Leah Curtis

I sat down with Skyfall composer Thomas Newman for Beyond Cinema Magazine in Los Angeles talking all things music, film and James Bond. You can read it here (p39).

The Australian American Fulbright Commission has profiled me this month in The Fulbrighter publication.

“Today we pay tribute to the leading lights of Australian screen composition with the announcement of nominees for the 2012 SCREEN MUSIC AWARDS. The event, to be held this year in Melbourne on Monday November 19th, is jointly staged by APRA (Australasian Performing Right Association) and the AGSC (Australian Guild of Screen Composers). Itis the only Australian event where the music and screen industry gather to celebrate excellence in the composition of music for film and television.”

http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/APRAAwards/ScreenAwards/Nominees2012/BestOriginalSongComposedForTheScreen.aspx

You can read it here.

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) and the Australian Film Institute (AFI) have published a new interview here.

I have been working on a new score for Sophia Savage’s stunning debut film Empyrean.  With scoring now complete we’re working hard to get the soundtrack ready for release!  In Sophia’s own words:

We hold on to the idea that there is a right way to say goodbye. EMPYREAN is a short film about finding the grace in letting go.

I worked with the supremely talented Savannah Jo Lack who you’ll find on a few of my scores, and guitarist Craig Stull.  The tonal range of both of these players astounds me every time I work with them and encourages me to seek more challenges for them as I work toward creating the sound of the film.  I’m grateful to have been a part of this beautiful project.

More on the film here.

I was charmed by Utah and my time at the Park City Film Music Festival. What a gorgeous part of the world. I even managed a visit to Sundance for lunch which was just stunning.

Our good news is that we placed 3rd out of 60 films chosen for competition for BEST IMPACT OF MUSIC IN A SHORT FILM.  Many thanks to Leslie Harlow and the PCFMF team who were so accommodating and gave us such a terrific welcome.

I’m so grateful for the superb Director Fawaz Al-Matrouk and his stunning film To Rest in Peace, and the brilliant musicians who are featured on the score Lisbeth Scott, Armen Anassian, MB Gordy, Alan Steinberger, Lynn Grants, Mary Anne Steinberger, Nancy Roth, Chris Bleth, Dean Parks, as well as John Rodd, Dave Lawrence, Karim Elmahmoudi, Charlie Paakkari.

They truly are a dream team.

The main song I wrote for Fawaz Al-Matrouk’s Roman Epic has just been nominated for two Hollywood Music in Media Awards.  

BEST SONG - INDEPENDENT FILM / DOCUMENTARY / SHORT

BEST WORLD SONG

‘Animula Vagula’ was written to a poem by the Roman Emperor Hadrian penned not long before his passing. It is sung by the incredibly talented Lisbeth Scott (Narnia, Munich) along with Choristers from St Paul’s Cathedral who are directed by Martin Green.  It also includes the soaring violin of Savannah Jo Lack, and mixed by LA recording engineer Ronan Chris Murphy.

More news, including the release date of the song (and Fawaz Al Matrouk’s brilliant film) coming soon…

We’re excited to announce that “To Rest in Peace” has been selected for the Park City Film Music Festival in May.  This is the only US film festival that uses music as the criteria for choosing films to be screened and also the first US film festival dedicated to the contribution of music in film.

The film, directed by Fawaz Al-Matrouk, is inspired by the true story of Malek, a Kuwaiti man during the Iraqi Invasion in 1990. Day after day, he passes two dead bodies that no one is burying. He wants to find out why, but everyone is afraid to interfere during wartime. Caught between his fear of death and his respect for human dignity, Malek decides to bury the bodies himself by the side of the road.

Here are the screening times for the festival.

You can hear some of the score here: