ABOUT THE GROUP
The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) is an association of online, print and radio journalists who specialize in writing and broadcasting about original film and television music.
The IFMCA was originally formed in the late 1990s as the now-defunct “Film Music Critics Jury” by editor and journalist Mikael Carlsson, a member of the editorial staff at Music from the Movies for over ten years and a regular contributor to filmmusicradio.com and filmmusicmag.com. Mikael is now the owner of the Swedish independent film music label MovieScore Media, and remains a member of the IFMCA as its Honorary President, recognizing his leadership in creating the organization.
After a brief period of inactivity from 2000-2003 the group returned in 2004 re-branded as the IFMCA. Since its inception, the IFMCA has grown to comprise over 65 members from countries as diverse as Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.
The core aims of the group are twofold:
- Firstly, to promote, celebrate, and comment on the art of film music and the composers who create it through published critical reviews, articles, opinion pieces, interviews, radio broadcasts, videos, public appearances, and via the annual IFMCA Awards.
- Secondly, to support its members in the achievement of the first aim, with a number of community-based resources and tools, through online publicity promoting their work, though the sharing of information and expertise, and through the opportunity for collaboration with other members.
HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER
The IFMCA welcomes experienced film music journalists who are willing to take an active part in our organization. If you have expertise and knowledge in the field of film music, as demonstrable via publicly accessible media, and would like to join the IFMCA as a new member, you may request the entry forms for the admission procedure. Please send us an email at subscribe@filmmusiccritics.org in order to be considered for membership. Your submitted material must be in English and will be reviewed by the Admittance Committee in due course.
ABOUT THE IFMCA AWARDS
The annual IFMCA Awards, which were first presented in 2004, are the only awards given to composers by film music journalists. The IFMCA strongly feels that a film score’s strength lies in the combined impact of two important elements: 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. As such, the membership votes for the best scores of each year with these two criteria in mind, and strives to recognize scores which excel in both these areas. As an international organization, the IFMCA also makes conscious efforts to celebrate the best film music, not just from mainstream Hollywood productions, but world-wide, wherever it may originate.
PROCESS FOR SUBMITTING A SCORE FOR AWARD CONSIDERATION
Any composer, composer representative (PR agency, agent), representative of a film, or representative of a record label can submit scores for consideration for the IFMCA Awards.
The following rules apply:
1. To be eligible for the awards, the work must be for a feature film, television show, or video game, belonging to one of our corresponding awards categories. For more information about the categories, please use the most recent awards archive entry at http://filmmusiccritics.org/awards-archive/ as a guide.
2. Scores for films become eligible when the project for which it was written plays in a cinema, is released straight-to-DVD, is released straight-to-VOD, or (in the case of one-off TV movies) is broadcast on television in one of the IFMCA’s recognized media markets (Australia, Benelux, East Asia, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Southern Europe, Spain and Portugal, UK and Ireland, USA and Canada). Scores for films which have only been shown at film festivals, and have not yet received any wider distribution in public cinemas, do not become not eligible until they play a commercial run.
3. Scores for episodic television series become eligible when the most recent season of the project for which it was written is broadcast on television, or via a recognized online streaming platform such as Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, etc.
4. Scores for video games become eligible when the project for which it was written is released for purchase or download by the public.
Each awards season runs from January 1-December 31.
Music can be submitted, along with any relevant PR material, via press@filmmusiccritics.org. The music must be in a widely used digital audio format, such as a good quality (256+kbps) mp3, and the promo material in either jpeg, text, doc, or pdf.
Please ensure you have permission to promotionally distribute any release you wish to submit to us. For further information please contact us at press@filmmusiccritics.org.