The Zurich Film Festival is to honour Academy Award winning composer Gabriel Yared with its Career Achievement Award during its 2026 edition, which takes place from September 24 to October 4.
He will be presented with the award during the festival’s Cinema in Concert Gala on October 1.
Yared has created film scores for movies including The English Patient, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Cold Mountain and Betty Blue. His score for The English Patient earned him an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a Grammy Award and a BAFTA.
Yared will also serve as jury president of the festival’s 14th International Film Music Competition (IFMC), which sees emerging composers from around the world invited to create a new orchestral score for nine-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.
An international jury chaired by Yared will select three finalist compositions from all submissions. These works will receive their world premieres during the Cinema in Concert Gala at Tonhalle Zurich, performed by the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich under the direction of Frank Strobel.
“Gabriel Yared belongs among the giants of film music. His compositions evoke profound emotions that linger long after the final note. Since the 1980s, Yared has left an indelible mark on cinema through his extraordinary ability to give the great films of his time a distinctive musical identity. His body of work is characterised by remarkable cultural breadth – from iconic films such as The Lives Of Others and Betty Blue to epic love stories such as City Of Angels and The English Patient,” said Reta Guetg, festival director of the ZFF.
“His richly atmospheric scores are shaped by influences from the Middle East, his time in Brazil, and European musical traditions. It is precisely this artistic diversity that makes him a role model for generations of composers. It is a great honour for us to present Gabriel Yared with our Career Achievement Award.”
Yared said: “I am proud and honored to receive the Career Achievement Award from the Zurich Film Festival, as well as to be invited to be the president of the Jury of the International Film Music Competition, which gives young film composers the opportunity to have their work performed and heard.”
No comments yet