As a lead up to the 2026 Canadian Screen Awards, Core is shining the spotlight on some of our nominated composers with a series we call, "THE ART OF FILM SCORING”, where we interview, probe and prompt composers to talk about their process - this week composer JESSE ZUBOT talks about his CSA nominated score for the Netflix mini series MAFIA: MOST WANTED

A. Hi Jesse, congrats on your CSA nomination, this is your 5th Canadian Screen Award nomination isn’t it?

J. Yes, that’s correct.  I've been lucky to have been recognized multiple times by the Academy for my work. It feels good and definitely helps me feel more confident about my contribution to Canadian Cinema and Television through sound.  

A. The series was also nominated for Best History Documentary Program or Series, Best Direction...

J. ...there’s a great team behind the series. I have a close relationship with Screen Siren Pictures and am always excited and grateful to be working with them. I’ve done scoring for them on excellent award winning productions like BONES OF CROWS, INDIAN HORSE, HECTOR AND THE SEARCH FOR HAPPINESS and others. I’m really proud of the work we’ve done together. 

It’s great to see Trish Dolman get noticed for her directing and for the program as a whole! One of the main producers from Australia, Sherry Fynbo, was also very instrumental with the focus of the production.

I hired my team, which includes Josh Zubot and Jason Sharp, to help me create the score for this series. We’ve starting working together in the past few years, and go by ‘ZUBOTS AND SHARP'. I love working with them as they always contribute unique sounds; they take on things that I would never have thought of. Congrats to them as well on their nominations for this work!

A. Let’s talk about the score for MAFIA: MOST WANTED. There's a certain gravitas with the music, but also a certain “urgency”; the music is constantly in motion, moving the audience from one shocking historical reveal to another. I don’t recall a moment without music. I’m amazed that they were able to line up interviews with some of Canada’s top mob enforcers, soldiers and capos. The filmmakers had no fear making this?

J.  I'm amazed as to how they lined up interviews with some of these enforcers. Trish was definitely ‘fearless’ with her directing. 

And yeah... the music does grab you by the neck. It bolts out of the gate from the first frame of each Episode and keeps on punching until the end. The score provides a constant through-line in the story. It was a TON of work to do it this way, we had to create a massive amount of music. It was a bit of a marathon, but it felt great to make it through to the end!   

A. I noticed that you guys didn’t even hint at the “old country” traditional musical themes like in the GODFATHER trilogy. Was that a conscious choice?

J. There are a few moments where I pulled out the nylon string guitar to try to capture some feelings of ‘old country’ tradition.   But that element is minimal in the score. In general, I like to work in a more un-defined genre of music; to let the emotion of the sounds support what is on the screen without catering to what is expected.   

We were trying to be creative, but every once in awhile, when it really calls for it, you have to pay homage to tradition. In general, this is not a story about old-world honour, old-world traditions and generational vendettas. It's a story about cold, organized modern criminals (well... 70’s-now modern). It’s about power and control, and we’re speaking to a modern audience about very dangerous people. The music never lets you rest, not for a minute. You have to feel fear the entire time.

A. I’m hearing an interesting combination of string marcatos and arpeggiating analogue synth lines. It’s a real hybrid score.

J. Oh yes, full on hybrid. I generally avoid pre-conceived rules as to what is allowed, instrument-wise. We used everything we could to get the job done, from current DAW sound libraries, to vintage and modern synths, a chamber ensemble, special FX, guitars, outboard gear, etc. It’s a wonderful mishmash. I love the feeling of being open to sonic exploration as well as using old school mic’ing methods and acoustic instruments; seeing how they can interact in interesting, unexpected ways.

A. Tell us more about your team.

J. I work independently a lot of the time, but have recently started working a lot with my brother Josh. And, we've expanded further to bring in our good friend Jason Sharp. We’ve done some cool projects together, including ARTHUR ERICKSON: BEAUTY BETWEEN THE LINES. I like the 'surprise' they bring in the moment, and I like having the larger pallet of sounds they bring to the studio. My brother and I can do a lot more string tracking when we record together, creating chamber ensemble and larger ensemble phrasing. Jason is primarily a sax player and modular synth guy, so he can cover a lot of things we don’t usually do. Our process is very fluid and improvisational. I respect their perspective and let them create intuitively. Then I massage it and incorporate it into the big picture of my sculpture. I think real inspiration comes in the moment of discovery, and discovery comes from experimentation.

