The Screen Composers Guild of Canada (SCGC) has announced the winners for the second annual Canadian Screen Music Awards (CASMA) on Thursday 26 October at the El Mocambo in Toronto. These awards honour composers for their outstanding work in media and screen-based industries and are the first to be juried and awarded by fellow composers in Canada.

A total of 52 musical works received nominations in 11 categories covering feature film, television, animation, documentary, games and interactive media.  The SCGC also presented the Distinguished Services to the Industry Award to Darren Fung.

Best Original Score, Animated Series or Special

Nominees

• 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”

Winners: Spencer Creaghan & Neil Parfitt – “Matchbox Adventures: Season 3”

Best Original Score, Comedy Series or Special

Nominees

• John Rowley – “Pretty Hard Cases: Always A Bridesmaid”
• Peter Chapman – “The Lake: Midsommar Madness”

Winners: Peter Chapman & Maylee Todd – “Workin’ Moms: The End”

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

Nominees

• 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”

Winner: Ben Fox – “The Climate Baby Dilemma”

Best Original Score for a Documentary Feature Film

Nominees

• 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)”

Winner: Jonathan Kawchuk – “True Survivors”

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

Nominees

• 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”

Winner: Spencer Creaghan – “Slasher: Ripper – The Slaughterhouse”

Best Original Score for Games and Interactive Media

Nominees

• Andrea Wettstein & Alec Harrison – “Windborne: Call of the Canadian Rockies”
• Blake Matthews – “Tiny Colony”
• Janal Bechthold – “Loki’s Castle”

Winner: Jim Guthrie – “Nobody Saves The World”

Best Original Main Title Theme Music (Sponsored by SOCAN)

Nominees

• Andrew Lockington – “Mayor Of Kingstown”
• Brian Chan & Caleb Chan – “Builder Brothers Dream Factory”
• Brian Kobayakawa – “Jackals & Fireflies”
• Justin Delorme – “Diaspora”

Winner: Layal Watfeh – “Under Guardianship – Taht Al Wisaya”

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

Nominees

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

Winner: Steph Copeland – “Outpost”

Best Original Song (Sponsored by Music Publishers Canada)

Nominees

• 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”

Winners – Jesse Zubot, Wayne Lavallee & Marie Clements – “You Are My Bones”

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

Nominees

• Blake Matthew – “Nahuales”
• Daniela Pinto – “Diaspora”
• Noora Nakhaei – “Printemps”
• Suad Bushnaq – “Corvine”

Winner: Amin Bhatia – “Jane Goodall’s Reasons for Hope”

Best Original Score for a Television Special

Nominees

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

Winner: Kristjan Bergey – “Swindler Seduction”

Distinguished Services to the Industry Award

Winner: Darren Fung

Congratulations to all nominees and winners and thanks again to our 2023 sponsors: