CASMA 2023 Nominees and Winners

The best in Canadian Screen Composing

On 26 October 2023 at the El Mocambo in Toronto, the Screen Composers Guild of Canada announced the winners for the second annual Canadian Screen Music Awards. A total of 52 musical works received nominations in 11 categories covering feature film, television, animation, documentary, games and interactive media.  The SCGC also present the Distinguished Services to the Industry Award to Darren Fung.

Best Original Score, Animated Series or Special

  • WINNERS – Spencer Creaghan & Neil Parfitt – “Matchbox Adventures: Season 3”
  • Caleb Chan & Brian Chan – “Pinecone and Pony: The Sturdy Stone”
  • Erica Procunier – “The Mystery of Lookout Mountain (Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go)”
  • Neil Parfitt – “Super Wish: The Legend of Cake-Bun Bottom”
  • Peter Chapman – “Happy House of Frightenstein: Lucky Spell”

Best Original Score, Comedy Series or Special

  • WINNERS – Peter Chapman & Maylee Todd – “Workin’ Moms: The End”
  • John Rowley – “Pretty Hard Cases: Always A Bridesmaid”
  • Peter Chapman – “The Lake: Midsommar Madness”

Best Original Score, Documentary, Factual, Reality Series or Special

  • WINNER – Ben Fox – “The Climate Baby Dilemma”
  • Andrew Gordon Macpherson – “Tales From The Territories: Andy Kaufman vs. The King of Memphis”
  • Justin Delorme – “The Nature of Things: Grizzly Rewild”
  • Peter Chapman – “Cross Country Cake Off: Holiday Finale”
  • Peter Chapman – “Mary Makes it Easy: Overnight Guests”

Best Original Score for a Documentary Feature Film

  • WINNER – Jonathan Kawchuk – “True Survivors”
  • Agatha Kaspar – “The Long Weekend”
  • Ben Fox – “Cynara”
  • Mark Dolmont – “Satan Wants You”
  • Stéphanie Hamelin Tomala – “J’ai placé ma mère (I lost my mom)”

Best Original Score, Dramatic Series or Special (Sponsored by DGC National)

  • WINNER – Spencer Creaghan – “Slasher: Ripper – The Slaughterhouse”
  • Ari Posner, Amin Bhatia & Joel Schwartz – “Ride: Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace”
  • Caleb Chan & Brian Chan – “Panhandle: Machetes Out”
  • Jeff Danna – “Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities: Graveyard Rats”
  • Lora Bidner and Rob Carli – “Ruby and the Well: I Wish The Well Would Let Us Be Forever”

Best Original Score for Games and Interactive Media

  • WINNER – Jim Guthrie – “Nobody Saves The World”
  • Andrea Wettstein & Alec Harrison – “Windborne: Call of the Canadian Rockies”
  • Blake Matthews – “Tiny Colony”
  • Janal Bechthold – “Loki’s Castle”

Best Original Main Title Theme Music (Sponsored by SOCAN)

  • WINNER – Layal Watfeh – “Under Guardianship – Taht Al Wisaya”
  • Andrew Lockington – “Mayor Of Kingstown”
  • Brian Chan & Caleb Chan – “Builder Brothers Dream Factory”
  • Brian Kobayakawa – “Jackals & Fireflies”
  • Justin Delorme – “Diaspora”

Best Original Score for a Narrative Feature Film (Sponsored by Orchestral Tools)

  • WINNER – Steph Copeland – “Outpost”
  • Michelle Osis – “Fixation”
  • Steph Copeland – “Laced”
  • Todor Kobakov – “Brother”
  • Tom Third – “The Young Arsonists”

Best Original Song (Sponsored by Music Publishers Canada)

  • WINNERS – Jesse Zubot, Wayne Lavallee & Marie Clements – “You Are My Bones”
  • Alexandra Petkovski & Kris Kovacs – “Deathloop: Deja Vu Remix”
  • Craig McConnell – “The Bullet or the Blade”
  • Spencer Creaghan & Milen Petzelt Sorace – “My Little Pony Make Your Mark”
  • Stephen Krecklo & Ashley Jane – “How Lucky Am I”

Best Original Score for a Short Film (Sponsored by Cinesamples)

  • WINNER – Amin Bhatia – “Jane Goodall’s Reasons for Hope”
  • Blake Matthew – “Nahuales”
  • Daniela Pinto – “Diaspora”
  • Noora Nakhaei – “Printemps”
  • Suad Bushnaq – “Corvine”

Best Original Score for a Television Special

  • WINNER – Kristjan Bergey – “Swindler Seduction”
  • Adrian Ellis – “Love in Wolf Creek”
  • Medhat Hanbali – “Queen Rising”
  • Sean Nimmons-Paterson & Stephen Krecklo – “Hotel for the Holidays”
  • Steph Copeland – “Designing Christmas”

Distinguished Services to the Industry Award

  • Darren Fung

Watch the 2023 CASMAs

The Screen Composers Guild of Canada celebrated the Canadian Screen Music Awards (CASMA) in September 2023 with in a live ceremony held at Toronto’s historic El Mocambo venue.

The proceedings were also live streamed for those unable to attend in person.