Three-time Academy Award-winning composer Howard Shore composed the original score to The Lost Prince, a family adventure film by French director and Academy Award-winner Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist).

For his newest project, Hazanavicius tells the story of Djibi (Omar Sy – The Intouchables) and his daughter Sofia. Every night, to help her fall asleep, Djibi takes Sofia to ‘Storyland’, a fictitious film studio where their extraordinary fairy-tale adventures – starring Djibi in the lead role as the brave Prince – come to life. However, every child has to grow up at a certain point, a reality Djibi will have to face.

Just as for The Artist, director Michel Hazanavicius returns to his beloved ‘behind-the-scenes’ technique. In the case of The Lost Prince, the characters are passing from the real world to the imaginary fairy-tale world of the film set.

As he was looking for a ‘musical color close to the Pixar films’ for his family adventure film, French director Michel Hazanavicius really wanted to collaborate with Maestro Howard Shore. Shore composed a joyful original score, full of beautiful colours and very specific instrumental sounds, which perfectly illustrates the nostalgic fairy-tale atmosphere in The Lost Prince.

Michel Hazanavicius about his collaboration with Howard Shore:

‘I thought Howard would be unavailable because of his very busy schedule but the script moved him and he liked my previous work. Thus far, Howard is mostly known for his dramatic and tense scores, but he has also composed more light-hearted themes. What I love about Howard’s approach, is that he prioritizes the character and always manages – thanks to his beautifully developed melodies – to create a true emotion for them. I’m very keen on using musical themes which take their time to develop throughout the film, instead of the current trend in US cinema to rather rely on sound design, namely sound, colours, structures and rhythms. (…) Howard is able to follow the comedy aspects of the film whenever necessary, but also creates impressive lyrical themes when the situation calls for it.’

Howard Shore was happy to be part of this family-adventure film: ‘What a joy to work with Michel on this most beautiful film. The story is particularly close to my heart.’

©IMDB

Tracklist:
1. Le Prince Oublié
2. Le monde des histoires
3. Le grand studio
4. Le passé, le présent et le futur
5. Le Prince apparaît
6. Histoire finie, avant même de commencer
7. La femme à la porte
8. Sofia se retourne le dos
9. Pritprout
10. On reprend le plan
11. Sur la pointe des pieds
12. Des rôles pour tout le monde
13. Earthquake!
14. La Princesse est en danger
15. Les Oubliettes
16. La Reine Mère
17. Un cœur vaillant
18. C’est fini pour de bon
19. Ça y est
20. C’est l’histoire des Oubliés
21. Tell Me A Story (Natalie Prass)
22. Papa (Fantine)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gntyId_b1Ws

The 49th edition of IFFR (International Film Festival Rotterdam) kicked off on Wednesday, 22 January with a screening of Mosquito, a WWI drama directed by João Nuno Pinto.

The festival’s focus is on recent work by talented new filmmakers. Featuring over 600 carefully curated fiction and documentary feature films, short films, media art and an alluring programme for the music buff, the festival promises to delight and inspire every single one of its visitors.

One of the highlights of this year’s edition is the world premiere of David Cronenberg‘s 1996 cult thriller ‘Crash’ live in concert. The cinematic score will be brought to life by the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Mike Schäperclaus.

Almost a quarter-century old, the film got a highly anticipated uncut, NC-17 4K restoration last summer and premiered at Venice Film Festival on 6 September.

ELIAS KOTEAS AND DEBORAH KARA UNGER IN CRASH

This particular production will feature Howard Shore’s original (albeit restored) sheet music, including the original instrumentation (did someone say 6 electric guitars?!).

Howard Leslie Shore is a prolific, multiple Oscar-winning film composer world-renowned for his film scores, including classics such as ‘Se7en’, ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ and Martin Scorsese‘s ‘The Departed’, ‘The Aviator’, ‘Hugo’ and ‘Gangs of New York’. His popularity reached new heights with the birth of his magnificent opus for ‘The Lord of the Rings’ film trilogy, which is arguably the most complex sonic world-building since Richard Wagner’s ‘Der Ring des Nibelungen’. This timeless score effectively established the sound of Middle Earth.

HOWARD SHORE ©BENJAMIN EALOVEGA

Shore is also a long-term collaborator of David Cronenberg, having scored most of his films since 1979, including the dark horror thrillers ‘The Fly’ and ‘Videodrome’. The two will be reunited during this very special event taking place in the heart of the festival, the main auditorium of de Doelen, on 31 January at 21:00.

This is a unique event promises to be a tantalising live audio-visual experience not to be missed.

Masterclass with Howard Shore

However, the film in concert is not the only surprise Howard Shore’s fans will get to enjoy during the festival. The composer will also be attending a masterclass moderated by Kaleem Aftab (The Independent, Indiewire), where the composer will give the audience an insight into his working methods, his collaboration with various film directors, his views on music, and much, much more.

The masterclass will take place on 1 February, at 13:00, at De Doelen – Willem Burger Hall.

This year’s edition of IFFR is taking place between 22 January and 2 February 2020. For more information, tickets, as well as the full line-up on, visit the IFFR website.