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News December 2, 2020

Rock names dominate 2020 Screen Music Awards wins

Rock names dominate 2020 Screen Music Awards wins
Image: Jed Kurzel

Jed Kurzel, Antonio Gambale, Amanda Brown, David Bridie and François Tétaz – composers who emerged from rock music backgrounds – were among the winners at the 2020 Screen Music Awards.

The most prestigious category of the night, feature film score of the year, went to Kurzel for True History Of The Kelly Gang, directed by his older brother Justin Kurzel. Based on Peter Carey’s novel, the film is a fictionalised account of the life of bushranger Ned Kelly and his gang as they flee from authorities during the 1870s.

Kurzel, a founding member of the blues-rock duo The Mess Hall, previously won the category for Snowtown and Slow West.

In accepting the win, he said, “It’s a genuine honour.

“It would be great to be there but unfortunately I’m stuck in the UK, under lockdown again, so there’s that. I’d like to thank Justin for being such an open and amazing collaborator.”

Former Go-Betweens member Amanda Brown, who has had nine nominations since 2004, won Best Music for a TV Series for Network Ten psychological drama The Secrets She Keeps.

Paris-based Antonio Gambale, an EDM producer among other achievements, scored two awards in his first wins.

Best Original Song Composed for the Screen went to multi-award winner David Bridie and co-writer Tom Murray for ‘Ballad Of The Bridge Builders’. Sung by Archie Roach, the song is from The Skin Of Others, a story of modern Australia told through the extraordinary life of Aboriginal WW1 soldier Douglas Grant.

Bridie observed that Roach’s involvement “clearly gave it gravitas”, adding, “I enjoyed working on the soundtrack too with Tom on this wonderful story about Douglas Grant, a really important Australian story.”

François Tétaz, a Grammy-winning Melbourne-based multi-instrumentalist who has produced records for Gotye, Kimbra, Architecture in Helsinki, Bertie Blackman and Lior, among others, landed Best Soundtrack Album for the Australian feature film Judy & Punch. The film’s score was nominated in 2019 in the Feature Film Score of the Year category, and also took Best Original Score at the 2019 AACTA Awards.

Musical director Jessica Wells led an orchestra that performed each of the nominated feature film score compositions. The orchestra was joined by actress, singer and playwright Ursula Yovich to perform ‘Ballad Of The Bridge Builders’.

The ceremony ended with a tribute to Nerida Tyson-Chew, who received the Distinguished Services to the Australian Screen gong for being among the first female composers to score on productions in the US from APRA, which presented the awards with the Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC).

2020 WINNERS

Distinguished Services to the Australian Screen: Nerida Tyson-Chew
Feature Film Score of the Year: True History Of The Kelly Gang by Jed Kurzel (publisher: G Schirmer Australia obo Chester Music)
Best Music for a Documentary: Machine by Matteo Zingales (Sonar Music)
Best Music for a Short Film: The Sand That Ate The Sea by Luke Howard (Secretly Canadian Publishing)
Best Soundtrack Album: Judy & Punch by François Tétaz (Sony/ATV Music Publishing)
Best Original Song Composed for the Screen: ‘Ballad of the Bridge Builders’ from The Skin Of Others by David Bridie*/Tom Murray (*Mushroom Music)
Best Music for Children’s Television: Thalu by Ned Beckley/Josh Hogan
Best Television Theme: Unorthodox by Antonio Gambale (BMG Rights Management obo Maisie Anthems)
Best Music for a Television Series or Serial: The Secrets She Keeps by Amanda Brown (Kobalt Music Publishing obo Lillipilli IP)
Best Music for a Mini-Series or Telemovie: Unorthodox by Antonio Gambale (BMG Rights Management obo Maisie Anthems)
Best Music for an Advertisement: Georgetown Optician: ‘Eyes Say More Than Words’ by Scott Langley (Squeak E. Clean Studios)
Most Performed Screen Composer – Australia: Adam Gock and Dinesh Wick
Most Performed Screen Composer – Overseas: Neil Sutherland

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