Peer Raben Music Award - SoundTrack

In 2025, SoundTrack_Cologne 22 presents once more, the PEER RABEN MUSIC AWARD for the best music in a short film and cordially invites film composers* and filmmakers* to submit their short films with their original compositions.

First presented in 2009, the Award commemorates the great German film composer Peer Raben.

A price of 1,500 euros, donated by the Peer Raben Estate, will be given to one film score with innovative and dramaturgically coherent use of music and sound in relation to narration.

Submission deadline was on April 15, 2024, 10:00am CEST.

The award gala will take place on Friday, July 11, 2025.

Nine composers are nominated for the PEER RABEN MUSIC AWARD. The winner will be announced at the festival awards ceremony on 11th July at the WDR Funkhaus.

The PEER RABEN MUSIC AWARD honors the Best Original Music in a Short Film. The winner receives a prize money of 1,500 euros. First presented in 2009, the award commemorates the great German film composer Peer Raben.

Nominated are eight film scores from award-winning festival highlights of the international short film scene with an innovative and dramaturgically coherent use of music and sound in relation to the narrative. This year's selection includes prestigious winners such as "Bunnyhood," which premiered at Cannes and won third prize in La Cinéf category, and "Ordinary Life” / “Futsu no seikatsu”, which won the Silver Bear Jury Prize for Short Films at the 2025 Berlinale.

The nominees:

Victor Ardelean & Jiro Yoshioka ("Abyssness" directed by Jakob Arnu, Larissa Dold, Leonie Hecht, Moritz Hoffmann, Maximillian Otto, Theresa Rehe, Jonas Riedinger, Germany)
Philip Domenico Calisto ("ALARBA" directed by Joshua Kantara, Germany)
Marcus Sander ("As I Was a Tree" directed by Jalal Maghout, Germany/Syria)
Marcin Mazurek ("Bunnyhood" directed by Mansi Maheshwari, United Kingdom)
Clemens Gutjahr ("Detlev" directed by Ferdinand Ehrhardt, Germany)
Louis Chenu ("INSTINCTS" directed by Lucie Cabon, France)
Kengo Tokusashi ("ORDINARY LIFE" / “Futsu no seikatsu” directed by Mizushiri Yoriko, France/Japan)
Lukas Stipar ("Woodland" directed by Vanessa Chu, Jim Obmann, Emil Pogolski, Germany)

The competition screening will take place on Wednesday, July 9th at 18:30 at Odeon cinema. To buy tickets for the screening, click here.

The surreal "Abyssness" tells the story of a farmer who discovers a black hole in his field and turns it into a profitable garbage disposal business. In the sacred jungles of Oussouye, "ALARBA" brings us into the sacred jungles of Oussouye for an intimate portrait of friendship and tradition. "As I Was a Tree" explores themes of identity and perception through a surreal odyssey of self-discovery. The Cannes-awarded "Bunnyhood" follows Bobby, whose innocent world is disrupted by an unexpected hospital trip that reveals her mother's deception. "Detlev" presents a darkly comedic character study of isolation and ritual. In the dystopian "INSTINCTS," Inès and Adrien become fugitives in a future where abortion is criminalized. The Berlinale Silver Bear winner ("ORDINARY LIFE" / “Futsu no seikatsu” contemplates how daily routines repeat yet never remain the same. "Woodland" follows a magical forest creature desperately trying to save its dying forest and nature through music with a fragile flower flute.

The nominees and their films will be presented to audience and jury under the moderation by André Feldhaus (composer).

Here you can find more information about our nominees and the jury members:

NOMINEES

Victor Ardelean

Victor Ardelean is a Spanish, Munich-based composer, arranger and music producer. His symphonic works and arrangements have been performed by the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and Munich Symphony Orchestra. He has scored productions for public TV.

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Victor Ardelean

Composer

Victor Ardelean

Composer

Victor Ardelean, born in Madrid in 1997, is a Spanish, Munich-based composer, arranger and music producer. His symphonic works and arrangements have been performed by the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and Munich Symphony Orchestra. As a film composer, he has scored several productions for public TV (ARD, ARTE, Terra Mater) and is regularly involved in projects at the University of Television and Film Munich, which have won several awards (including Best Film and Best Sound at the German Youth Film Award 2023). In 2024 he completed his studies in composition for film and media with Prof. Gerd Baumann. He is also co-founder and board member of the Momentbühne e.V. and is thus committed to international cooperation projects in the fields of theatre, music and dance.

