Submissions

Through the World Soundtrack Award category Discovery of the Year, the World Soundtrack Academy honours emerging talents in film scoring. Among past winners of the award are celebrated composers Craig Armstrong, Michael Giacchino, Daniel Pemberton, Nicholas Britell, Tamar-kali, Michael Abels, Bryce Dessner, Nainita Desai, Eiko Ishibashi and Simon Franglen. Traditionally, the Discovery of the Year honouree is invited to return to Film Fest Gent the following year to present the winning score at the World Soundtrack Awards Concert.

Original score for a motion picture:

• A feature-length fiction or documentary film (of at least 70 min):
  • That was part of the official selection at one of the film festivals accredited by FIAPF, Sundance Film Festival, TIFF or Tribeca Film Festival;
  • Or received its initial countrywide commercial theatrical release;
  • Or was initially released on a streaming TV service that commissions original content.
• Screened in world premiere or initial theatrical release between 16 June and 15 June of the respective year.
• With a minimum amount of 30 minutes of score in the film (exceptions may be allowed).

Composed by a screen composer:

• Who has scored maximum five feature-length fiction films with a commercial theatrical release in two countries or more, up to and including the motion picture in question for which the submitted score has been composed (documentaries, short films, TV films and TV series are not counted);
• Who has not previously won the Discovery of the Year WSAward;
• Who was previously nominated a maximum of one time in this category.

If more than one composer is credited for the film score, each composer should meet the eligibility criteria.

• You can submit your score by filling in the submission form that will be made available on this site. Make sure you are logged in to your MyFFG account to access the form.
• An administrative submission fee of €35 will be required for processing and consulting costs. From 16 May onwards the fee will be €45. This fee is non-refundable. Eligible composers that are WSAcademy members do not have to pay the submission fee.
• A composer can only submit one original score per year. In case there are multiple eligible scores during the qualifying period, you can choose which score to submit for consideration.
• Only submitted scores will be taken into consideration for the Discovery of the Year WSAward.
• Submissions must include links to the complete score and to the screener. For more information, see the Rule Book 2024 and the online application.
• If physical copies are available: please send two CDs containing the soundtrack album or the For Your Consideration promo to:
  Film Fest Gent, attn: Sophie Joos, Leeuwstraat 40B, 9000 Gent, Belgium.
• Deadline: 15 June. Registration and payment should be completed by 15 June. Scores submitted after the deadline will not be accepted and incomplete submissions will be disqualified. Nominations will be announced mid-September.