Finalists announced for 2021 APRA Screen Awards: Best Original Music in a Series | Tohu Paerangi and Best Original Music in a Film | Tohu Pūmanawa
Some of Aotearoa’s best songwriters and composers have been shortlisted today for awards to be presented at the 2021 APRA Silver Scroll Awards | Kaitito Kaiaka.
The APRA Best Original Music in a Feature Film | Tohu Pūmanawa and APRA Best Original Music in a Series | Tohu Paerangi Awards celebrate Aotearoa’s screen composers. The awards recognise the relationship that composers have with cinema and the power of music to illuminate, elevate and support real and imagined worlds, narratives, images and performances.
2021 finalists for APRA Best Original Music In A Series Award | Tohu Paerangi:
- Karl Steven for Black Hands
- Rhian Sheehan for The Sounds
- Tom McLeod for Fight for the Wild
2021 finalists for APRA Best Original Music In A Film Award | Tohu Pūmanawa:
- Arli Liberman for Savage
- Ewan Clark for The Turn of the Screw
- Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper for Shadow in the Cloud
Multi-award-winning screen composer, Karl Steven, returns as a finalist this year for his work on the highly-anticipated series, Black Hands. Adapted from the hugely successful podcast of the same name that digs deep into the murder of the Bain family, an unresolved case that remains prominent in New Zealand crime. Karl Steven captures the nail-biting scenes with unsettling string arrangements for optimal edge-of-your-seat viewing.
Wellington screen composer and music producer Rhian Sheehan, is being recognised this year for his score on local series, The Sounds. Set in the beautiful Marlborough Sounds, this New Zealand/Canadian co-production ticks all the boxes for an addictive mystery thriller, created by acclaimed New Zealand novelist Sarah-Kate Lynch. Rhian Sheehan is an award-winning composer known for his unique fusion of emotive instrumental atmospheric-post-rock with ambient electronica and modern chamber music.
Previous 2015 winner in the Best Original Music in a Series category, Tom McLeod
returns for his captivating score work on documentary/podcast series Fight for the Wild. This four-part series explores the notion of a Predator Free 2050 and the efforts that are being made in hopes of achieving the bold initiative. Paired with beautiful scenes of Aotearoa's unmatched landscape and native wildlife, McLeod highlights the beautiful yet confronting scenes and dialogue of this thought-provoking series weaving natural sounds and taonga pūoro into the subtle score.
New Zealand composer, music producer and guitarist Arli Liberman creates vibrant, immersive musical experiences for feature and documentary soundtracks. His work on hard-hitting local film Savage has earned Arli a deserved spot as a finalist this year. The film dives into the brutality of NZ gang life, a confronting coming-of-age narrative inspired by true stories and written by Porirua-based director Sam Kelly.
Composer and orchestrator, Ewan Clark, has been nominated for his score on thriller/horror film The Turn of the Screw. Adapted from the classic 1898 novella by Henry James, the film follows an unsuspecting actor whose role in a ghostly production becomes all too real. Turn of the Screw won Ewan Clark Best Music in a Feature Film at the Istanbul Film Awards in 2020 and Best Original Score at Canada’s 4th Annual Terror in the Bay Film Festival.
Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper follows previous film category win and multiple nominations with his thrilling score on Shadow in the Cloud. This action-packed horror film is set in the throes of WWII following Captain Maude Garrett who joins an all-male crew of B-17 bombers. The events that unfold are packed with mystery, horror, and paranoia, perfectly amplified by Mahuia’ s incredible score.
The judges for the 2020 APRA Screen Awards were Graeme Revell, Grayson Gilmour, Lauren King, and Peter van der Fluit.
All awards will be presented at Spark Arena, Auckland on Thursday October 14th
The awards are proudly supported by NZ On Air and Te Māngai Pāho
with thanks to Hallertau
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