Alex Heffes (; born 2 September 1971) is a British film composer. His film scores include those for the BAFTA-winning Touching the Void, and Oscar-winning movies One Day in September, The Last King of Scotland, and Inside Job. Heffes was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for his work on Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.
Early life and career
Heffes was born in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, and learned the piano from an early age. He graduated from Oxford University with first class honours and started his professional life playing keyboards and writing and arranging for commercials and TV (his band is featured playing in jazz club scenes in the film Circus). This led to him becoming assistant to composer Simon Boswell with whom he scored over 20 movies including A Midsummer Night's Dream and Cousin Bette. He also collaborated on Elton John's score to Women Talking Dirty and worked with members of Blur.
Film scoring
In 1999, after a chance meeting with Kevin Macdonald he wrote the score to the Oscar winning documentary One Day in September. This led to a long collaboration with Macdonald, on films such as Touching the Void, State of Play and The Last King of Scotland. During the production of Last King of Scotland he travelled to Uganda to produce the songs and score in the movie. He has worked with many notable directors including Stephen Frears (The Program), Mira Nair (Queen of Katwe), Justin Chadwick (The First Grader, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom), Peter Webber (Emperor) and Catherine Hardwick (Red Riding Hood). He contributed additional arrangements to Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd.
In 2011 he released his first solo album, Face to Face. The album was created by improvising on location in a series of one on one collaborations with artists such as Regina Spektor, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Tunde Jegede. The tracks with Matthew Barley were recorded in the Turbine Hall of the Tate Modern in London.
He has been nominated for a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and won an Ivor Novello Award in 2012 for The First Grader. He composed the score for the TV series 11.22.63, which he later performed in-person for the 2017 ASCAP Screen Music Awards.
He always conducts his own orchestral scores and frequently plays piano on his scores.
Works Film score Year Film Director(s) Studio(s) Notes 1999One Day in SeptemberKevin MacdonaldPassion Pictures 2000CircusRob WalkerCircus PicturesFilm Development Corporationwith Simon BoswellHumphrey Jennings: The Man Who Listened to BritainKevin MacdonaldFigment TV Productions A Brief History of Errol MorrisKevin MacdonaldIndependent Film Channel 2001Mind GamesRichard StandevenLa Plante Productionswith Simon BoswellLate Night ShoppingSaul MetzsteinFilmFourGlasgow Film Office The Parole OfficerJohn DuiganDNA Films 2002OffsideRachel TillotsonBBCShort 2003Touching the VoidKevin MacdonaldFilmFour 2004TraumaMarc EvansWarner Bros. Dear FrankieShona AuerbachPathé Pictures Out of ReachPo-Chih LeongFranchise Pictures 2005Too Fat Too FuriousTim OliehoekFu Works Imagine Me & YouOl ParkerBBC Films 2006The BridgeEric SteelIFC Films Shiny Shiny Bright New Hole in My HeartMarc MundenBBC Films The Last King of ScotlandKevin MacdonaldFox Searchlight PicturesDNA FilmsFilmFour - 2007My Enemy's EnemyKevin MacdonaldWild Bunch 2009State of PlayKevin MacdonaldUniversal PicturesWorking Title Films JasimPeter WebberSNDCOCShort 2010Inside JobCharles FergusonSony Pictures Classics The First GraderJustin ChadwickBBC FilmsUK Film Council 2011The RiteMikael HåfströmNew Line CinemaTriBeCa ProductionsWarner Bros. Pictures Red Riding HoodCatherine HardwickeWarner Bros.Appian Waywith Brian ReitzellStolenJustin ChadwickBBC The EngagementJohn DuiganFirst Foot Films 2012EmperorPeter WebberKrasnoff Foster ProductionsUnited Performers' Studio 2013Love and HonorDanny MooneyIFC Films Escape PlanMikael HåfströmEmmett/Furla FilmsSummit Entertainment Mandela: Long Walk to FreedomJustin ChadwickPathé 2014What We Did on Our HolidayAndy HamiltonGuy JenkinBBC Films 2015PalioCosima SpenderPalio Pictures Ten BillionPeter WebberOxford Film & Television The ProgramStephen FrearsStudioCanalWorking Title Films 2016Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-QiangKevin MacdonaldNetflix The Take (Bastille Day)James WatkinsStudioCanalAnonymous Content Queen of KatweMira NairWalt Disney PicturesESPN Films 2017 Earth: One Amazing Day Richard Dale, Lixin Fan, Peter Webber BBC Earth Films Score nominated for an IFMCA Award 2018 Pickpockets Peter Webber Netflix 2019 Miss Bala Catherine Hardwicke Columbia Pictures The Elephant Queen Victoria Stone & Mark Deeble Apple TV+ Hope Gap William Nicholson Curzon Artificial Eye 2020 The Big Ugly Scott Wiper Vertical Entertainment The 24th Kevin Willmott Vertical Entertainment Ronnie's Oliver Murray Greenwich Entertainment 2021 The Arctic: Our Last Great Wilderness Myles Connolly and Florian Schulz Cosmic Picture Distribution Intrusion Adam Salky Netflix 2023 Mafia Mamma Catherine Hardwicke Bleecker Street 2026 Brothers Under Fire Justin Chadwick Vertical
Television Year Title Studio/Channel Notes1997Killer NetChannel 4 Television Corporationwith Simon Boswellminiseries2002Stan the ManITV6 episode miniseries2006Tsunami: The AftermathBBCHBO Films2 part miniseries2012Secret StateCompany PicturesChannel 44 episode miniseries 201611.22.63Bad RobotWarner Bros. TelevisionHulu limited series 8 episodesRootsHistory Channel4 part miniseriesBlack Mirror Series 3 Episode 3: Shut Up and DanceNetflix -2018Next of Kin episodes 1-3Mammoth ScreenITV6 part miniseries, music for episodes 4-6 composed by Peter Bateman2020A Suitable BoyBBC One6 episode miniseries
Awards and nominations Nominated: 2007 BAFTA TV Awards Best Original Television Music - Tsunami: The Aftermath Nominated: 2007 European Film Award, European Composer - The Last King of Scotland Won: 2009 ASCAP Award for Top Box Office Films - State of Play Won: 2011 World Soundtrack Awards, Discovery of the Year - The First Grader, The Rite Nominated: 2012 Black Reel Awards, Best Original Score - The First Grader Nominated: 2012 Image Awards, Outstanding Soundtrack Album - The First Grader Won: 2012 Ivor Novello Awards, Best Original Film Score - The First Grader Nominated: 2013 Golden Globe Awards Best Original Score for a Motion Picture - Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom Nominated: 2016 Online Film & Television Association Awards, Best Music in a Non-Series - Roots (2016) Won: 2016 Hollywood Music In Media Awards, Original Score for a TV Show/Mini Series - Roots (2016) Nominated: 2021 Ivor Novello Awards, Best Original Film Score - A Suitable Boy
References
External links
Official Website