We were all formally trained through classical, jazz and electro-acoustic institution’s and know the basis of music, including notation and theory, etc. but occasionally we just throw all that out the window and let our soul guide our creativity.  It is a great team.

A. What was the the feeling you were going for in MAFIA: MOST WANTED?

J. We were told that the score needed keep the story moving along at a rapid and seriously intense pace. There could never be a moment where things felt stagnant. The feeling of tension and a sense of terror needed to lead the way.

A. Thanks Jesse, it was really wonderful talking to you about your process, your collabs and the music for MAFIA: MOST WANTED. Good luck at the Canadian Screen Awards.

J. Thank you!  It was a pleasure!

As a lead up to the 2026 Canadian Screen Awards, Core is shining the spotlight on some of our nominated composers with a series we call, "THE ART OF FILM SCORING”, where we interview, probe and prompt composers to talk about their process - this week composer SUAD BUSHNAQ talks about her CSA nominated score for YUNAN.

A. Hi Suad, congrats on your CSA nomination. Can you give us some background on this film? Who made it, and where has it shown?

A. YUNAN is a Canadian co-production, produced by Catherine Chagnon and directed by Ameer Fakher Eldin (The Stranger). It premiered last year in the Official Competition at the Berlin International Film Festival and was nominated there for Best Film. I’m so excited to attend the Canadian Screen Awards again, this year representing YUNAN alongside fellow YUNAN nominee Ronald Plante (Achievement in Cinematography).

A. You've had a few CSA nominations in the past, haven't you?

S. It’s my 5th CSA nomination. I was nominated three times for Queen Tut in 2024 (Original Score and Songs), for Jasmine Road in 2022 (Original Score, and  I’ve had a few other wins and nominations from other institutions, including from the Hollywood Music in Media Awards and the Canadian Screen Music Awards. It’s not all about the awards, but it is exciting to go to these things and the recognition means a lot when you have been working long months on a score. As the great Catherine O'Hara said in Schitts Creek (in her Moira Rose accent): My favourite season is awards season! 

A. Tell me more about Berlinale last year, was that your first time?

S. That was my first time attending Berlinale, and to attend as the composer of an important film made all the difference. From the reception at the Canadian Embassy where Yunan was celebrated as Canada's biggest film that year, to the red carpet glam, to the standing ovation at the premiere, it was all so special. But the one thing I will never forget is how Tricia Tuttle, director of Berlinale, came up to me after the premiere, shook my hand and said, it is our honour to have your music play at Berlinale. This, for me, is something I will never forget my entire life. 

A. You're representing Canada well. You should be proud.

S. I am! 

A. I've seen some nice write-ups in the trades.

S. What can I say? [blushingly]. The Hollywood Reporter described it as “A soulful Orchestral Score”, Screen Daily described it as an “evocative soundtrack”, and Deadline said, “Suad Bushnaq’s minor-key score…most effectively communicates the protagonist's mournful state of exile”. With all humility, I hope I’ve memorized those quotes correctly  . 

Scoring the music for Yunan was a true labour of love over a year and a half, shaped through deep creative conversations with the director, Ameer, live scoring sessions streamed between Toronto and Berlin where I would connect him to my logic session through headphones over the cloud, and I think that love finds itself onscreen (or should I say, “in-speaker”?). 

I consider it a huge privilege to have been called up to compose, orchestrate, and later record and conduct in Montréal for this film. I had an extraordinary group of musicians and vocalists to work with, and I must thank the wonderful Amy Andersson for her incredible conducting coaching that allowed me to stand confidently in front of an orchestra and conduct my own music for the first time.

A. A basic synopsis of the film will accompany this article, but can we talk a bit about the main character’s journey and how that journey winds itself into the score?

