The International Film Music Festival of the Province of Córdoba is proud to announce the final two components of their program—Composers Abel Korzeniowski (Penny Dreadful, W.E.) and Rolfe Kent (Labor Day, Sideways) will be awarded with the 2nd annual Elmer Bernstein Awards. The Elmer Bernstein Award recognizes the contributions of composers through film/TV soundtracks. In addition the festival announces its honorary president, returning composer Christopher Lennertz (Supernatural, Identity Thief).
This, the tenth edition of the International Film Music Festival, will be held from July 20 to 27 in Córdoba, Spain.
The activities for this year's edition, include announcing the winners of an award that started last year and will complement the Jerry Goldsmith Awards and the Goldspirits Awards. This is the 'Elmer Bernstein Award for Extraordinary Contribution to Film Music,' was named after the legendary composer of soundtracks like To Kill a Mockingbird, The Ten Commandments or The Magnificent Seven.
The winners for this year are composers Abel Korzeniowski and Rolfe Kent, for their outstanding contributions to the art of film music. The composers will present works that show their immense talent for soundtracks.
Korzeniowski is a Polish film and theater composer who after participating in film productions of his country moved to Los Angeles. He has composed the soundtrack to several American films, including Battle for Terra, the latest film version of Romeo and Juliet (for which he has been nominated for several Goldspirit Awards), A Single Man, and W.E. (directed by Madonna). Both A Single Man and W.E. earned him Golden Globe nominations. Korzeniowski is also the composer of the new series Penny Dreadful whose first two episodes were directed by Juan Antonio Bayona.
Rolfe Kent has composed music for more than fifty films, including Up in the Air (for which he won a Golden Satellite Award), Sideways (for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe), About Schmidt, Election, Mean Girls, Legally Blonde and Legally Blonde II, Wedding Crashers, The Matador, Reign Over Me, The Hunting Party, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, and Thank You for Smoking. Kent also composed the Emmy-nominated main title theme for the Showtime hit Dexter and earned the prestigious Richard Kirk Lifetime Achievement Award from BMI.
Elmer Bernstein Awards
This award was created to reward the outstanding talent of a composer for his contribution to the art of film music today. The inauguration of this award took place in the second edition of the International Film Music Festival in Córdoba, with a spectacular concert recognizing the work of prolific composer Marco Beltrami.
Elmer Bernstein (1922-2004) was one of the most influential and respected Hollywood composers over five decades. He is credited with being one of the most innovative composers of the 'young' generation composing for films in the 50s and 60s, bringing a patent to the traditional jazz sound of film music. He wrote music for hundreds of films and television series, always with the stamp of his unique personal style and won an Academy Award for his work on Thoroughly Modern Millie. Among his best-known works are Ghostbusters, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Escape, Airplane!, Animal House, Trading Places, and The Magnificent Seven.
As is tradition with the festival, the organizers recognize a composer with whom they have a special relationship by naming them Honorary President. This year's Honorary President will be American composer Christopher Lennertz. This will be his third time as a guest of the International Film Music Festival—three years ago he was Musical Director.
In the ten years that the festival has been in existence a prestigious list of composers have served as honorary president. From its start in the city of Ubeda in 2005, the gallery of presidents comprises names including Brian Tyler (2005), John Frizzell (2006), John Debney (2007), Bruce Broughton (2008), Patrick Doyle (2009), Michael Giacchino (2010) and Bruno Coulais (2011), Mark Isham (2011), Peter Bernstein (2013) and now Christopher Lennertz (2014).