A big success during difficult times: the first edition of SoundTrack_Zurich (STZ), which took place within the framework of the 16th Zurich Film Festival (ZFF), attracted 1.800 visits. Over three and a half days, the music congress brought together composers, music supervisors, producers and directors from Switzerland and all over Europe. Almost 50 industry experts spoke in workshop talks, case studies and matchmaking sessions about current topics relevant to the film music scene. One of the highlights was the live scoring of “Petropolis” by Peter Mettler by the legendary Swiss band “The Young Gods”.

"We wanted to send a signal of optimism with this edition," explained Christian Jungen, Artistic Director of the ZFF. "The number of 1.800 STZ visits and the positive feedback confirm that in times like these events are possible - and more relevant than ever. With the right planning and an elaborated protection concept, at SoundTrack_Zurich we have shown how a safe and successful realisation is possible," said curator Michael P. Aust. Marcel Vaid, president of SMECA, was also satisfied: "We are very pleased with this successful event and are already planning the second edition".

STZ focused on sound and music in film with B2B matchmaking sessions, workshops, discussions, case studies and live events. Star guest was Ray Parker Jr., the composer of the "Ghostbusters" theme song. Award-winning composers presented their projects in case studies and workshop talks, including John Gürtler (European Film Award for "System Crasher"), Dascha Dauenhauer (German Film Award for "Berlin Alexanderplatz"), Olivia Pedroli (Swiss Film Award for "Immer und Ewig"), Tina Pepper (German TV Award for "Rampensau"), Antonio Gambale (Emmy-nominated composer of the Netflix series "Unorthodox").

Networking sessions and personal meetings with industry experts involving topics such as conflict management, trends in sync and production music, music supervising and self-marketing & PR as well as a SUISA thematic block were at the focus of the STZ industry events. STZ was rounded of by the IMMSANE theme day at the ZhdK in order to support global higher education programs, a FOCAL hands-on workshop on Artificial Intelligence, special screenings and two concerts with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich.

The second edition of SoundTrack_Zurich will take place from September 28 – September 30, 2021.