Belgian film festival Film Fest Gent and the World Soundtrack Academy will honor the memory of David Lynch by having young composers score an excerpt from the late auteur’s “The Elephant Man” as part of their annual Film Music Composition Contest.
“The Elephant Man,” Lynch’s 1980 cult movie, tells the true story of English artist Joseph Merrick who, due to his severe physical deformities, became a national celebrity in Victorian England. It starred a heavily made-up John Hurt as the sensitive Merrick, Anthony Hopkins as the London Hospital surgeon who became his guardian and Brooks’ wife Anne Bancroft as a sympathetic West End stage star. The feature scored eight Oscar nominations, including Lynch’s first for best director.
Courtesy WSA
The film’s original score was composed by John Morris, the American film and TV composer who worked on several Broadway musicals in the 1950s and is best known for his work with Mel Brooks, who also produced “The Elephant Man.”
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A professional jury, chaired by WSA President of the Board Dirk Brossé, will select the composition contest’s three finalists from a pool of young composers all under the age of 36. The finalists will be announced in June.
The winner will be presented with the World Soundtrack Award for best original composition by a young composer on Oct. 15 during the World Soundtrack Awards ceremony. The prestigious awards recognize the contributions of global film and television composers. All three selected original scores will be performed by the Brussels Philharmonic and conducted by Brossé during the ceremony.