direction of Frank Strobel. The best soundtrack will then be honoured with the Golden Eye for "Best International Film Music 2025".
And these are the three finalists:
Mikal Grigorovich
Mikal Grigorowitsch was born in Germany in 2005 and is still new to the world of film music. At first, John Williams' soundtrack to "Star Wars" sparked Mikal's enthusiasm for film and orchestral music. Mikal would like to pursue this fascination further with the composition submitted for the IFMW. Mikal studies musicology at Humboldt University in Berlin and is particularly interested in the music-theoretical structures behind film music.
Antonio Di Iorio
Antonio Di Iorio is an Italian composer and conductor based in Los Angeles who holds master's degrees in composition, piano and conducting. His previous works include music for several award-winning films, short films and projects such as "Wings Over Washington", "Life In Between" and "Spirito eroico". In recent years he has been involved as an additional composer as assistant to Tom Holkenberg on projects such as "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" and "Zack Snyder's Justice League".
Gary Hirche
Gary Hirche is a German composer who specialises in orchestral and electronic film music. His best-known works include the atmospheric soundtracks to the feature film "Jupiter", which was part of the ZFF programme in 2023, and the mystery thriller "Brüche", for which he was named Best Short Film at the 2021 Los Angeles Crime & Horror Festival. In various international competitions, such as the Call for Scores 2025, Gary won the first prize. in 2023 he released his debut album "Awakenings", which was recorded by the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg. In addition to his work as a composer, he has many years of experience as a bassoonist in orchestras, but also as a bassist and singer in a punk rock band.
More
