- The popular television series ‘The X Files’ celebrates its 25th anniversary this September. Its iconic theme music, which is the work of Mark Snow, will be performed in the festival’s Closing Gala this Saturday in the Auditorio de Tenerife.
- The Tenerife International Film Music Festival invitees include both national and international stars- the composers Ben Foster, Christopher Young and Laura Karpman, and the filmakers Enrique Gato and Mar Targarona.
The Tenerife International Film Music Festival (FIMUCITÉ) has reached the halfway point of its twelfth edition, which has been made possible thanks to the support and sponsorship of the Cabildo Insular de Tenerife, the Canary Islands Government, Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council. This year’s slogan “The Truth Is Out There” pays homage to the 25th anniversary of the popular television series ‘The X Files’ that was first broadcast on September 10th, 1993 in the U.S.A. Created by Chris Carter, the series follows the work of two FBI agents who investigate X File cases that involve U.F.O sightings, unusual phenomena, and strange creatures. Having been inspired by this famous TV show and its slogan, the Closing Gala of the festival would not be complete without the iconic theme music composed by Mark Snow for the show’s opening and closing credits.
All of the festival’s national and international invitees who are participating in the concerts and parallel activities are now here in Tenerife.
On Saturday 29th September, the Auditorio de Tenerife ‘Adán Martín’ plays host to the Closing Gala of FIMUCITÉ. Guest conductor Ben Foster will be at the helm of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife during the concert ‘The Truth Is Out There’ (‘La verdad está ahí fuera), a performance that presents a comprehensive journey through the most iconic scores from the science fiction subgenre dedicated to U.F.Os and alien invasions. Included in the Closing Gala’s repertoire are scores from iconic films such as ‘The Thing’ (Ennio Morricone) ‘Mars Attacks’ (Danny Elfman), ‘Arrival’ (Jóhann Johánnsson), ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’ (Bernard Herrmann), and ‘Thunderbirds Are Go’ (Foster & Foster).
Hailing from the United Kingdom, Ben Foster is a composer and conductor best known for his work on the famous BBC television series ‘Doctor Who’. For ten years, Foster has been responsible for adapting and conducting the classic score by Murray Gold. He has recorded close to 100 episodes with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and has also adapted and performed the ‘Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular’ in numerous events across the globe. On Friday 28th September, Ben Foster and brother Nick Foster, co-authors of the music for the TV animation series ‘Thunderbirds Are Go!’, will offer a FIMUCITÉ Film Scoring Academy (FFSA) master class.
Pieces by the guest composers Christopher Young and Laura Karpman will also form part of the concert repertoire. The renown American composer who is one of the most important musical talents in film and television will be presenting a performance of a suite of music from the science fiction film ‘Species: Our Time Is Up’ as part of the Closing Gala. Young, who is also an outstanding professor of film music composition at the University of Southern California, will also be offering a master class this Thursday for the FIMUCITÉ Film Scoring Academy (FFSA) entitled “Reaching Your Inspirational Peaks”.
The presence of Laura Karpman, who currently serves as a Governor of the Music Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, underscores the Tenerife International Film Music Festival’s commitment, and the commitment of the festival’s Director, the well-known Tenerife musician Diego Navarro, to increasing the visibility of women who dedicate their professional lives to creating music in the audiovisual sector.
Winner of four Emmy Awards, Laura Karpman composed the film score for the cult science fiction miniseries ‘Taken’ (2002), by Steven Spielberg. Several pieces from this miniseries will be performed for audiences during the festival’s Closing Gala. This Thursday, Karpman will also be offering a master class entitled "Musical Challenges of the Documentary Genre " within the FFSA programme.
This year FIMUCITÉ is also pleased to have two outstanding Spanish film makers participating in events: Mar Targarona and Enrique Gato. As a producer Mar Targarona has received critical acclaim for her work ‘The Uninvited Guest’, ‘The Orphanage’, ‘Julia’s Eyes’, ‘The Body’, and ‘Who Killed Bambi?’, to name a few. As a director, she is responsible for ‘Boy Missing’ (2016), starring Blanca Portillo and José Coronado, and ‘El Fotógrafo de Mauthausen’ (2018), whichis due for release on October 26th.
Enrique Gato has spent more than 20 years working in animation creating videogames, series and 3D films that contain some of the most memorable characters from Spanish cinema, in particular Tadeo Jones.
This Wednesday, Mar Targarona and Enrique Gato will be participating in the FFSA master class "The Director-Composer Creative Process", with the composer and director of FIMUCITÉ, Diego Navarro. Both film makers have worked with Navarro who created the film scores for ‘Capture The Flag’ and ‘El Fotógrafo de Mauthausen’. The FIMUCITÉ Film Scoring Academy belongs to the educational branch of the festival, as do the matinee concerts performed for schools. On Thursday September 27th the Antonio Lecuona Auditorium plays host to one such concert - ‘Giants of the Silver Screen’ (‘Colosos de la Gran Pantalla’). The performance will be delivered by the FIMUCITÉ Symphonic Youth Orchestra, which includes young musicians who study at the Professional Conservatory of Music of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and at the Canary Islands Higher Conservatory of Music. For the third consecutive year, the orchestra is led by maestro José Antonio Cubas. This year’s programme will trace a path through musical masterpieces taken from films exploring cinema’s mythical beasts. A second performance for the general public will be held in the Teatro Guimerá on Sunday 30th September.
