Award Winners 2024

AWARD WINNERS at STC21 · 2024

Gustavo Santaolalla · Lifetime Achievement Award

Florian Simon Krefting · WDR Filmscore Award

Jenny Winter · European Talent Award Sound Design

Agathe Lavarel and Nicolas Vön Moreau · Honorable Mention - European Talent Award

 Mári Mákó and Rozi Mákó · Peer Raben Music Award

Hannes Bieber · Honorable Mention - Peer Raben Music Award

Elis & Tom. It Had to Be You · See The Sound Music Documentary Award

ZEF: Die Story of Die Antwoord · Honorable Mention - See the Sound Music Documentary Award

Full house at the Cologne COMEDIA Theater on Friday, July 5th: The Award Ceremony of the 21st edition of SoundTrack_Cologne bringing to a close a successful week of learning and exchange in the field of music for film, TV, and video games. With 46 musicians on stage, the Neues Rheinisches Kammerorchester Köln conducted by Yati Durant performed works by composers Gustavo Santaolalla and Juan Luqui, Anthony Willis, Austin Wintory, Adi Frutiger, Cristóbal Tapia de Veer and Kim Neundorf, Jessica de Rooij, Stephen Barton and Gordy Haab, some of the special guests at this year’s congress.

Eight awards were presented at the ceremony:

Gustavo Santaolalla - Lifetime Achievement Award

In its 21st edition, SoundTrack_Cologne honored the composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Gustavo Santaolalla with the Lifetime Achievement Award. The two-time Academy Award winner received the statuette from fellow Oscar winner Volker Bertelmann in recognition of his remarkable career.

As well as celebrating some of the milestones in Santaolalla's life, such as his significant contributions to Latin American music and producing albums for numerous artists, along with his work with the band Bajofondo and his overall musical production, Bertelmann also highlighted the strong mark that Santaolalla has established in the film industry.

Accompanied by the Neues Rheinisches Kammerochester Köln and his colleague Juan Luqui, Santaolalla performed three of his compositions, including one from the series "Dear Child" ("Liebes Kind") and two from the video game and TV series "The Last of Us".

Florian Simon Krefting · WDR Filmscore Award

The jury, consisting of music supervisor and publisher Marielène Froidevaux, composer and producer Juan Luqui, sound engineer and music producer Julius Gass, and sound designer Alexander Weuffen, awarded Florian Simon Krefting for the music he composed for the short film "Balcony Cacophony", directed by Quentin Haberham. 

The jury noted that Krefting "captivates the listener from the very first note with a beautiful, harmonically ambiguous theme that weaves seamlessly through the soundtrack. Enhanced by a rich, genre-diverse, and multifaceted arrangement, the score enchants the audience from the beginning."

The jury concluded that his score for "the film builds intensity through its dramatic arc, ultimately finding a conciliatory element in the pure major version of the recurring theme."

Krefting will have the opportunity to record an original composition with the WDR Funkhausorchester.

Jenny Winter · European Talent Award Sound Design

Among the 18 nominees of the European Talent Competition, Jenny Winter was awarded Best Sound Design thanks to the fact that she "managed to point out details very carefully and featured the storytelling by adding surprising sounds, bravely even off-screen. Which made us all laugh in this case", said the jury in its statement.

Winter was recognized because her work demonstrated how important sound design is as "a major part of the full experience for the audience."

She will have the opportunity to create a 5.1 cinematic mix down in the prestigious sound mixing studio Chaussee SoundVision GmbH.

Agathe Lavarel and Nicolas Vön Moreau · Honorable Mention - European Talent Award Filmscore and Sound Design

The jury of the European Talent Competition also decided to give an honorable mention to the team consisting of composer Agathe Lavarel and sound designer Nicolas Vön Moreau, highlighting that their work "demonstrated excellence in both music and sound design", and as a team evidenced that 'trusting each other it is the key to success“. 

The jury concluded, that the team had proved that "filmmaking is a collaborative art form that involves managing multiple disciplines, egos, visions, cultures, and approaches.

Mári Mákó and Rozi Mákó · Peer Raben Music Award

The Mákó sisters, composers of the short film "27" were the winners of the Peer Raben Music Award at SoundTrack_Cologne 21. The jury, consisting of the renowned composers Eðvarð Egilsson, Natalie Hausmann, and Anthony Willis, stressed that this team created a "vibrant, impactful and immersive score which seamlessly blended into the sonic and visual world of the film." "The bold musical and stylistic choices supported the character’s rebellious journey in the urban landscape," highlighted the jury.

First presented in 2009, the award that commemorates the great German film composer Peer Raben gives 1.500 Euros to the winner. 

Hannes Bieber · Honorable Mention - Peer Raben Music Award

In this congress edition, the jury awarded a special recognition to Hannes Bieber for his score for "Dodo." They stated that "the composer made unique and intimate choices in instrumentation which give the film a very emotional and haptic quality."

Elis & Tom. It Had to Be You · See The Sound Music Documentary Award

The Brazilian documentary Elis & Tom by directors Jom Tob Azulay and Roberto de Oliveira, and produced by Diogo Pires Gonçalves won the Best Music Documentary Award at the See the Sound festival. The film reconstructs the powerful moment in which the singer Elis Regina and Tom Jobim meet to record an album that becomes a historical milestone in Brazilian popular music. For the jury, made up of film director Shadi Tabibzadeh; film director, documentalist and journalist Martin Gerner, and filmmaker and TV writer Christoph Simon, highlighted that the film "works as a magical time capsule, blending the nostalgia of the sixties with present-day reflections, making it a treasure to be rediscovered."

ZEF: Die Story of Die Antwoord · Honorable Mention - See the Sound Music Documentary Award

"ZEF - The Story of Die Antwoord comes along as provocative as its protagonists: a surprising, quirky and masterfully edited documentary. Like the numerous clips it features, the film is a exploration of many contrasts that sometimes seem tricky to reconcile — loud and quiet, beautiful and ugly, wealthy and poor, featuring success and failure." With this statement the jury honored "ZEF: Die Story of Die Antwoord", directed by Jon Day.