The Mess Hall's Jed Kurzel Wins Film Score Of The Year At 2015 Screen Music Awards

Celebrated Aussie composer and musican Jed Kurzel — he of The Mess Hall fame — has received top honours at tonight's 2015 Screen Music Awards, at which he was bestowed with the prize of Film Score Of The Year for his string-based score for acclaimed flick Slow West.

The victory makes Kurzel a two-time winner of the prize, having previously picked up the same award in 2011 for Snowtown, having spent intervening time further demonstrating his talent through lauded productions Babadook and Macbeth.

Kurzel is one of a growing number of musicians garnering recognition in the screen-music industry after having spent considerable time in more mainstream pursuits; ex-Models/Icehouse keyboardist Roger Mason, for example, also picked up another SMA this evening — Best Television Theme — for his work on The Code, following his win in 2014 for Best Music For A Mini-Series Or Telemovie category (which this year was bestowed upon Burkhard Dallwitz, for The Secret River). Additionally, renowned musicians Shane Howard and Archie Roach also emerged victorious tonight, picking up the nod for Best Original Song Composed For The Screen for The Secret River's track A Secret River.

However, there's no denying the career composers play to win, with the Academy Award-nominated David Hirschfelder — who last year took out the Film Score Of The Year prize and already had six SMAs to his name before tonight's event — claiming another two awards this year, for Best Soundtrack Album (The Water Diviner) and Best Music For A Television Series Or Serial (Banished), taking his Screen Music Award shelf up to eight-strong, a lucky number seemingly across the board, as composer Neil Sutherland walked away with the Most Performed Screen Composer — Overseas accolade for the eighth year running (and total prizes to 10, making him the most-awarded screen composer in Australia).

Additionally, last year's recipients of the International Achievement Award, The D.A's Office's Adam Gock and Dinesh Wicks, also return in 2015 to claim another prize, this time with the distinction of winning the Most Performed Screen Composer — Australia category.

Rob Carlton returned to host proceedings for a second consecutive year, with on-stage presentations coming courtesy of David Field, Sophie Lowe, Sue Maslin, Virginia Gay, Clare Bowditch, Stephen Luby and Lisa Gerrard. Howard & Roach were also on hand to deliver a special performance, as were additional entertainers Go Freek and Dom Dolla. Musical direction was provided by Emmy winner Ashley Irwin, performing excerpts from classic Australian feature films Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975), Burke & Wills (1985), Babe (1995) and Wolf Creek (2005).

See the full list of winners below.

2015 screen music awards — winners list

Feature Film Score of the Year

Title Slow West
Composed by Jed Kurzel

Best Music for a Documentary

Best Music for a Short Film

Best Soundtrack Album

Best Original Song Composed for the Screen

Best Music for Children’s Television

Best Television Theme

Best Music for a Television Series or Serial

Best Music for an Advertisement

Best Music for a Mini-Series or Telemovie

Most Performed Screen Composer – Australia

Adam Gock and Dinesh Wicks

Most Performed Screen Composer – Overseas

Neil Sutherland