S. Munir, in his exile, has lost hope for life. And now on top of that, his mother doesn't remember him anymore due to advancing Alzheimer's. The existential question is, who are we if our own mothers cannot remember us? This for me was the key that opened up the score because of a personal relationship I have with this disease through my own father. The score had biblical undertones that reflect this journey..after-all, the word Yunan means Jonah, the biblical character who was swallowed by the whale in the sea, and it serves as a metaphor for Munir who is swallowed in his own despair before finding rebirth. But the score also reflected the concept of fragmented, distorted memory which happens when one is in exile… where we miss a past that might not have existed and develop nostalgia for a time or place we don't know. There's a word for that, it's called anemoia, and this happens when one feels uprooted from their home and family. This is what Munir was going through, and I am happy that the score was able to reflect his state of mind during the entirety of the film. 

Here's a quick video clip of some of the music from Yunan, that I think really captures Munir's feeling of anemoia.

https://vimeo.com/1181707025

A. Beautiful, sad and evocative. Thank you Suad. Many congratulations again on your Canadian Screen Award nomination and for all of the success YUNAN has seen so far.

S. Thank you for having me! It's always a pleasure to talk about the Yunan journey; it was incredible.

As a lead up to the 2026 Canadian Screen Awards, Core is shining the spotlight on some of our nominated composers with a series we call, "THE ART OF FILM SCORING”, where we interview, probe and prompt composers to talk about their process. 

Martin Mull once said, “Talking about music is like dancing about architecture”. So hard is it to talk about music in words, and yet composer and filmmaker must use their words to find the inner essence of the story in music. In the coming weeks, we’ll be talking about talking about music - this week, with composer TOM THIRD about his CSA nominated scores for THE SPOILS and MODERN WHORE.

A.   Hi Tom, congrats on your 2 nominations for Best Original Music in a Feature Length Documentary. I guess you’re up against yourself again, but this isn’t your first dance at the Canadian Screen Awards is it?”

T:  This is my 8th and 9th time to bat at the CSA's, and I have 2 wins; not counting the Gemini’s from another era, and the 5 Canadian Screen Music Awards nominations, which are awards given out to composers by composers. But who’s counting?

A.  You’ve had more than your fair share of accolades. What’s in your secret sauce Tom? 

T:  I don’t know if I’d call it a huge secret. I just believe that every composer really has to get to the heart of every script (or subject for documentaries) before they start each new score.

A:  How exactly do you get to the heart of each film?

T:  I mean that there is a central theme to each narrative, fiction or fact, and often a very personal reason the director has taken on the material in the first place. I try to think of ways to help communicate the passion that comes from the writers and directors, and convey that energy to the audience. So in essence, I think a lot about what’s on screen, but also the complex motivations behind its creation. In short, the directors and I dance about architecture!

A:  What is at the heart of THE SPOILS and MODERN WHORE

T:  MODERN WHORE, is a documentary about sex work based on the memoir by Andrea Werhun who also stars. Sometimes it’s very funny, but other times gravely serious. Director Nicole Bazuin and I had a blast comic up with all kinds of comic approaches to the score, but I also spent a lot of time thinking about the more serious undertones to the story, and tried to use the music to highlight some of those themes in particular. At its core, MODERN WHORE is a story of empowerment and I tried to never lose sight of that, no matter how funny we were trying to be! THE SPOILS was an entirely different kettle of fish. It has its absurdist comedic moments too, but at its heart, a story of the Nazi plunder of artworks during the Second World War, and the battle to repatriate these masterpieces to their original owners. It’s part detective story, part courtroom drama and art history lesson. With such serious subject matter, director Jamie Kastner and I took great pains to avoid the cliches of World War II documentaries where we could, but still never shy away from the horrors of that regime.

A:  Can you give me an example of what THE SPOILS sounds like?

T:  https://s.disco.ac/onizfaormvaz

A:  How about for MODERN WHORE? Would you say that there was a central “theme"? Or would you call it more of a central “vibe”?

T: The vibe of MODERN WHORE is really a madcap playlist of Nicole’s and my favourite film music, from spaghetti westerns, to disco classics, to Switched on Bach. We covered the gamut and then some!

https://s.disco.ac/mgepdmlspyxs

A:  I’m guessing you have to attenuate your approach for every subject and for each director. How different was it to work with Jamie Kastner and Nicole Bazuin. How would you describe each director’s language when it comes to spotting or evaluating your score for their films?

