NEW DELHI: Renowned French composer Francis Lai is all set to receive the world Soundtrack Lifetime Achievement Award at the 14th World Soundtrack Awards’s focus on France.
The 14th World Soundtrack Awards and Concert will take place on October 25 at Kuipke in Ghent on the concluding day of the 41st Film Fest Gent which will begin on October 14 and will focus on France.
Francis Lai (born in 1932 in Nice) became world famous with A man and a woman (1966) which is his first score for a film by Claude Lelouch, for whom he went on to compose over 30 scores during the next four decades.
The Oscar winning film A man and a Woman launched the career of Lelouch and made Lai a celebrated French film composer with an international career. Thanks to the ‘chabadabada’ tune, the music of A man and a woman topped the music charts. In this film, as well as in the follow-up Live for Life (1967), he introduced the authentic use of both English and French chansons sung by Pierre Barouh and Nicole Croisille, which became an innovative, refreshing and romantic sound in French film music.
In 1970 Lai scored his biggest international hit with the soundtrack of the phenomenal blockbuster Love Story (1970) by Arthur Hiller. He achieved his biggest cult success with the film Bilitis (1977) by softcore sex photographer David Hamilton. Other acclaimed films for which he composed the music are Rider on the Rain by Rene Clement, Anima Persa by Dino Risi, My New Partner by Claude Zidi and Dark Eyes by Nikita Mikhalkov.
During the WSA concert a selection of his work will be performed by the Brussels Philharmonic and conducted by Dirk Brossé.
In addition, Jeff Neve’s captivating music for the prestigious Flemish drama series In Flanders Fields will also be receiving some deserved attention that evening. With this score, Jef Neve proved that he is not only a gifted jazz musician but also a very inspiring composer of many talents. He will be performing a selection of the music he wrote, accompanied by footage from the series.
Confirmed central guests and performers at the World Soundtrack Awards are American composer Cliff Martinez (Drive, Only God Forgives, Contagion and Spring Breakers) and 2013 WSA Discovery Award winner Dan Romer (Beasts of the Southern Wild).
