Daniel Pemberton takes top film music prize as Golden wins best song in Ghent
British composer Daniel Pemberton has been named Film Composer of the Year at the 26th World Soundtrack Awards in Ghent, Belgium.
The announcement came on Saturday 10 October 2026, closing three days of concerts and industry events in the city, according to Variety. Pemberton, an Emmy-winning composer, was honoured for four scores: “Project Hail Mary,” “The Drama,” “The Bad Guys 2” and “Masters of the Universe.”
It is his third win at the awards. He previously took Film Composer of the Year in 2021, for “Enola Holmes,” “Rising Phoenix” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” and Discovery of the Year in 2014, according to the awards’ winners archive.
“Project Hail Mary” had entered the race late. The space drama was among the second wave of nominees announced in August, alongside “Sirat” and “KPop Demon Hunters,” and Pemberton was also in the running for the Public Choice Award for the film, according to Screen Daily.
That animated musical took its own prize. EJAE and Mark Sonnenblick won Best Original Song for “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters.” The song is credited to Kim Eun-jae, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak and Yu Han Le. Composer Marcelo Zarvos had carried the film’s score into the Public Choice vote.
Television Composer of the Year went to Jeff Russo for “Alien: Earth,” “Cape Fear” and Season 2 of “Citadel.” The category covers music written directly for TV series, where schedules are tight and episodes land week after week.
Other honours went to new names and familiar ones. Kevin Smithers won the Public Choice Award, voted by fans, for the Mexican stop-motion feature “Soy Frankelda.” Hannah Peel won Discovery of the Year, given to emerging talent. Trevor Jones received the lifetime achievement award, while Hildur Guðnadóttir was guest of honour at the closing gala.
For fans, this means two of the year’s most talked-about titles leave Ghent with different kinds of recognition. One for score, one for song.
The awards form the centrepiece of Film Music Days, which ran from 8 to 10 October. The programme included a concert on 8 October built around Mary Lattimore and “Old Joy,” and a 9 October concert built around múm and “La Vie Revée,” before the Ceremony and Concert on 10 October.