T:  I’m been so consistently lucky to work with great directors I’d describe as professional visionaries. Both Jamie and Nicole are incredibly creative, open minded, and encouraged me to experiment all along the way. With both these teams, we really just hunker down scene by scene and turns the screws as much as we can. Lots of laughs, but lots of notes and revisions until we think we’ve got it perfect. 

A:  I’ve heard some filmmakers describe music as “Icing on the cake”, but it’s really more than that.

T:  Yah, it’s a lot more than that, it’s asking, “why are you baking this cake?”, and "what is the core ingredient that makes the cake what it is?” I think that every good filmmaker should be prepared to have that conversation with their editor, their music composer, their sound editor.

A:  Thanks Tom, it has been illuminating. Good luck at the CSA’s.

T:  Thanks, fingers are crossed. I’m just happy to be in good company.

As a lead up to the 2026 Canadian Screen Awards, Core is shining the spotlight on some of our nominated composers with a series we call, "THE ART OF FILM SCORING”, where we interview, probe and prompt composers to talk about their process. 

Martin Mull once said, “Talking about music is like dancing about architecture”. So hard is it to talk about music in words, and yet composer and filmmaker must use their words to find the inner essence of the story in music. In the coming weeks, we’ll be talking about talking about music - starting with composer STEPH COPELAND and her CSA nominated score for IT FEEDS.

A. Hi Steph, congrats on your CSA nomination. Can you talk a bit about your relationship with director Chad Archibald?

S. Creating the score for It Feeds was part of a long collaborative relationship between Chad and I. Over the years, we've worked on eleven Black Fawn productions together, five of those with Chad Archibald directing, so we really have a shorthand. There’s a lot of trust, and we can move pretty intuitively. A big part of our creative collaboration for It Feeds was finding ways to pay homage to classic horror while building an otherworldly sonic identity, especially when we delve into uncharted metaphysical realms in the story. 

We approached the score as three distinct worlds, each with its own palette, with the goal of balancing the weight of trauma and grief with the language of classic horror.

A. What were those 3 worlds, and how would you describe them?

S. Chad and I broke it down like this…

Under Hypnosis: When Cynthia puts her patients into a hypnotic state to reveal their hidden trauma, we added heavy atmosphere meant to feel like a thick fog in the patients minds, weighing them down. I had the pleasure of working with the incredible Will Lamoureux who provided ultra processed electric violin for sweeps and bends as signals that emerge from the "fog". As Cynthia traverses the minds of her patients using her clairvoyant ability, we hear ethereal voices meant to symbolize her guiding presence, leading the patient to safety. Here’s an example:

https://on.soundcloud.com/GYil82NWSIOHjYNU9d

The Real World: Here we used acoustic instruments to anchor us to a feeling of home and safety, then pulling the rug out from underneath that feeling. Violin, bass and piano along with wooden instrument textures, percussive hits and noisy acoustic pulses in combo with clustered brass swells and more traditional orchestra for classic horror. It’s in the real world where the threat comes to exist...

https://on.soundcloud.com/HPfrN4EQ301MaWaygU

The Entities Mind: We wanted to create a world that felt organic yet foreign, and hollow but also claustrophobic, so we used the Lyra 8 (organismic drone synth) because what else would you use for the sound inside of a demon’s mind? Combined with bending processed brass and distorted traditional percussion to give the feeling that this entity is both timeless and ancient:

https://on.soundcloud.com/tTu85kMeTGwWjOQvXI

A. How do you know when you’ve found the central theme to the story in music? How do you know when that magic has been unlocked?

S. I think a good sign is when you can carry the main melody over other pivotal moments in the film and you're still feeling connected to the character's journey. Sometimes I aim my main theme at some hidden subtext in the story that might not be evident on the surface. If the music can carry a bit of that undercurrent, that usually signals I've found something special to run with.

A. A lot of weight is put on the idea of musical “themes” but themes and motives aren’t always just a catchy melody are they?

S. That’s right, a musical theme or “motif” can be a sequence of intervals, or it can be a rhythm, a texture, an harmonic progression, or even just a single percussive sound. A motif can be any element (subtle or overt) that attaches itself to a particular idea in the narrative.