Additionally, at 10:30 on Friday 28th Lydia Kavina will be taking the stage to offer a concert for students. Kavina is unarguably the world’s most famous Theremin player and the world’s greatest advocate of this musical instrument. Kavina will be joined on stage by the FMF Youth Ensemble, which is formed by Karolina Rumian (violin), Natalia Herman (viola), Gabriela Ślusarczyk (violoncello), Joanna Wicik (piano), Matetuz Wilk (percussion) and Martyna Bachowska (contrabass), within the agreement between FIMUCITÉ and the prestigious Film Music Festival of Krakow.
Spanish Premiere of the live-to-picture concert ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’
On Friday 28th September, FIMUCITÉ XII will offer audiences a truly unique event - the Spanish premiere of the live-to-picture concert of Steven Spielberg’s ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’. This marks a historic landmark in the Canary Islands as audiences will have the chance to enjoy a Hollywood blockbuster on the big screen accompanied by a live performance of its film score for the very first time. The concert, conducted by Diego Navarro, will see the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife and the Tenerife Film Choir performing the legendary Oscar nominated score by John Williams in full while the film is being projected.
This original proposal original, the third of its kind in the world, will be hosted by the journalist / ufologist Javier Sierra, and the festival’s official host, Ana Molowny. The performance will include 8 minutes of unpublished music composed by Williams that has been rescued by the composer for this version of the feature film concert.
On Saturday 29th September at 12.00, Javier Sierra and Diego Navarro will be offering a conference in Real Casino de Tenerife entitled ‘Important Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ / 'Destacados Encuentros en la Tercera Fase'.
Awards and Tributes
The winner of the ‘Spanish Audiovisual Music Awards’ will also be announced during the FIMUCITÉ Closing Gala. This award ceremony is the joint initiative of FIMUCITÉ and Musimagen (Asociación de Compositores de Música para Audiovisual) aimed at recognising the creative talent in Spain. Nominees for the award are Carlos M. Jara for his score for the television series ‘Otros mundos’, Oscar Martín for the feature film ‘Red de libertad’, and Zacarías M. de la Riva for the soundtrack of the animated feature film ‘Tadeo Jones 2: El secreto del rey Midas’.
The XII Tenerife International Film Music Festival will also be paying posthumous homage to the composers Joe Harnell and Jóhann Jóhannsson.
Harnell, who passed away in 2005 aged 80, began his career as a pianist in the world of pop and jazz music. In 1963, he had a smash hit with his arrangement for "Fly Me to the Moon", which won him a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. At 49 years old, Harnell moved to Hollywood to begin working as a film and TV composer, participating in series such as ‘The Bionic Woman’, ‘The Incredible Hulk’ and ‘V’, which earned him an Emmy nomination in 1983. In a world premiere, the latter will be performed in the form of a Suite for orchestra and choir that has been especially arranged for FIMUCITÉ and for the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife.
At just 49 years old, Jóhann Jóhannsson passed away in February of this year. He received Oscar nominations for his scores for ‘Sicario’ (2015) and ‘The Theory of Everything (2014), the latter of which won him a Golden Globe. His other most celebrated work is the score he created for the science fiction film ‘Arrival’. In another world premiere as part of the evening’s events, pieces from this score will be performed in the Closing Gala of FIMUCITÉ XII.
This weekend’s events will also see the announcement of official competition winners for FIMUCINEMA XI during the concert ‘Giants of the Silver Screen’ on Sunday 30th September. A total of 21 short films, 6 documentaries, and 6 fiction feature films were shortlisted for this year’s competition and will be competing for the Alex North Award for Best Original Score in the category fiction feature films; the FIMUCINEMA Award for Best Original Score in the categories documentaries & short films; and the FIMUCINEMA Award for Best Original Song.
Film Series 'The Theremin: the music of science fiction’
FIMUCITÉ and Filmoteca Canaria will be offering the public the chance to see a selection of films as part of the film series ‘The Theremin: the music of science fiction’ / 'Theremín, la música de ciencia ficción'. The film series will run from 11th September until 25th October at Multicines Tenerife (La Laguna) and at Teatro Guiniguada (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria). The programme includes films dedicated to the Theremin, a unique electronic musical instrument that has been used in numerous science fiction and horror classics.
Sponsors and Collaborators
The XII Tenerife International Film Music Festival has been made possible thanks to the support and sponsorship of the Cabildo Insular de Tenerife, the Canary Islands Government, Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council, the companies AUDI, Dorada Especial, & Teleférico del Teide, and the collaboration of SGAE – the Spanish General Society of Authors and Publishers.