Film Music Competition 2021 - 2022

As Film Composers, we have to keep on practicing our craft, by doing so we need to get a video/film and start to score it. Film Music Competition is a good platform to determine your skills at which level, but of course don’t be down if you can’t get any prizes, it definitely worth getting the experience.

Every Film Music Competition has its own unique marking scheme, prizes, rules & regulations. Not only that, as film composers we have to be sensitive about deadlines. Once you are enrolled in a particular film music competition please make sure to take down the deadlines on your calendar, or set any reminder so that you won’t miss any submissions.

There is a free and mostly paid competitions. I have listed down the details of each competition for your convenience. These are the competitions that host regularly every year.

Table of Contents

Lists of Film Music Competitions

Oticons Faculty International Film Music Competition

“The Oticons Faculty Competition has been created in order to find the people with that unique vision who will nurture and cultivate it. We want to motivate the existing working composers and upcoming film composers to participate in this competition and try to prove that what is considered in today’s film music landscape an “impossible” task to achieve or encounter within a film or a soundtrack album, is in fact still possible and not a lost art long transformed into a simple-minded craft.”

The faculty jury members include Lalo Schifrin, Jeff Atmajian, Joe Kraemer, Jesper Kyd, Jeff Rona, Jack Wall, etc.

There are two rounds of the competition. The first round has three assignments. The 20 finalists of the 2nd round will have only 4 days to select and submit their best ever composition so as to prove that PROVE is one more skill they do possess!

Assignment 1: Compose a “main theme” a brilliant melody that can become instantly memorable!

Assignment 2: Prove your skillful writing by composing powerful, epic music exclusively for STRINGS!

Assignment 3: Score a scene from a real in-development feature film, solely based on the SCRIPT and the filmmaker’s BRIEF.

Link: https://faculty.oticons.com/

Deadline: 28th February (12pm UTC)

Early Bird: 1st September 2021 – 1st January 2022 (12pm UTC), 65 Euros

Berlin International Competition

Berlin International Competition offers two categories, Film Scoring, and Sound Design. BIFSC offers Film Composers the platform to showcase their work and compete to receive multiple awards.

“A short film of no longer than 5 minutes in total duration is given to the participants in high resolution. Each composer will have to compose the original music for the film.”

Berlin’s distinguished judges are Fredi Devas, Lesley Jackson, Michalis Lapidakis, Mihali Paleologou, and Richard Mans.

Link: https://www.bifsc.org/

Deadline: 15th January 2022, 6pm GMT

Early Bird: 15th October 2021 – 14 November 2021, 30 Euros

Indie Film Music Contest

“A competition, focusing on musical storytelling while ignoring sound quality to give beginners a fair chance to compete.”

“The Indie Film Music Contest was created because it seems daunting for beginner or intermediate composers to enter a competition since they know they are professionals with years of experience who compete too.”

They offer individual feedback if you want with an extra fee needed.

Indie Film Music Contest’s Judges are Lolita Ritmanis, Grant Fonda, Eric Schmidt, Emer Kinsella, Cameron Patrick.

Link: https://indiefilmmusiccontest.com/
Deadline: 11th June 2021, 8pm CET

Rec Change

Rec Change offers both Film Scoring and/or Game Audio. It’s $25 USD per category, and $45 for both categories.

The Judges are Sharon Farber, Esin Aydingoz, and Catherine Joy.

Link: https://www.recchange.com/filmscoringcompetition
Early Deadline: 1st April 2021, 12pm CST
Regular: 1st May 2021, 12pm CST

Film Music Contest (FMC)

“Film Music Contest is a unique international contest and music award for composers of original music for Film, TV, Ads, Video Games, for sound designers, bands, musicians, producers, soloists in instrumental, theater, electronic music, with no age limits and irrespective of nationality or country of origin.”

The Judges from the Film Music Contest are Roc Chen, Marco Werba, Elia Cmiral, Ian Chen, Vlado Meller, etc.

Link: https://www.fmcontest.com/

California Independent Film Festival (CAIFF) Film Scoring Competition

Score a 6 minutes video given by the organizer. The judges are Duncan Thum, Emer Kinsella, Tiffany Murray, Wendy Blackstone, and Nainita Desai.

Link: https://www.caiff.org/filmscoring

Pannonia Studio

It’s a free Film Scoring Competition. The scoring video are about 6-7 minutes, and require to send the full scores from your music mockup. The Judges are Del Spiva, Michael D.Simon, Chris Bacon, Adam Balazs, Gabor Herendi, and Robert Hrutka.

Link: https://www.pannoniastudio.com/competition

Marvin Hamlisch International Music Awards

“The Marvin Hamlisch International Music Awards discovers and champions youth and emerging composers from around the world. The awards were created to honor the late Marvin Hamlisch, paying tribute to his remarkable legacy as both an artist and an advocate for emerging talent.”

They offer a few categories for composers to participate in such as Film/Media Scoring, Classical Composition, Jazz Composition, Musical Theatre Composition, Contemporary Pop, and Contemporary R&B. For each category, requires $75 USD as registration fees.

Link: https://www.hamlischawards.org/

Summary of all Competitions

*The prices stated below are the regular, not EARLY BIRD’s price.*

Wishing you all the best for your submissions!