SOCAN was out in full force at this year’s edition of the Vancouver international Film Festival (VIFF), held Oct. 2-12, 2025, and especially the VIFF Amp Music in Media Summit, designed to nurture, educate, and champion both emerging and established music professionals in the field.
On Oct. 9, 2025, SOCAN sponsored the session Pixar’s ONWARD: The Story Behind the Score, during which Academy Award-winning screen composer Mychael Danna, and his brother, fellow screen composer, and frequent collaborator Jeff Danna, explained the strange symmetry between the plot of the animated feature film ONWARD (2020) and their own lives – while also sharing their techniques of thematic composition, and how powerful it can be to help tell a story, especially in animation.
The day after, SOCAN hosted an emerging composer panel, providing education and insight for emerging film and TV scorers through conversation between Robert Kraft, our SOCAN Ambassador, Los Angeles; fast-rising screen composers Brian Chan and Caleb Chan (North of North, Fairly OddParents); and Amanda Cawley (Fireman Sam, Siegebreaker). Moderated by Mike Rocha, Director of Film & TV Membership for SOCAN, the panel included free-form discussion covering work-life balance, unexpected challenges, projects that evolve in surprising ways, projects that can provide a career boost, and much more.
In partnership with SOCAN Foundation, the Screen Composers Guild of Canada (SCGC), and the Core Music Agency, SOCAN also held a reception for VIFF delegates on Oct. 8, 2025. The event boasted a great turnout, with lots of our members enjoying the festivities.
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- L-R: Tonya Dedrick (SCGC), Mychael Danna
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- L-R: Robert Kraft (SOCAN), Andrew Downton, Katharine Pavoni (BC Film Commission)
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- L-R: Jeff Danna, Patrick Caird