A. What’s your favourite part of the process? Is it when you sit down and find the first golden nuggets of the score, or is it in the development and recording, or is it when it’s all over and you see everything synced to picture, properly mixed with all of the other sound elements?

S. A little bit of each, for sure. Getting started is incredibly satisfying because you have a blank canvas with a focussed mission, but you get to dig around in the crate for sounds and melodies. The first spark of an idea always gives a dose of instant gratification. Once we get further into the themes and ideas have had a chance to soak in for a while, bringing in session players to put that top layer sheen on the cue, breathes new life and jump starts the whole scoring process. That's when things get really exciting and momentum builds. When it all comes together in the final mix and you can stand back and appreciate the story as one ubiquitous form, it's incredibly rewarding.

It’s been a full decade since Jesse Zubot first made a mark in the world of film scoring. After beginning on short films, the B.C.-based composer/musician/producer collaborated with good friend Dan Mangan in arranging and creating the score for the 2014 feature film Hector And The Search For Happiness, and there’s been no looking back.

“I’ve done multiple films every year since then,” he explains. “Through Hector, I met film producer Christine Haebler, of Screen Siren Pictures, and she helped me get other work.”

Notable entries on his filmography include Indian Horse, Monkey Beach, and Two Lovers And A Bear, and acclaimed feature Bones of Crows,  co-composed with Wayne Lavallee, which earned a 2023 Canadian Screen Music Award, further boosting Zubot’s profile.

He’s now one of Canada’s most prolific movie composers, and 2024 will see the release of no less than five films he’s scored. The feature film Inedia, and documentaries Curl Power and  Resident Orca, are jointly scored by Jesse and brother Josh Zubot; Red Fever is a collaboration with Indigenous blues singer Pura Fe; and another documentary, Nechako, will feature a solo Jesse Zubot score.

“I’m really excited about Inedia, as it has a unique score,” says Zubot. “It’s not quite horror, but a dark and intense psychological drama. It explores the darkness of how it really is, as opposed to being a way over-the-top horror film.”

His current workload is so full that Zubot has enlisted two collaborators for a new venture: “I’ve formed a film scoring team, along with my brother Josh and Jason Sharp [who earned a 2023 SOCAN Award for International TV Music]. Our first score as a team is an upcoming documentary about renowned Canadian architect Arthur Erickson.

“I’ve become so busy, I felt I needed help,” says Zubot. “Josh is naturally talented with composition, and as brothers we just understand each other telepathically. I’ll come up with a bunch of material, then I ask him to send me things. Usually, it’s, like, ‘Whoa, I’d never have thought of that,’ and I find this is elevating our scores.”

Both Zubot brothers are recognized as virtuoso violinists, and the instrument plays a crucial role in Jesse’s film work. “Perhaps 60 percent of all my scoring stems from violin,” he says. “Sometimes it may not sound like it, as the way I play, and use the instrument can be very abstract and unique. Often, I’ll start composing for a film with just violin through a mic, using different kinds of delays and reverbs to create atmospheres, from the get-go. I like to compose through my initial reaction to what I’m feeling. I’ll just lay down improvised ideas, then start editing and constructing.

“As I’m classically trained, I know how to write and arrange music in the traditional sense. With film scoring, strings are pretty huge. I’ll often create 80 per cent of score alone, and then get my string player friends to come and create larger more orchestral beds on top of that.”

Zubot brings a formidable arsenal of skills to his film career. He’s won three JUNO Awards as a member of roots duo Zubot & Dawson, and as part of the adventurous ensembles Great Uncles of the Revolution and Fond of Tigers. He’s also contributed string arrangements to such artists as Hawksley Workman, Stars, Old Man Luedecke, and Dan Mangan.

Perhaps most notably, he produced Tanya Tagaq’s 2014 Polaris Prize- and JUNO-winning album Animism, and its follow-up, Retribution, and has toured extensively with her.

Despite his in-demand status as a film composer, Zubot continues to fill other musical roles, including international live dates this year accompanying FYEAR (a project led by Jason Sharp), and U.S. saxophonist/composer Darius Jones.

