Following the cancellation, due to the current pandemic, of the televised awards presentation that had been planned for early June, Québec Cinéma has released the names of this year’s 27 Iris Award finalists on April 23. Six SOCAN #ComposersWhoScore are nominated in the Best Original Music category. Québec Cinéma, a not-for-profit organization advocating Quebec film, wanted to publicize the outstanding work of Quebec filmmakers in spite of the fact that an alternate official awards presentation has not yet been found.
The 2020 #ComposersWhoScore nominees in the Best Original Music category are:
- Andréa Bélanger (SOCAN), David Ratté (Will Driving West) (SOCAN) for And the Birds Rained Down
- Jean-Michel Blais (SOCAN) for Matthias & Maxime
- Jean Massicotte (SOCAN), Jad Orphée Chami (SOCAN) for Antigone. Publishers: Ho-Tune Musique (SOCAN) and ACPAV
- Howard Shore (ASCAP) for The Song of Names
- Peter Venne (SOCAN) for The Twenieth Century
In partnership with Radio-Canada, Québec Cinéma is currently looking for creative alternate ways to organize its awards presentation while following public health guidelines.
Mostly directed by women, the 2020 edition’s top finalists are Louise Archambault’s And the Birds Rained Down (13 nominations); Monia Chokri’s A Brother’s Love (11 nominations); Sophie Derapse’s Antigone (8 nominations); Podz’s Mafia Inc. (8 nominations); Myriam Verrault’s Kuessipan (7 nominations); and Anne Émond’s Jeune Juliette (6 nominations).
For a full list 2020 finalists, please visit the official Québec Cinéma website.