SoundTrack_Cologne 22 announces nominees for the PEER RABEN MUSIC AWARD

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:

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