Alex Heffes (; born 2 September 1971) is a British film composer. His film scores include those for the BAFTA-winning '' Touching the Void'', and Oscar-winning movies ''

One Day in September ''One Day in September'' is a 1999 documentary film directed by Kevin Macdonald examining the 5 September 1972 murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Michael Douglas provides the sparse narration through ...

'', ''

The Last King of Scotland ''The Last King of Scotland'' is a novel by journalist Giles Foden, published by Faber and Faber in 1998. Focusing on the rise of Ugandan President Idi Amin and his reign as dictator from 1971 to 1979, the novel, which interweaves fiction an ...

'', and ''

Inside Job An insider threat is a malicious threat to an organization that comes from people within the organization, such as employees, former employees, contractors or business associates, who have inside information concerning the organization's security ...

''. Heffes was nominated for the

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score is a Golden Globe Award presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications ...

for his work on '' Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom''.

Early life and career

Heffes was born in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, and learned the piano from an early age. He graduated from Oxford University with first class honours and started his professional life playing keyboards and writing and arranging for commercials and TV (his band is featured playing in jazz club scenes in the film Circus). This led to him becoming assistant to composer

Simon Boswell Simon Boswell (born 15 October 1956) is a BAFTA-nominated British film score composer, conductor, producer and musician, with more than 100 credits to his name. He is known for combining mainly electronic elements with orchestral. Biography A ...

with whom he scored over 20 movies including ''

A Midsummer Night’s Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

'' and ''

Cousin Bette ''La Cousine Bette'' (, ''Cousin Bette (given name), Bette'') is an 1846 novel by French author Honoré de Balzac. Set in mid-19th-century Paris, it tells the story of an unmarried middle-aged woman who plots the destruction of her extended fami ...

''. He also collaborated on Elton John's score to ''

Women Talking Dirty ''Women Talking Dirty'' is a 1999 British comedy film directed by Coky Giedroyc and starring Helena Bonham Carter, Gina McKee and James Nesbitt. It is an adaptation of the novel ''Women Talking Dirty'' written by Isla Dewar, who also wrote the ...

'' and worked with members of Blur.

Film scoring

In 1999, after a chance meeting with Kevin Macdonald he wrote the score to the Oscar winning documentary ''

''. This led to a long collaboration with Macdonald, on films such as ''Touching the Void'', '' State of Play'' and ''The Last King of Scotland''. During the production of ''Last King of Scotland'' he travelled to Uganda to produce the songs and score in the movie. He has worked with many notable directors including

Stephen Frears Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is an English director and producer of film and television often depicting real life stories as well as projects that explore social class through sharply drawn characters. He's received numerous accola ...

('' The Program''),

Mira Nair Mira Nair (born 15 October 1957) is an Indian-American filmmaker based in New York City. Her production company, Mirabai Films, specializes in films for international audiences on Indian society, whether in the economic, social or cultural spher ...

(''

Queen of Katwe ''Queen of Katwe'' is a 2016 American biographical sports drama film directed by Mira Nair and written by William Wheeler. Starring David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong'o, and Madina Nalwanga, the film depicts the life of Phiona Mutesi, a girl living in ...

''),

Justin Chadwick Justin Chadwick (born 6 December 1968) is an English actor and television and film director. He directed episodes of ''EastEnders'', '' Byker Grove'', ''The Bill'', '' Spooks'' and '' Red Cap'' before directing nine of the fifteen episodes of ...

(''

The First Grader ''The First Grader'' is a 2010 biographical drama film directed by Justin Chadwick. It stars Naomie Harris, Oliver Litondo, and Tony Kgoroge. The film is based on the true story of Kimani Maruge, a Kenyan farmer who enrolled in elementary school ...

, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom''),

Peter Webber Peter Webber (born 1968) is a British film and television director and producer whose debut feature film as a director was '' Girl with a Pearl Earring'' (2003). He subsequently directed ''Hannibal Rising'' (2007). Early life Webber took a one ...

(''

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

'') and Catherine Hardwick (''

Red Riding Hood "Little Red Riding Hood" is a European fairy tale about a young girl and a sly wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th century European folk tales. The two best known versions were written by Charles Perrault and the Brothe ...

''). He contributed additional arrangements to Tim Burton's ''

Sweeney Todd Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial '' The String of Pearls'' (1846–47). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet Stre ...

''. In 2011 he released his first solo album, ''Face to Face''. The album was created by improvising on location in a series of one on one collaborations with artists such as

Regina Spektor Regina Ilyinichna Spektor (russian: Регинa Ильинична Спектор, ; born February 18, 1980) is a Russian–born American singer, songwriter, and pianist. After self-releasing her first three records and gaining popularity in ...

Ryuichi Sakamoto is a Japanese composer, pianist, singer, record producer and actor who has pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his bandmates Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto i ...

and

Tunde Jegede Tunde Jegede (born 28 January 1972) is a composer and multi-instrumentalist in contemporary classical, African and pop music, who is of Nigerian descent and born in England and as a child travelled to Africa to learn the art of the kora. He is ...

. The tracks with Matthew Barley were recorded in the Turbine Hall of the Tate Modern in London. He has been nominated for a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and won an Ivor Novello Award in 2012 for ''

''. He always conducts his own orchestral scores and frequently plays piano on his scores.

Works

Film score

Television

Awards and nominations

*Nominated: 2007 BAFTA TV Awards Best Original Television Music - '' Tsunami: The Aftermath'' *Nominated: 2007 European Film Award, European Composer - ''

'' *Won: 2009

ASCAP Award The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

for Top Box Office Films - '' State of Play'' *Won: 2011 World Soundtrack Awards, Discovery of the Year - ''

'', '' The Rite'' *Nominated: 2012 Black Reel Awards, Best Original Score - ''

'' *Nominated: 2012 Image Awards, Outstanding Soundtrack Album - ''

'' *Won: 2012 Ivor Novello Awards, Best Original Film Score - ''

'' *Nominated: 2013 Golden Globe Awards Best Original Score for a Motion Picture - '' Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom'' *Nominated: 2016 Online Film & Television Association Awards, Best Music in a Non-Series - '' Roots (2016)'' *Won: 2016 Hollywood Music In Media Awards, Original Score for a TV Show/Mini Series - '' Roots (2016)''

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heffes 1971 births Living people British film score composers British male film score composers People from Beaconsfield Ivor Novello Award winners