WE WON!!!
Thursday evening was a weird one. Again. After watching all the films I sat back and relaxed, confident that I would not receive this award. The music in the other films were amazing, so I felt lucky to have been nominated! But then in Michael McLennan's twists and turns we all heard the magical words VEOV DRIVE, and after that it all got a bit blurry haha...
I am so proud of everyone involved, and so grateful for your hard work in making this happen, this is your award as much as mine!!! By the length of this post it might seem like I believe I've won an Academy Award or something 😜 I'm still grounded, sort of, but while producing these tracks I've worked with the most amazing bunch of people and they deserve all the praise I can possibly give them. I didn't dare mentioning any names yesterday in the fear of forgetting someone, so here they are:
First of all THANK YOU Vittoria Merlino-Dentice for your beautiful film Veov Drive. Without you there would have been nothing, literally. Thank you so much for bringing me along ❤️️ You're so talented and I love your determination and strong heart. I love how we share the mentality of never giving up in the search for our vision. Thank you for always trusting me, for giving me so much freedom and for being such an exceptional and dedicated director. I'm so looking forward to our future together!
Big thank yous to everyone involved in the making of the film, cast and crew, wonderful Petra Lovrencic for producing and Simon Allen for great sound and for mixing in the tracks in the film!
Tom Wood (Guitar): How I love you! I'm so lucky to have played with and known you for nearly three years now. Thanks for being an amazing musician, a beautiful friend and for always understanding my directions!
Sean Niven (Double Bass): You're so extremely talented and I'm sad that this time got so brief. Glad to have met you and looking forward to work with you again!
Scott Allan (Double Bass): Thank you for absolutely saving the project by stepping in after Sean's bass got damaged. Beautiful friend and talented band member, I'm so grateful for having you! <3
Kailesh Reitmans (Piano): How lucky I am to have met such a talented and dedicated pianist, thank you! Looking forward to be working with you again soon!
Jason Murray (Drums): I'm very happy to finally have worked with you! Thank you for your awesome playing!!!
Jessica Ford (Audio Engineer): You have undoubtedly been the most important individual in the making of these 5 tracks. Your highly professional recording and mixing skills have been invaluable. Thank you so much! <3
Sam Troy (Assistant Audio Engineer): Thank you for your amazing attention to detail, clever solutions and beautiful energy! And thank you for joining us for the screening and party 😀
Sivert Henriksen (Audio Engineer): Thank you very much for your quick assistance!
Norma Martin (Vocals): Your beautiful voice made my songs come alive in the most amazing way, thank you! It's been a treasure having you on board ❤️
Ulrik Arturén (Vocals): I'm so excited to have worked with you! You've got an amazing voice and it's a little bit unreal to have had you on the project. Thanks for proving once again that I can be anywhere in the world and still work with the people I want. (Ulrik recorded his and Ulrica's vocals in Sweden!!)
Ulrica Hansson (Backing Vocals): You talented, beautiful person, I'm so lucky to call you my sister and best friend. Thank you for making this happen! You smashed it!!!
Sophie Hanlon (Vocals): You're a true artist! I'm so impressed by your work and I can't wait to see you on the big stages around the world! Thank you ❤️
Phillip Johnston (Soprano/Alto/Tenor Saxophone): What an honor to have had you in the project, thank you so much!!! I'm so proud to have your beautiful playing in the tracks, especially your magic in In The Darkness. Thank you for your constant support and wisdom throughout the years and for always believing in me!
Kyle Eardley (Trumpet/Flugelhorn): I'm so glad to have met you! You're such a pro and I'm looking forward to be working together again soon! Thank you so much!
Mitch Lowe (Trombone): Thank you for being so awesome, you did an amazing job! Looking forward to work with you again soon!
Chris Higgins (Baritone Saxophone): You're as beautiful as your playing! I'm so impressed by how you can pick up almost any instrument and make it sound amazing! I'm proud to call myself your friend <3
James Williams (Piano): Thank you for helping me test the tunes. It's always great singing with you!
Also a big thank you to all the people who have helped me find the great players I was missing and other little things!: Gerald Nixon, Janice Carter Slater, Ryley Gillen, Jay Janus, Danny Claydon, Jesse Tachibana, David Johnson, Phil Edey, Gregory Bennett, Sean Moloney, Andrew Finlayson, Mitch Munro.
Thank you to all my friends who I've neglected with the word DEADLINES, but who persists staying in my life and making me a better person and my life a sunny place each day <3
And of course thank you Mathias Olofsson for always supporting me no matter what. For keeping me healthy with nettle leaf powder etc., for being my extra pair of ears and for hugging me in bed after late nights composing. For loving me and for being the most amazing person I know.
Big THANK YOU AIM (The Australian Institute of Music) with all your teachers, students and staff for always supporting and believing in me! It's thanks to you I got in contact with Sydney Film School in the first place (thank you wonderful Drew Crawford, Caitlin Yeo, Patrick Nellestein, Daniel Archer) and it's thanks to AIM that I now have had my first year "out" as a composer & lyricist, more than booked out with film and theatre projects throughout the year!!! Thank you so much for making me an independent music creator and a collaborator that people want to work with. And of course thank you for the beautiful recording space The Australian Hall this time and for all musicians and crew involved who you've nurtured!!!
Thank you so very much Sydney Film School (SFS) with all your students and teachers ❤️ Congratulations on being such an amazing place on earth and congratulations to all your students for making the world a better place through their films!!! And of course thank you Fiona Gillman (To The Top) and Melanie Jayne (Waiting In The Wings) for bringing me into this "family" last year. Thank you all for a great night and an awesome festival! Congratulations to everyone involved in all the 73 films this year! You're absolutely amazing and I'm so impressed by your work.
Also thank you SFS for again bringing on a strong successful woman as the keynote speaker! This year with Dr. Anna Broinowski. Thank you for seeing us as composers, directors etc. instead of FEMALE composers, FEMALE directors etc. and congratulations on (and THANK YOU for) changing the statistics in the film industry!!!
Thank you The Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC) with Guy Gross in the lead for sponsoring the award and for your great work supporting us composers!
I could not have asked for a better start of my career; two Best Composer awards, but above all, all the amazingly talented and beautiful film makers, musicians, audio engineers, singers, theatre makers and creators of life across the globe that I've met and who I'm now very proud to call my friends!!! I'm so looking forward to all the amazing work we will be making together in an attempt to make this world a better, kinder, more equal, greener and more beautiful place to live in ❤️ all my love to you!
From the bottom of my heart, thank you!
Maria Alfonsine
PS. We'll be releasing the tracks in January so stay tuned