Filmo:

music for film:

2025:
Zu Groß für Später (short film - HFF München)

2024:
Vietnam Nord nach Süd (documentary - ARTE )

2023:
Das Wesen des Wandels (documentary - Terra Mater)
Matriarchate in der Tierwelt: Wenn die Weibchen die Macht haben (documentary - ARTE )
Wind Up (short film - HFF München)
Schattenspiel (short film - HFF München)
Sender & Empfänger (short film - HFF München)

2022:
Bloody Secrets (short film - HFF München)
Planet B (short film - HFF München)
Metamorfon (short film - HFF München)
Wilder Frühling: Tierische Liebe zwischen Oberrhein und Zugspitze (documentary - ARD )
UnVernunft (short film - HFF München)

2021:
Außenseiter (short film - HFF München)
Spuk: Leben mit dem Unheimlichen (miniseries - MDR x ARD)
Walzer im Bademantel (short film - HFF München)

concert music:

Los Pitutos Sinfónicos (orchestral arrangements)
Concert 03.07.2024 @ Isarphilharmonie München
Münchner Symphoniker & Los Pitutos

Glitter Path - für Hackbrett Duo
Premiere 5.11. 2023 @ Kulturverein Haar
Birgitt Stolzenburg & Lisa Schöttl (Tenor-Hackbrett)

Philip Calisto →

Philip Calisto

With 15+ years of experience, Philip Calisto is a multilingual composer whose work spans film, theater, and media. Trained at ArtEZ, his recent scores include The Robbery (Amnesty), ALARBA, and Paulchen (Porsche Museum).

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Philip Calisto

Composer, Music Producer

Philip Calisto

Composer, Music Producer

Philip Domenico Calisto is a composer, music producer, and musician with a background shaped by movement across cultures and disciplines. Born in Italy and raised in Berlin, he has lived and worked in Latin America, studied composition for film and theatre in the Netherlands, and now calls Berlin home again.

Classically trained in piano and self-taught on bass and drums, he has been making music for over 15 years. He’s curious, intuitive, and driven by a hands-on approach – always exploring, experimenting, and following his gut feeling. From singing at the Berlin Philharmonie as a teenager to opening the Christopher Street Day at the Brandenburg Gate, from working with Musicians Without Borders on the Galápagos Islands to composing music for film and advertising – his journey spans a wide range of genres and creative environments. Along the way, he also gained industry insights during a stint at Sony Music.

Philip speaks four languages fluently and feels at home in collaborative, cross-cultural environments. He is currently building Bonaparte Sonic – the new in-house audio department of Bonaparte Films – where music, storytelling and sound design come together under one roof.

Filmo:

- The Robbery (Short for Amnesty International - 2025)

- ALARBA (Dokumentarischer Kurzfilm, gedreht in Senegal - 2024)

- Paulchen (Kurzfilm für das Porsche Museum - 2024)

- Krocketpartie (2022)

- Campus Galli - Das Abenteuer geht weiter (2022)

- Auf der anderen Seite die Freiheit (2022)

- How I've Met God (2022)

- Weg von hier (2021)

← Victor Ardelean Louis Chenu →

Louis Chenu

Louis Chenu is a French composer whose poetic musical style spans symphonic, electro, and pop. A CNSMD Lyon graduate, he has scored numerous films and assisted on acclaimed features like Les Filles d’Olfa. His work has earned several awards.

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Louis Chenu

Composer

Louis Chenu

Composer

Through symphonic music, electro or pop music; the musical universe of Louis Chenu has poetry as its major inspiration. After training at the CNSMD in Lyon, he composed numerous music for different films. He also worked on the feature film “Les Filles d’Olfa” by Kaouther Ben Hania (Amine Bouhafa’s score assistant). He has received prizes and awards for his work.

His music, sometimes intimate and sometimes whimsical, seeks above all to express the singularity of each story it accompanies.

