Ryuichi Sakamoto receives World Soundtrack Lifetime Achievement Award
Artistic director of Film Fest Gent Patrick Duynslaegher on choosing the Japanese composer: “‘We are extremely pleased to welcome Mr. Sakamoto next October at the World Soundtrack Awards Gala where he will be the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award for his work as a film composer. With his recent creative collaboration with Mexican director Alejandro G.Inarritu on The Revenant, Ryuichi Sakamoto found himself again at the forefront of the film music profession.’
‘Ryuichi Sakamoto was already a celebrated rock-pop composer/pianist/singer in Japan when he conquered the international film scene in 1983 with his score for Nagisa Oshima’s Merry Christmas Mr.Lawrence, a film in which he also starred alongside David Bowie. Ever since, his work for leading Japanese (Oshima again for Gohatto) and international directors (Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor, in which he also played a part and for which he won an Academy Award for best Original Score, The Sheltering Sky and Little Buddha; Brian De Palma’s Snake Eyes and Femme Fatale; Pedro Almodovar’s High Heels; Volker Schlöndorff’s The Handmaid’s Tale; Oliver Stone’s produced television miniseries Wild Palms) revealed him as one of the most inventive film composers of our time.’
‘For those films and many more Japanese titles that did not get released in the West, he conceived a unique approach of composing for the movies: a blend of splendid melodies, synthesizer work, traditional orchestral music, drum tracks, sound effects and unusual musical colors. Out of the striking contrasts of musical styles and cultures, he created standout scores that will never stop to fascinate and enchant us’.”
Ryuichi Sakamoto, who recently scored Alejandro González Iñárritu’s worldwide hit The Revenant, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award during the WSAwards Gala for his outstanding career in film music. A selection of his work will be performed by Brussels Philharmonic and conducted by music director Dirk Brossé.
The second part of the WSAwards Gala will be entirely dedicated to the ‘new Golden Age of TV’. In addition to compelling live performances of David Arnold and Michael Price’s score for the British-American drama TV series Sherlock and Max Richter’s mysterious soundtrack from cult-drama series The Leftovers by Brussels Philharmonic and the Flemish Radio Choir, several composers will make their way to the stage for what is often the debut of their scores played live in front of an audience. American composer and arranger Jeff Russo will play drums during the live performance of his Emmy nominated music from Fargo. Sean Callery, best known from his suspense-driven scores on TV-series 24 and Homeland will perform piano on the latter. For the performance of his score and theme for Netflix drama House of Cards, composer Jeff Beal will take the stage.
Film Fest Gent will announce additional names of attending composers and the full program by the end of June 2016.
CROWDFUNDING FOR A UNIQUE ALBUM
Fans of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s work can support the recording of Film Fest Gent’s album which focuses on the annual guest of honour of the WSAwards, by funding the crowdfunding campaign ‘Bringing film music to your ears'. Returns include a signed album by maestro Sakamoto himself, your name in the booklet, VIP tickets to the WSAwards and other perks. The greater the contribution, the more you will receive.
The crowdfunding campaign, launched on Wednesday 4th of May, on the online platform Indiegogo. A budget of €10,000 is required to finance a share of the recording of the album. You can discover everything about the campaign through Indiegogo.
43rd Film Fest Gent runs from 11 to 21 October 2016
16th World Soundtrack Awards Ceremony & Concert
19 & 20 October 2016 at Capitole in Ghent
Tickets and info.