Zurich, 28. May 2026
The ZFF honours acclaimed composer and Academy Award winner Gabriel Yared with the Career Achievement Award. During the «Cinema in Concert» Gala on 1 October 2026, he will be presented with the Golden Eye in recognition of his outstanding lifetime achievement. Yared will also serve as Jury President of the 14th International Film Music Competition (IFMC). Widely regarded as one of the defining voices of international film music, Yared created unforgettable soundscapes for films such as THE ENGLISH PATIENT, THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY, COLD MOUNTAIN and BETTY BLUE. His score for THE ENGLISH PATIENT earned him an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a Grammy Award and a BAFTA.
Each year, the Zurich Film Festival presents honorary awards to outstanding filmmakers whose work has shaped the international cinematic landscape. With the Career Achievement Award, the ZFF this year celebrates the multifaceted lifetime achievement of Gabriel Yared. With Yared, the Festival honours an Oscar winner for the sixth consecutive year – a remarkable testament to the award’s international prestige and growing significance within the world of film music. «Gabriel Yared belongs among the giants of film music. His compositions evoke profound emotions that linger long after the final note.
«Gabriel Yared belongs among the giants of film music. His compositions evoke profound emotions that linger long after the final note. Since the 1980s, Yared has left an indelible mark on cinema through his extraordinary ability to give the great films of his time a distinctive musical identity. His body of work is characterised by remarkable cultural breadth – from iconic films such as THE LIVES OF OTHERS and BETTY BLUE to epic love stories such as CITY OF ANGELS and THE ENGLISH PATIENT. His richly atmospheric scores are shaped by influences from the Middle East, his time in Brazil, and European musical traditions. It is precisely this artistic diversity that makes him a role model for generations of composers. It is a great honour for us to present Gabriel Yared with our Career Achievement Award», says Reta Guetg, Festival Director of the ZFF.
Gabriel Yared says: «I am proud and honored to receive the Career Achievement Award from the Zurich Film Festival, as well as to be invited to be the president of the Jury of the International Film Music Competition, which gives young film composers the opportunity to have their work performed and heard.»
From Beirut to Hollywood
Gabriel Yared was born in Beirut in 1949 and moved to Paris in the early 1970s, where he studied composition with, among others, Henri Dutilleux and Maurice Ohana. From 1973 onwards, he established himself as an arranger and musical director within the French music scene, collaborating with artists such as Jacques Dutronc, Johnny Hallyday, Charles Aznavour and Françoise Hardy.
Yared’s career as a film composer began in 1979 with the scores for SAUVE QUI PEUT (LA VIE) by Jean-Luc Godard and MALEVIL by Christian de Chalonge. His international breakthrough followed in the 1980s through his collaborations with Jean-Jacques Beineix, including BETTY BLUE. Over the following decades, Yared became one of the leading voices in international film music, working with directors such as Jean-Jacques Annaud, Robert Altman and, most notably, Anthony Minghella.
His music for THE ENGLISH PATIENT in particular remains widely regarded as a landmark achievement in modern film scoring.
Alongside his work for cinema, Yared also composed music for ballet productions at the Paris Opera and the Royal Opera Ballet in London. In recent years, he has collaborated with Xavier Dolan on IT’S ONLY THE END OF THE WORLD and THE DEATH AND LIFE OF JOHN F. DONOVAN, as well as with Angelina Jolie and Rupert Gould. In 2020, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Soundtrack Awards during Film Fest Gent. |