Filmo:
Short film

Instincts (2024), Lucie Cabon
Happy Deal (2024), Les frères Lopez
No Home Movies (2024), Amaïllia Bordet.
Nirayam (2024) Mukesh Kumaravel.
La chienne et les vautours (2024), Juliette Moncuit.
Papier bulle (2023), Zoé Collard.
La faute à personne (2023), Juliette Moncuit.
Technotherapie (2022), Zoé Collard.
Coffee Racer (2020), Alessandro Brossollet.
Aurore (2020) de Thomas Vanz.
De l’autre côté des montagnes (2019), Nina Doré.
Hôtel La parenthèse (2019), Maxime Kreber.
La boite à curiosités (2019), série YouTube créée par Marie.
Teaser (2019) Festival International du Film d’Aubagne.
The Hunt (2018), Hugo Baurens.
The Stalk (2018), Evance Breteuil.
Les derniers loups (2017), Alix Lenoir.

Feature film

Mourir à 13 ans (2024), Éric Ellena.
Rendez-vous avec Diego (2022), Lucas Morales.
Les fantômes du sanatorium (2020), Frédéric Goldbronn.
Dracula est amoureux (2024), Lucas Morales.
Boundary Waters (2024), Tessa Blake [score assistant of Valentin Hadjadj)
Les filles d’Olfa (2023), Kaouther Ben Hania. [score assistant of Amine Bouhafa]
Le temps d’aimer (2023), Katell Quillévéré [score assistant of Amine Bouhafa]
Animalia (2023), Sofia Alaoui. [score assistant of Amine Bouhafa]
Polaris (2023), Ainara Vera. [score assistant of Amine Bouhafa]
Alma Viva (2022), Cristèle Alves Meira. [score assistant of Amine Bouhafa]
Nos frangins (2022), Rachid Bouchareb [score assistant of Amine Bouhafa]
Sous les figues (2022), Erige Sehiri. [score assistant of Amine Bouhafa]
Nika (2022), Vasilisa Kusmina. [score assistant of Amine Bouhafa]

TV Show

Families like ours (2024), Thomas Vinterbeg NETFLIX (score assistant of Valentin Hadjadj)

Tapie (2023), Tristant Séguéla, Olivier Demangel. NETFLIX [score assistant of Amine Bouhafa]

Jamais sans toi, Louna (2019), Yann Samuell. TF1 [score assistant of Cyrille Aufort]

La Veillée (2018), Overlook Media. Diffusée sur C8

← Philip Calisto Clemens Gutjahr →

Clemens Gutjahr

Clemens Gutjahr is a composer for film, theatre, and games. A Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg alum, he scored numerous shorts and is now working on a mystery adventure game and an upcoming feature film. He has released two trio albums.

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Clemens Gutjahr

Composer

Marcin Mazurek

Marcin Mazurek is a London-based Polish composer and NFTS graduate. His scores have featured at Cannes, Sundance, and the BAFTAs—where Rock, Paper, Scissors won Best British Short Film (2025). He was nominated for Best Score at the 2024 HMMA Awards.

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Marcin Mazurek

Composer

Marcus Sander

Marcus Sander has a master degree in film scoring. He worked several times with the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg. In addition to his film music career, he is composing and playing guitar in post-black-metal bands.

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Marcus Sander

Composer

Lukas Stipar

Lukas Stipar is studying Composition for Film and Media at the University of Music and Theatre Munich. His compositional style draws from a wide range of musical influences, merging acoustic and electronic elements into into intriguing sound worlds.

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Lukas Stipar

Composer

Kengo Tokusashi

Kengo Tokusashi is a composer born in Aomori, Japan in 1980. He received the 20th Japan Society for Contemporary Music Award for Composers and the 1st prize of 10th Tokyo International Competition for Chamber Music Composition.

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Kengo Tokusashi

Composer

Jiro Yoshioka

Jiro Yoshioka (*2000) is a rising composer whose works have been performed by the North Czech Philharmonic and premiered at the Munich Biennale. He has scored films like PhantomRide and Kristallkind, and collaborates with HFF and NYU Tisch.

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Jiro Yoshioka

Composer