Speakers

Michael P. Aust

Festivaldirector SoundTrack_Cologne and Producer TelevisorTroika GmbH

Business graduate (Dipl.-Kfm.) Michael P. Aust is a German curator, organiser of cultural events and film producer born in 1965. His focal point of interest lies in the intersectionality of art forms, especially in the relationship of music and moving pictures. He heads the filmmusic festival and conference SoundTrack_Cologne that he founded in 2004 – with 850 accreditations Europe’s leading filmmusic industry event – as well as SoundTrack_Zurich since 2020. Parallel from 2014-2019 he was festivaldirector of Braunschweig International Filmfestival that grew to 28.000 admissions under his direction.

Aust has worked in the film industry for more than 25 years with producer credits for 21 feature films and feature-length documentaries, including “101 Reykjavik”, “Stumbling Block”, “Low Lights”, “Parallax Sounds Chicago”, “Eva Hesse” and “The Sound of Cologne”, focusing on music and art. His directorial debut “Can and Me”, co-produced by WDR, hit the cinemas and film festivals in spring 2023. 

Michael curates exhibitions and festivals e.g. DuKunst Media Art Festival 1992, Klangvisionen sound art exhibition 1994, StadtKlangNetz conference on cultural education 2007-2014, European Film Music Day at Cannes Film Festival 2009-2016, the highly successful The Art of Pop Video exhibition (MAKK Cologne 2011, Odessa Art Center 2012, Liverpool FACT 2013), Next Level Conference on video games 2012, PLAY!CGN exhibition and conference on video games in art 2013, Digital Distribution conference 2014, BIFF Film Criticism LAB: on the Future of Film Criticism 2015, Hostile Sisters - Interdependencies of Theatre and Film conference 2016, FxM Film meets Music Festival 2018+19. His latest project is the 30-month Re-Educating Digitisation funded by Erasmus+.

He is a voting member of the German Film Academy, Filmbüro NW and of the World Soundtrack Academy and Board Member of KulturNetzKöln and MusicFilmFestivalNetwork. He is Managing Director, Owner and Producer at TelevisorTroika GmbH, a Cologne-based company established in 1993 for film production, art events and public relations in arts.

Dagmar Blume-Niehage

Film Producer

Helge Borgarts

Composer, Audio Director

Olivier Derivière

Composer

Olivier Derivière is a composer who’s spent the last 20 years redefining how music interacts with video games. Known for his emotionally driven scores and innovative use of interactive music, he’s worked on acclaimed titles like A Plague Tale: Innocence and Requiem, Dying Light 2, Streets of Rage 4, and Remember Me. His approach isn’t just about writing music, it’s about making it respond, evolve, and breathe with the player’s actions. Whether blending electronic textures with live orchestras or incorporating local musical traditions, Deriviere always puts storytelling first. His latest work on South of Midnight continues that vision, weaving a haunting Southern musical landscape that adapts in real time to the game’s dark and magical world.

Matthias Hornschuh

Composer

Matthias Hornschuh lives and works as a film and radio play composer in Cologne. The studied musician and musicologist teaches at various European colleges and universities and is part of the founding team of SoundTrack_Cologne, which he left 2018.
Hornschuh is involved in industry and cultural politics, among others in the professional association mediamusic, in the Landesmusikrat NRW and in the supervisory board of GEMA. Since 2021, Hornschuh has represented the interests of German authors and performers in Berlin and Brussels as spokesman for the authors rights initiative (Initiative Urheberrecht).

Dr. Anselm Kreuzer

Composer

Anselm Kreuzer began playing the Cello at age 9 and soon discovered composing as his major passion. Already back then he combined the classical approach with modern sounds. After finishing school he studied musicology, media science and phonetics at the Cologne University and achieved a Ph.D. with a dissertation on Film Music. During his time as a student, he received several assignments for media compositions, especially in the field of radio and television. Now, he is a designated specialist for TV title themes, station IDs, scores for series and TV drama as well as music for new media and advertising.

Anselm also has an oeuvre of more than 1000 internationally successful production music titles. Among the magazine and news shows he has composed for are Weltreisen (ARD), Check Eins - Neuneinhalb (ARD), Die Chefin (ZDF), Die lustigsten Schlamassel (RTL), Lebensläufe (MDR), RBB UM6 (RBB), ZIBB (RBB), Täter Opfer Polizei (RBB). He recently scored for TV series like Küstenwache, Kripo Holstein - Mord und Meer (ZDF), Rosenheim-Cops (ZDF), In Aller Freundschaft (ARD) and documentaries like Natur Exklusiv (BR).

He is co-founder of the production music library MUSIC SCULPTOR. Whether symphonic orchestra or electronic approach - Anselm has a passionate faible for emotional, narrative and often catchy thematic music that merges with moving pictures and stories. He often transcends the borders between composition and sound design. He is also engaged in several professional associations. He is president of the German Composers Club and board member of the European Composer and Songwriter Alliance (ECSA). 

Pieter Schlosser

Games and TV Composer

Pieter Schlosser is a composer for television and video games whose work blends cinematic storytelling with emotional depth and immersive sound worlds. Born in Guatemala and raised across Austria, Panama, Costa Rica, and the United States, he brings a uniquely global perspective to every score.

