This year’s task for the IFMW was to arrange the nine-minute short film "The Shyness of Trees" by Sofiia Chuikovska, Loïck Du Plessis D’Argentré, Lina Han, Simin He, Jiaxin Huang, Maud Le Bras and Bingqing Shu, for a symphony orchestra. In an anonymous selection process, the jury – chaired by Oscar-winner Gabriel Yared – selected three finalists. They are now rehearsing their compositions together with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich and will premiere them at the "Cinema in Concert" gala evening under the musical direction of Frank Strobel.
And these are the finalists:
Brendan Galvin
Brendan Galvin is an American film composer currently living in Wellington (New Zealand). After completing his Master’s degree at Victoria University of Wellington in 2025, he scored his first independent New Zealand feature film. Prior to that, he worked for the renowned composer David Long at The Swearing Room studio. His collaboration with Long proved to be a formative chapter and the most significant experience of his time in New Zealand, as the studio was working on productions such as "The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim", "Secrets At Red Rocks" and "The Choir Games" at the time.
Before shifting his focus to composition, Brendan obtained a Bachelor of Music in trumpet at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he studied under Mario Guarneri, whose approach to music and life left a lasting impression on him.
Carl Falkenau Löfvenhamn
Carl Falkenau, a three-time nominee at the International Film Music Competition with Swedish-German-Persian roots, discovered his passion for music and began taking piano lessons at the age of four in his hometown of Falun. After being awarded the Hugo Alfvén Scholarship for piano and composition, he graduated from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm in 2006. Since then, he has created a remarkably diverse body of work, ranging from classical chamber and symphonic music to music for educational media and cinematic metal releases, as well as broadcast imaging, alongside his ongoing work as a piano teacher specialising in classical music. In 2024, he was awarded two major grants for the completion of *Missa Cruciatis*, an impressive eight-movement mass for soloists, choir and orchestra, dedicated to the victims of war.
Semin Son
Semin Son is currently studying composition at Seoul National University. Originally trained in classical composition, he later turned to film music, fascinated by music’s unique ability to shape narrative and emotion on screen. He was selected as a finalist in the 2026 Berlin International Film Scoring Competition (BIFSC) and, as an emerging composer for film and visual media, is continually developing his artistic voice.
Stricter scrutiny of copyright infringements
The winning composition from last year’s competition had to be disqualified retrospectively because it was not sufficiently distinct from existing, protected works. The participating institutions have taken this seriously and jointly developed measures: submitted compositions are now also checked for copyright irregularities using specialised online services recommended by musicologists and SUISA.
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