Alex Lahey, Gordi, Kate Miller-Heidke among nominees for 2021 Screen Music Awards

Alex Lahey, Sophie Payten (aka Gordi) and Kate Miller-Heidke join the roll-call for the 2021 Screen Music Awards, nominees for which are announced today (Jan. 20) by APRA AMCOS and the Australian Guild of Screen Composers.

With three nods each, veteran composers Antony Partos, Cezary Skubiszewski and Michael Yezerski are in the lead pack, with all winners to be announced at the end of next month.

Partos is up for Best Music for a Television Series or Serial (Jack Irish), Best Music for a Mini-Series or Telemovie (The End) and Feature Film Score of the Year for Rams.

Meanwhile, Skubiszewski’s chances are for Best Music for a Mini-Series or Telemovie and Best Television Theme for Halifax Retribution (co-composed with dual nominee Jan Skubiszewski) and Best Music for a Documentary (Chef Antonio’s Recipes for Revolution).

Also, Yezerski is recognised for Feature Film Score of the Year category for The Tax Collector, Best Soundtrack Album for The Vigil and Most Performed Screen Composer – Overseas.

Also in the hunt for trophies are Adam Gock and Dinesh Wicks with three nods each, while David McCormack and Brontë Horder are among the double nominees.

Lahey, Payten and Kate Miller-Heidke are among 31 first-time nominees.

The annual awards celebrate composers who’ve “created the music for screen gems” over the past year, across film and TV, documentaries, and advertisements, as well as those who’ve had a massive impact locally and internationally.

The 2021 Screen Music Awards will be unveiled Feb. 22, though, in light of the current COVID-19 situation, organisers say, the live Screen Music Awards event has been cancelled.

The awards were initially set to be presented last November, but were pushed back to early 2022 due to the “ongoing uncertainty around restrictions”.

The Screen Music Awards were first held in 1996, acknowledging excellence and innovation in the field of screen composition. 

Check out the full list of nominees for the 2021 Screen Music Awards below.

Feature Film Score of the Year

Bloody Hell, Composed by Brian Cachia
June Again, Composed by Christopher Gordon
Rams, Composed by Antony Partos (Published by Sonar Music)
The Tax Collector, Composed by Michael Yezerski ( Published by Cas Music Australia obo Copyright Administration Films)

Best Music for an Advertisement

Save Our Sons: Heartbeat, Composed by Matteo Zingales (Published by Sonar Music)
Suncorp Team Girls | The Drive, Composed by Scott Langley (Published by Song Zu Publishing)
The Untold Tale of Isabelle Simi, Composed by Jonathan Dreyfus & Daniel Müller
The Worst Block in Town: Australian Red Cross, Composed by Kate Miller-Heidke & Keir Nuttall (Published by Sony Music Publishing)

Best Music for a Documentary

Chef Antonio’s Recipes for Revolution, Composed by Cezary Skubiszewski
Playing with Sharks, Composed by Caitlin Yeo
Quoll Farm, Composed by Maria Grenfell
The Magnitude of All Things, Composed by Rob Law (Published by Gaga Music)

Best Music for a Short Film

Circumstance 2020, Composed by Fiona Hill
Elagabalus, Composed by Jorden Heys
Lifeblood, Composed by Jonathan Nix
Yellow Jack, Composed by Adam Moses

Best Soundtrack Album

Bluey The Album, Composed by Joff Bush, David Barber, Helena Czajka, Marly Lüske, Lachlan Nicolson & Steve Peach
(Published by Universal Music Publishing obo BBC Worldwide Limited)
Buckley’s Chance, Composed by Christopher Gordon
The Greenhouse, Composed by Freya Berkhout
The Vigil, Composed by Michael Yezerski

Best Original Song Composed for the Screen

Bagi-la-m Bargan from Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky, Composed by Nathan Bird*, Fred Leone & Daniel Rankine^
(Published by Sony Music Publishing obo Bad Apples Music Publishing* / Sony Music Publishing obo Blue
Max Music Publishing^)
Fragile Soul from Ellie Was Here, Composed by Brontë Horder
On My Way from The Mitchells vs The Machines, Composed by Alex Lahey*, Sophie Payten^* & Gabriel Strum+*
(Published by Sony Music Publishing* / Mushroom Music^ / Native Tongue+)
Suck My Cherry from Freaky, Composed by Luke Dubber*, Beatrice Lewis^, Joel Ma+, Claire Nakazawa^, Mieh Nakazawa^ & Angus Stuart* (Published by Sony Music Publishing* / Gaga Music^ / Mushroom Music+)

Best Music for Children’s Programming

Bluey, Composed by Joff Bush (Published by Universal Music Publishing obo BBC Worldwide Limited)
Daisy Quokka: World’s Scariest Animal, Composed by Ack Kinmonth
Dive Club, Composed by Piers Burbrook de Vere & Angela Little
Space Nova: Seaweed Samba, Composed by Russell Thornton

Best Television Theme

100% Wolf – Legend of the Moonstone, Composed by Ned Beckley, Joni Hogan & Josh Hogan
Halifax Retribution, Composed by Cezary Skubiszewski & Jan Skubiszewski* (Published by Sony Music Publishing obo Beyond Properties / Mushroom Music*)
Hungry Ghosts, Composed by Roger Mason
Wakefield, Composed by Maria Alfonsine

Best Music for a Television Series or Serial

Bump, Composed by David McCormack & Matteo Zingales (Published by Sonar Music)
Jack Irish, Composed by David McCormack & Antony Partos (Published by Sonar Music)
Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries, Composed by Burkhard Dallwitz, Brett Aplin & Dmitri Golovko
Wakefield, Composed by Maria Alfonsine & Caitlin Yeo

Best Music for a Mini-Series or Telemovie

Exposed: The Ghost Train Fire, Composed by Anthony El-Ammar, Adam Gock, Mitch Stewart, Dinesh Wicks, Brontë Horder, David Huxtable, Richard LaBrooy, Rufio Sandilands, Alex Slater, Adam Sofo & Cassie To (Published by Universal Music Publishing obo ABC Music Publishing)
Halifax Retribution, Composed by Cezary Skubiszewski & Jan Skubiszewski* (Published by Sony Music Publishing obo Beyond Properties / Mushroom Music*)
Hungry Ghosts, Composed by Roger Mason
The End, Composed by Antony Partos (Published by Sonar Music)

Most Performed Screen Composer – Australia

Composers: Adam Gock and Dinesh Wicks: MasterChef, 20 to 1, Anh’s Brush with Fame
Composer: Anthony El-Ammar: MasterChef, Married at First Sight, Lego Masters
Composer: Jay Stewart: The Block, Better Homes and Gardens, House Rules
Composer: Mitch Stewart: MasterChef, Travel Guides, Love on the Spectrum

Most Performed Screen Composer – Overseas

Composers: Adam Gock and Dinesh Wicks: MasterChef, Holey Moley (USA), Sea Patrol (Seasons 1 and 2)
Composer: Alastair Ford: McLeod’s Daughters
Composer: Michael Yezerski: A Place to Call Home (Season 1 and 2, 5 and 6), Deputy, Reef Break
Composer: Neil Sutherland: Border Security, MythBusters, Bondi Vet

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.