The 19th annual International Film Music Critics Association awards have their nominees! For the first time, TV and game scores were eligible for the top category, meaning that four movies now compete against a lone TV work in Score of the Year. Three of those scores also see their composers nominated for Composer of the Year, while only one corresponds to an Oscar Original Score nomination. The IFMCA has gone pretty blockbuster-heavy for their 2022 lineup, but there are some strong choices here nonetheless. Winners will be announced on 23 February.
Score of the Year
Avatar: The Way of Water (Simon Franglen)
The Batman (Michael Giacchino)
The Fabelmans (John Williams)
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Bear McCreary and Howard Shore)
Nope (Michael Abels)
Best Original Score for an Action/Adventure Film
The Batman (Michael Giacchino)
Enola Holmes 2 (Daniel Pemberton)
The Northman (Robin Carolan and Sebastian Gainsborough)
Supermarsu 2 (Super Furball Saves the Future) (Panu Aaltio)
Violent Night (Dominic Lewis)
Best Original Score for an Animated Film
The Bad Guys (Daniel Pemberton)
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (Alexandre Desplat)
Lightyear (Michael Giacchino)
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank (Bear McCreary)
Strange World (Henry Jackman)
Best Original Score for a Comedy Film
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Nathan Johnson)
The Lost City (Pinar Toprak)
The Lost King (Alexandre Desplat)
A Man Called Otto (Thomas Newman)
See How They Run (Daniel Pemberton)
Best Original Score for a Documentary
Frozen Planet II (James Everingham, Adam Lukas and Hans Zimmer)
Our Nature (Dirk Brosse)
Polar Bear (Harry Gregson-Williams)
Secrets of the Sea (Alan Williams)
Wolf (Matthijs Kieboom)
Best Original Score for a Drama Film
Amsterdam (Daniel Pemberton)
Babylon (Justin Hurwitz)
Emily (Abel Korzeniowski)
The Fabelmans (John Williams)
The TIme of Secrets (Philippe Rombi)
Best Original Score for a Fantasy / Science Fiction Film
Avatar: The Way of Water (Simon Franglen)
Crimes of the Future (Howard Shore)
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (Danny Elfman)
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (James Newton Howard)
Jurassic World: Dominion (Michael Giacchino)
Best Original Score for a Horror/Thriller Film
God's Crooked Lines (Fernando Velazquez)
The Menu (Colin Stetson)
Nope (Michael Abels)
Pearl (Tyler Bates and Timothy Williams)
Werewolf by Night (Michael Giacchino)
Composer of the Year
Alexandre Desplat
Simon Franglen
Michael Giacchino
Bear McCreary
Daniel Pemberton
Breakthrough Composer of the Year
Michelino Bisceglia
Robin Carolan and Sebastian Gainsborough
Chanda Dancy
Hesham Nazih
Batu Sener
Composition of the Year
"The Batman" - Michael Giacchino (The Batman)
"Galadriel" - Bear McCreary (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power)
"Leaving Home (Hometree)" - Simon Franglen (Avatar: The Way of Water)
"Mother and Son" - John Williams (The Fabelmans)
"Numenor" - Bear McCreary (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power)
"Sailing Into the Dawn" - Bear McCreary (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power)
Film Music Record Label of the Year
Intrada Records (Douglass Fake and Roger Feigelson)
La-La Land Records (M. V. Gerhard and Matt Verboys)
Moviescore Media (Mikael Carlsson)
Music Box Records (Cyril Durand-Roger and Laurent Lafarge)
Quartet Records (Jose M. Benitez)