International Film Music Critics Association


The International Film Music Critics Association 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, 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 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 aim of the group is to promote original film music and the work of film music composers as legitimate artists worthy of recognition from the mainstream film and music media, and to publicize the work of its members in pursuing this aim. To this end, 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.
YearFilm Score of the Year AwardFilm Composer of the Year Award
1998MulanJerry Goldsmith
1999The MummyJerry Goldsmith
2004The IncrediblesMichael Giacchino
2005Memoirs of a GeishaJohn Williams
2006Lady in the WaterAlexandre Desplat
2007AtonementAlexandre Desplat
2008The Curious Case of Benjamin ButtonDanny Elfman
2009UpMichael Giacchino
2010'Alexandre Desplat
2011War HorseJohn Williams
2012Life of PiDanny Elfman
2013Romeo and JulietAbel Korzeniowski
2014InterstellarAlexandre Desplat
2015'Michael Giacchino
2016ArrivalMichael Giacchino
2017Phantom ThreadAlexandre Desplat
2018'James Newton Howard
2019'Bear McCreary