09/29/2003

The Emperor's Wife wins EuropaCinema Award

The Emperor's Wife wins EuropaCinema Award

Earlier The Emperor's Wife was selected for the main competition at the EuropaCinema, The Viareggio XX international Film Festival and now Max Beesley and Jerry Meehan have won the EuropaCinema Award for the Best Music Composer.

Besides composing the soundtrack Max Beesley is playing one of the leading roles as the Emperor. Beesley who is mostly known as an actor (GLITTER, THE LAST MINUTE) is also a respected musician. As son of the British jazz drummer Maxton Beesley and jazz singer Chris Marlowe he started his musical career as a session musician with a variety of groups including Take That, George Michael and Jamiroquai, playing drums and keyboard.

While shooting the sumptuous ballroom sequence which will be opening THE EMPEROR’S WIFE, the director Julien Vrebos (LE BAL MASQUÉ) heard Max playing a tune on the piano which was exactly in the atmosphere he wanted for the film. “As surprised as I was, I immediately asked Max if he wanted to compose the soundtrack. Max first assumed that I asked him to play the piano in this ballroom scène, but when I explained what I meant he reacted very enthusiastically”, said Vrebos.

EuropaCinema®, the European Film Festival, was conceived and founded in Rimini in 1984 by Felice Laudadio, the director of the TaorminaFilmFest since 1999. He directed the Venice Film Festival in 1997 and 1998, and was the President of Cinecittà Holding from 1999 to 2002. Due to its immediate extraordinary success, EuropaCinema became at once one of the most famous and known festivals in Europe, considered by producers, distributors and authors as a valid alternative to the Venice Film Festival. In September 1989, the festival finally moved to Viareggio, the ideal setting for such a prestigious and celebrated event.