Three finalists competed to win the highly sought after SABAM Award For Best Young European Composer. This award was created by the World Soundtrack Academy to promote and stimulate young and talented composers.
The finalists were Gilles Alonzo (France), Rafaël Leloup (Belgium) and Sebastian Oswald (Germany). Their compositions were performed live by the Brussels Philharmonic under the baton of Dirk Brossé during the presentation of the World Soundtrack Awards on 19 October at the venue 't Kuipe in Ghent. This was the official closing ceremony of the 40th Film Fest Gent (8-19 October Ghent).
The candidates were asked to compose music for 'The Big Shave', a short film directed by Martin Scorsese in 1968. Scorsese gave the festival organisation permission to have a fragment of this legendary short film rescored for this composition contest.
The professional jury was composed of Dirk Brossé (Conductor and Music Director Film Fest Gent), Patrick Duynslaegher (Artistic Director Film Fest Gent), Stefan Rycken (ACE Image Factory), director Bavo Defurne ('North Sea Texas') and Michel Herr (composer).
The winner, Gilles Alonzo, was awarded the SABAM Award For Best Young European Composer (with a value of €2500).
