The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) is a professional association for online, print and radio journalists who specialize in writing about original film and television music.
History and purpose The IFMCA was founded in the late 1990s as the Film Music Critics Jury by film music journalist Mikael Carlsson (now the owner of film music record label MovieScore Media), and after period of inactivity was re-launched in 2003 under its new title.
Its membership includes 65 journalists from 16 different countries who write for such high-profile film and soundtrack-related publications and websites as Film Score Monthly, Filmtracks, SoundtrackNet, Music from the Movies, MundoBSO and UnderScores, as well as more mainstream publications such as Ain't It Cool News, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and the Irish Times. Members of the IFMCA have also been involved in writing liner notes for major film music record labels such as Film Score Monthly, Varèse Sarabande, Intrada Records, La-La Land Records and Music Box Records.
The group maintains a website documenting its activities; operates a central online review interface which provides links to articles, reviews and interviews written by its members; organizes an annual awards event, the IFMCA Awards, celebrating music for films written during the preceding year; and is involved in organizing major international film music festivals, such as those in Tenerife, Úbeda in Spain, Kraków in Poland, and the World Soundtrack Awards in Ghent, Belgium.
IFMCA Awards The organization is responsible for the annual International Film Music Critics Association Awards, the only awards given to composers by active film music journalists, and which are seen by many as a valuable precursor to the Academy Awards in the absence of a guild for composers. They have been called the "Oscars of film music", have been featured in major daily newspapers in Spain and Portugal, are recognized by major performing rights organizations such as ASCAP in the United States and SGAE in Europe, and most recently have been seen by the video games industry as an important step forward in legitimizing game music as a mainstream creative art form.
Composers as varied as John Debney, Alexandre Desplat, Randy Edelman, George Fenton, Michael Giacchino, James Newton Howard Mark Isham, Andrew Lockington, Abel Korzeniowski, Brian Tyler, Fernando Velázquez and Debbie Wiseman highlight their IFMCA Award wins and nominations in their official biographies.
+ Major Award Winners Year Score of the Year Award Composer of the Year Award 1998 Mulan (Jerry Goldsmith) Jerry Goldsmith 1999 The Mummy (Jerry Goldsmith) Jerry Goldsmith 2000 Gladiator (Hans Zimmer) James Newton Howard 2004 The Incredibles (Michael Giacchino) Michael Giacchino 2005 Memoirs of a Geisha (John Williams) John Williams 2006 Lady in the Water (James Newton Howard) Alexandre Desplat 2007 Atonement (Dario Marianelli) Alexandre Desplat 2008 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Alexandre Desplat) Danny Elfman 2009 Up (Michael Giacchino) Michael Giacchino 2010 How to Train Your Dragon (John Powell) Alexandre Desplat 2011 War Horse (John Williams) John Williams 2012 Life of Pi (Mychael Danna) Danny Elfman 2013 Romeo and Juliet (Abel Korzeniowski) Abel Korzeniowski 2014 Interstellar (Hans Zimmer) Hans Zimmer 2015 Star Wars: The Force Awakens (John Williams) Michael Giacchino 2016 Arrival (Jóhann Jóhannsson) Michael Giacchino 2017 Phantom Thread (Jonny Greenwood) Alexandre Desplat 2018 Solo: A Star Wars Story (John Powell) James Newton Howard 2019 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (John Williams) Bear McCreary 2020 The Personal History of David Copperfield (Christopher Willis) Daniel Pemberton2021 Coppelia (Maurizio Malagnini) James Newton Howard2022 The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Bear McCreary) Bear McCreary2023 Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (John Williams) Christopher Young2024 The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Bear McCreary) Bear McCreary2025 Avatar: Fire and Ash (Simon Franglen) Alexandre Desplat
References
External links International Film Music Critics Association home