The festival's mission is to promote the importance of film music and its composers, as well as film sound, and filmmaking in general. The festival's goals are to originate and encourage discussions, connecting people, advising, and educating young composers and filmmakers, but also other people, through discussion panels, seminars, film market, concerts and media publishing; we tend to start and maintain creative and constructive discussions about that indelible link between film and music.

Awards & Prizes

The Crystal Pine Award for best film/video game/trailer scores and sound will be awarded in the following categories:

1. Best Original Score | Feature Film
2. Best Original Score | Documentary Feature
3. Best Original Score | Short film (live-action, documentary, and animated)
4. Best Original Score | Series
5. Best Original Song | Feature Film
6. Best Original Score | Video Game
7. Best Trailer Music

AND

8. Best Sound Mixing/Editing – up to 10 nominations

Special Crystal Pine Award will be awarded besides these categories for the authors who have composed the best music for the world’s best-known movies in the past year – up to 12 nominations.

AND

Crystal Pine for Best Picture (overall, a feature-length production)

Crystal Pine for Best Short (Live-Action, Animated or Documentary)

Crystal Pine for Best Music Film

2023 & 2024 & 2025 Jury:
DOREEN RINGER-ROSS, film music specialist; former V-President of Broadcast Music Inc.
RANDY THOM, Oscar-winning sound designer
WAYNE PASHLEY, Oscar-nominated sound designer
JAVIER NAVARRETE, Oscar-nominated composer
MATTHIJS WOUTER KNOLL, CEO of European Film Academy
DALIBOR GRUBACEVIC, composer
ADELE ETHERIDGE WOODSON, composer
OZREN K. GLASER, composer, filmmaker, ISFMF Artistic Director

2026 Jury
CIARÁN HINDS, Oscar-nominated actor
STEPHEN WARBECK, Oscar-winning composer
PATRUSHKHA MIERZWA, sound technician
MARK ULANO, Oscar-winning sound mixer
OZREN K. GLASER, composer, filmmaker, ISFMF Artistic Director

2027 Jury
TBD

Rules & Terms

AWARDS FOR BEST PICTURE, FILM/VIDEO GAME/TRAILER SCORES, SONG AND SOUND 2027
The application period will run until April 1st at the latest. The Artistic Board of the Festival will conduct a selection of movies for nominations, and the criteria will be determined in relation to the quality and originality of the picture overall, score, song, music video and sound. Only films with a production date between October 1st 2025 and April 1st 2027, will be considered for nominations.

SELECTION CRITERIA WILL BE AS FOLLOWS:
1. Music/Sound/Song from the film or the film (Picture) itself has to be produced within October 1st 2025 and April1st 2027;
2. Selected films must be in accordance with the categories (feature films – 30 minutes and more, short films – 2 min to 29.99 min, etc.)
3. A maximum of two composers shall be considered for their work on one film. In exceptional circumstances, the third name may be added.
4. The application/submission MUST contain the full name(s) of the person/people responsible for the submission category (e.g. If the film is submitted in the categories for Best Picture, Best Original Score, and Best Original Song, the submission MUST contain the name of director, composer, songwriter and the title of the song).
5. One composer/director can submit as many works as she/he wants, however, no more than two films per category can be nominated.
6. Best Picture and Best Short Crystal Pine Award is awarded to Director.
7. Please, send your submission via FilmFreeway only.

PLEASE NOTE:

Being SELECTED does not necessarily mean that your project has been nominated. It means that your project has entered the shortlist, and after another voting circle, it may or may not be nominated in a certain category.

Being NOMINATED does not necessarily mean your project will be screened at the festival. Even though we have daily screenings of the nominated films, some of them will not be shown during the festival because of the limited time frame and number of venues.