“Film is now my main thing, but it’ll never be just that,” he says. “I’ve been a musician my whole life, and I’ll always need to play concerts, create albums, and do other work.”

https://www.socanmagazine.ca/features/jesse-zubot-cant-stop-scoring/

Infinity Post & VFX’s Gary Shaw, Core Music Agency’s Ari Wise, and Maverick Post’s Gregor Phillips reflect on the year that was, and share their plans for 2024

by Sabrina Rani Furming

There is an art to film scoring, and Core Music Agency’s company philosophy is to support the artists who practice this art, says Ari Wise, the agency’s founder and director. And in 2023, Core’s artists worked their magic on a whopping 181 productions. Although Wise describes the number as “a lot of projects,” he notes that Core wasn’t immune from the Hollywood strikes. “We had to hustle a little harder last year, and we did see a drop in business from 2022, but overall, we faired pretty well,” says Wise. 

coremusicagency.com

“It’s a testament to the hard work that our agents do, and it’s a bigger testament to the work that our composers do. We’re nothing without our talent. We’re nothing without our composers.”

These composers include Mark Korven (whose credits include The Lighthouse, The Witch, and Night Swim, the last of which opened in early January), Jesse Zubot, Red Heartbreaker, Graeme Coleman, Matthew Rogers, Terry Frewer, Wayne Lavallee, and dozens more. Their work is heard in a variety of projects, including features and short films, documentaries, television series, animated projects, video games, and more.

“We have a diverse roster [of composers] with different skills and backgrounds of expertise,” says Wise, who started the company 17 years ago after scoring projects for many years. “We don’t pigeon-hole composers. 

Most of our composers are very good at doing many different kinds of things. Our goal is to make sure they keep seeing some kind of success. We work on a wide range of different things. I like to think that we have somebody for everybody.”

Core’s trajectory was set a few years ago, says Wise, and the agency’s goal for 2024 is to keep pushing that agenda along. “Our goal for 2024 is to continue to seek more challenging work for our composers,” says Wise. “We’re making bigger inroads into foreign markets and we want to push that more. That’s something we did in 2023, and we want to do more of that. We’re signing some international composers, some European composers, and some American composers. We are a Canadian company, and our mandate is to serve Canadian composers, and if I want to make some over-reaching goal statement, we want to make Canada a destination for scoring for the world. We want the world to come to Canada to score here.” 

One characteristic that makes Canadian composers so appealing is the fact that they don’t stick to one distinctive style, says Wise. “If you look at Icelandic composers, they’re notorious for having a certain kind of style, and I don’t see that in Canada,” he says. “Canada has such a wide variety of people, and a practice of respecting different cultures. A lot of our composers have studied overseas, and they’re bringing that world knowledge back here, so you can get anything you want in Canada. There’s no Canadian style, but I do see a Canadian work ethic. I see a Canadian character that should be very appealing to the world in how hard we work, how we do things, how collaborative we are, and how much we respect the filmmaker and the process. That’s what I see from Canada in terms of a Canadian composer national identity. We’re humble. We’re collaborative workers. We’re not insane artists who demand attention.”

And one thing Wise is not worried about in 2024 is AI. “Every film festival I go to and every conference I go to, there’s always a panel on AI, and so far, every panel I’ve gone to has a part where they go, ’Here’s how AI scored this scene,’ and they use different AI platforms, and in every case, the audience erupts in laughter because it’s so ridiculously bad,” says Wise. “Everyone is worried about how AI will change the industry, and composers are maybe worried the most. But, in the end, we’re confident that if humans are still making movies, they’ll want humans to score them.”

ARI WISE ON THE VALUE OF THE VPA: “Composers who are moving here, they reach out to me, and I can’t represent everybody, but if I recognize talent and I can see that they’re highly qualified or they just have some sort of promise or spark, I say, The first thing you should do is join the Screen Composers Guild, and then join the VPA. That’s how you’re going to get to network, how you’re going to get to know the people who may bring you to the table. The bottom line is people don’t work with companies. People work with people, even if they’re working for companies, so you have to meet those people, and you have to like those people. You should like the people you work with, and the best way to do that is engaging in community activities and meeting them and talking to them and working with them, and the VPA provides that milieu. I can’t say enough good things about it.”