CHOIRS OF ANGELS
Sakamoto Ryuichi, the Japanese film composer and music supervisor who died in March, has been posthumously named as the recipient of the Jecheon Film Music Award at the 19th Jecheon International Music & Film Festival (Aug. 10-15). Sakamoto won Academy Awards and Golden Globes for his score for “The Last Emperor” and has other credits including “The Sheltering Sky,” “Railroad Man,” “The Revenant,” “Call Me By Your Name” and “The Fortress.”
Abrai Joji from Commons the music label established jointly with Sakamoto, and Yutaka Toyama from Promax, which had produced Sakamoto’s concerts since 1986, will visit the festival. Additionally, a tribute concert will be held on Aug. 12 at the Jecheon Stadium.
SPORTS PRODUCTION FUND
Sky
U.K. pay TV operator Sky has launched the New Focus Fund, designed to uncover fresh talent in sports content creation. Developed in recognition that traditional routes into sports media can be limited, and often attract narrow talent pools, the fund offers creators the opportunity to submit content ideas that they think Sky Sports is currently missing. Sky is looking for sports-based submissions across mediums, including television, social media and podcasts.
A panel including Sky Sports presenter Naomi Schiff and Sky Diversity Advisory Council member and ex-“Dragon’s Den” judge Piers Linney will assess the submissions against a criteria designed to identify the best inclusive sports content. The fund is open to independent production companies and content creators.
Successful applicants will take part in a 12-week development and skills exchange program, partnered with Sky Sports subject experts and senior stakeholders, to hone their ideas before being commissioned for production and premiered across relevant Sky Sports channels.
Applications close July 28. Apply here.
OZ PRIZE RACE
West Australia’s CinefestOZ festival has named four films to compete in its competition section, with the winner scooping a A$100,000 ($68,200) prize. “Bromley: Light After Dark,” by Sean McDonald will have its world premiere, while Matt Vesely’s “Monolith” will transfer from the Melbourne festival. “Shayda,” by Iranian-Australian Noora Niasari, which premiered in Sundance and will also play in Melbourne, joins the fray. So too does “The Rooster” directed by Mark Leonard Winter.
CinefestOZ CEO Cassandra Jordan said: “These films all explore personal identity through unique, clever and compelling storytelling and filmmaking, which made them the standouts from this year’s submissions for film prize.” The festival, held at Busselton, West Australia, runs Aug. 29 – Sept. 3.)
CHINESE SONGBIRD
Universal Music Publishing China has struck an exclusive, global publishing agreement with acclaimed Chinese singer-songwriter Tia Ray. She is the only Chinese singer to be listed on IFPI’s Top 10 Global Singles Chart with her hit song, “Be Apart,” the world’s seventh best-selling track in 2018. Additionally, her collaborative songwriting project, “TIVA000,” received the 2021 Original Song Award of CCTV Global Chinese Music Top 10, and her self-produced album “Once Upon A Moon” garnered two nominations – best female mandarin singer and best vocal recording album – at the Golden Melody Awards. She has recorded four studio albums and nearly 40 singles.
“In putting songwriters first, one of our primary goals is to foster a dynamic and healthy environment that nurtures songwriters’ originality and transcends boundaries,” said Joe Fang, MD of UMP China.