The 14h International Film Music Competition will take place during the 22nd Zurich Film Festival (24 September – 4 October 2026). Participants were invited to score the 9‑minute short film THE SHYNESS OF TREES by Sofiia Chuikovska, Loïck Du Plessis D’Argentré, Lina Han, Simin He, Jiaxin Huang, Maud Le Bras and Bingqing Shu for symphony orchestra. The submission deadline was on 2 June 2026, and 146 composers from 36 countries have participated in the competition.

An international expert jury (see below), presided by Academy-Award winning composer Gabriel Yared, has nominated three participants:

Carl Falkenau
(Sweden)

Son Semin
(South Korea)

Brendan Galvin
(New Zealand)

These compositions of these three nominees will be world-premiered by the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich under the baton of Frank Strobel during a film music concert in the Tonhalle Zurich on 1 October 2026. On the same evening, the winner will be chosen by the jury and awarded the Golden Eye “Best International Film Music 2026” endowed with CHF 10 000.

The members of the jury are:

President of the jury:
Gabriel Yared, film composer
Photo: Laurent Koffel

Martina Gedeck, actress
 

Michael Künstle, film composer
 

Matteo Pagamici, film composer
 

Frank Strobel, conductor of the award concert
Photo: Kai Bienert

The event is organised by Zurich Film Festival, Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich AG, and Forum Filmmusik.