Composing for Film

Composing for Film at SoundTrack_Cologne 23

Music is one of cinemas's most powerful storytelling tools, shaping how we feel, remember, and understand what we see on screen. As part of the Composing for Film Day at SoundTrack_Cologne 23, taking place on Thursday, July 16, our guest composers will discuss their creative approaches to scoring for film: translating image, emotion, and story into music. From intimate, independent projects to genre-defining blockbusters, their work spans a remarkably wide range of genres and styles.

This year, we are proud to welcome Finnish composer Panu Aaltio, the 2026 HARPA Nordic Film Composers Award recipient for Little Siberia, and the only composer to have won the IFMCA Best Documentary Score award for all three films of a trilogy: Tale of a Forest (2013) · Tale of a Lake (2017) and Tale of the Sleeping Giants (2022).

Joining him is Nathan Larson, whose acclaimed scores for films such as Boys Don't Cry · High Fidelity · Margin Call and The Woodsman, have established him as one of independent cinema's most distinctive voices.

We are also pleased to welcome Swiss composer Mirjam Skal (Les Courageux), recently honoured with the Rolf-Hans Müller Prize for Best Film Score (awarded for her soundtrack to the Tatort episode Of Apes and Men) and the German Documentary Film Music Award (Vracht).

Closing this year’s Composing for Film Day is our Career Achievement Award 2026 honouree, Christopher Young, whose more than 160 film scores, from Hellraiser to Spider-Man 3, have made him one of the most versatile voices in contemporary film music.

Composing for Films
Thursday, July 16 · COMEDIA Theater, Roter Saal

10:30 - 11:30
Panu Aaltio
Little Siberia - winner of the HARPA Nordic Film Composers Award 2026
Workshop · Discussion

12:00 - 13:00
Nathan Laron
Boys Don't Cry · High Fidelity · Margin Call
Workshop · Discussion

14:30 - 15:30
Mirjam Skal
Les Courageux · Vracht - winner of the German Documentary Film Music Award 2025
Workshop · Discussion

16:00 - 17:30
Christopher Young
Hellraiser· Spider-Man 3 · Norma Jean & Marilyn
Conversation with the STC23 Career Achievement Award Winner