A graduate of Berklee College of Music and a former composer at Hans Zimmer’s Remote Control Productions, he has contributed music to The Sims 3, Gears of War 2 & 3, and spent the last nine years shaping the musical identity of Bungie’s Destiny 2. His TV work includes Disney’s Secrets of Sulphur Springs, Telemundo’s Malverde: El Santo Patrón, and ABC’s Desperate Housewives.

Whether scoring for AAA games or network television, Pieter crafts music that connects deeply with story and character.

Ralf Schulze

Music Publisher, Festival Director

Biography Ralf Schulze:
1991–94: Market Research for Warner Music Germany, Hamburg.
1995 Phd „The German Music Industry – Market structures and Competitive strategies.“
since 1995: Music Publisher and Music Supervisor for Film-/TV-Projects.
since 2002: amboss Film+Musik - Musicpublisher for Film-/TV-Productions.
since 2005: amboss Recordings - Musiclabel, focus on Soundtracks/Scores.
since 2007: UNERHÖRT! Musikfilmfestival Hamburg (2022 zum 13. Mal .... 6.-9. November!)
since 2013: FilmCollect Clearing GmbH – Copyright Agency for Filmproducers

Cinema-Projects: (ca. 100)
Die Häschenschule - Der große Eierklau, An Impossible Project, Men of Hope, Die Rückkehr der Heinzelmännchen, Brechts Dreigroschenoper, Hi AI, The Bra, Pre Crime, Of Fathers and Sons, Tschick, Grüße aus Fukushima, Willkommen bei den Hartmanns, Mein Blind Date mit dem Leben, Jonathan, Who am I, Die Häschenschule, Quatsch, Rabe Socke 1 + 2 + 3, Der Rhein von Oben, Athos, Food Markets, Who Taught You To Drive, HELL. Hände weg von Mississippi. Absurdistan. 2 Days in Paris, The Three Investigators in the Secret of Skeleton Island. Knallhart. Rosenstraße, Das Experiment, L'Amour, L'Argent, L'Armour, Im Juli, Hierankl, Tuvalu, Gran Paradiso, Ein Lied von Liebe und Tod, Sonnenallee, Playboys, Lola Rennt

TV-Project: (ca. 300)
Der Schwarm, Das weiße Hause am Rhein, Oktoberfest 1900, Nur eine Frau, Jeanny – Das 5. Mädchen, Tatort: Des Teufels langer Atem, Lang Lebe die Königin, Der Rebel: Von Leimen nach Wimbledon, Babylon Berlin, Agent Hamilton, Die Toten vom Bodensee, Szene D, Wolfsland, Professor T, Die Slawen, Borderless Sky
Berlin - Abschnitt 40, Sesamstraße 1998-2006, Berlin, Berlin Staffel 1+2, Großstadtrevier. Die Kids von Berlin

The Flight

Composers for Videogames

Ivor Novello award winning duo Joe Henson and Alexis Smith began collaborating in 2005. After realizing they had a similar approach to life and wildly divergent musical tastes, they formed a creative partnership that quickly encompassed songwriting, production, and composition.

The duo have worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry as well as being renowned composers for triple A video games titles. 2014 saw the release of hit survival horror title Alien: Isolation, and they followed this up with Horizon: Zero Dawn, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Horizon Forbidden West, and WB Games Montréal’s Gotham Knights.

The Flight's television projects include the NETFLIX Series Lockwood & Co, BAFTA nominated BBC documentary series Drugsland, and Kids on the Edge, produced for Channel 4 by Century Films.

Their most recent project sees the duo returning to the popular Assassin’s Creed franchise with Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The game takes place in 16th century Japan and follows two new characters in the creed’s fight against the Templar order. Assassin’s Creed Shadows is out now on Playstation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Venus Theory

Composer, Content Creator and Sound Designer

Venus Theory is a composer, content creator, and sound designer based outside of Nashville, TN.

His work focuses on crafting immersive, organic electronic and ambient soundscapes exploring the intersection of cinematic and experimental music. His online presence, particularly on YouTube, provides a platform for in-depth explorations of music production and creativity, while also offering valuable insights to aspiring and seasoned creators alike in the realm of creative philosophy and psychology.

Beyond his online content, Cameron is a sought-after creative, contributing his expertise to numerous high-profile projects. His music can be heard in games such as Avowed and Ground Branch, showcasing his ability to create compelling and atmospheric sonic landscapes. His work with prominent industry sound design companies further cements his reputation as a leading force in modern audio, specializing in the creation of rich, textured, and emotionally resonant sonic environments.

Paul Wolinski

Composer, Sound designer

Best known as part of the experimental band 65daysofstatic, Paul Wolinski has spent the last two decades releasing numerous studio albums and touring the world. Always eager to explore less conventional ways to make and present music, amongst other projects the band composed the 'infinite' soundtrack to the video game No Man's Sky and toured their algorithmically-driven live A/V performance Decomposition Theory around Europe.

Paul has released several solo albums, most recently Telex From MIDI City (Data Airlines, 2023) under the guise of Polinski.  

He holds a PhD in popular music, where his research explored how hand-crafted generative music systems might be used in the context of bands and popular music.  

Paul is currently working as a composer on a major new video game, and has worked in various audio, sound design and programming roles on a number of indie games.