A Kidscreen Award Win for “Return to Hogwarts” and Composer Nominations for IFMCA Awards

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The Harry Potter film series may have reached adulthood, but Hogwarts continues to entice younger fans, as evidenced by the results of the 2023 Kidscreen Awards. The annual awards show, now in its 14th year, describes itself as “a high-profile celebration of children’s content excellence paying tribute to outstanding TV and digital media work that keeps kids and families entertained.” The highly nostalgic HBO special Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts saw a measure of this tribute in the Teens/Tweens Programming section of the show, scooping a win in the Best One-Off, Special or TV Movie category.

 

 

The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) Award nominees have also been announced, and we couldn’t be more thrilled by the names appearing on the list. The IFMCA Awards are unique in their dedication to celebrating music worldwide, not just from Hollywood, and because they are the only awards given to composers by qualifying film-music journalists. Each composer’s score is considered based on two important areas: “the effectiveness, appropriateness and emotional impact of the score in the context of the film for which it was written; and the technical and intellectual merit of the composition when heard as a standalone listening experience.” The IFMCA Awards have been presented on an annual basis since 2004.

James Newton Howard has been nominated in the Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction Film category for his scoring of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. Howard is no stranger to the IFCMA, having been nominated multiple times and winning a total of 14 awards throughout his career. He won in three categories last year: Film Composer of the Year, Best Original Score for an Action/Adventure/Thriller Film for Jungle Cruise, and Best Original Score for an Animated Feature for Raya and the Last Dragon. We wish him all the best this time around.

Alexandre Desplat, who composed for the final two Harry Potter films, received nominations in several categories, the most notable being Composer of the Year. The IFMCA had nothing but nice things to say about the talent, noting, “Desplat’s work in 2022 is as rich and varied as always.” He was also nominated in the Best Original Score for a Comedy Film category for his work on The Lost King as well as for Best Original Score for an Animated Film for his musical contributions to Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
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And could it even be an awards show for film composers without mentioning the legendary John Williams? The oldest-ever Oscar nominee scored several IFMCA nominations this year. His work on The Fabelmans earned him a nomination for Score of the Year as well as for Best Original Score for a Drama Film. The song “Mother and Son” from the film is up for an award in the Composition of the Year category. Williams also has two nominations in the Best Archival Release category, for Amistad and John Williams: The Berlin Concert.

Winners will be announced on February 23 on the IFMCA YouTube channel.