Acclaimed composer receives award for 50 years of writing music for film and TV

At a special ceremony, composer Alfi Kabiljo received the Festival’s 50 Years award. It is a lifetime achievement award given to the professionals who dedicated their entire careers to working on film.

“I am very proud to have received this award. The fantastic personas of Croatian film that received it so far deserve credit for the high standards of Croatian film industry our country can be proud of. Maybe I’ll see you after 50 more years,” said Kabiljo in his emotional address to the audience during the award ceremony.

When he presented him to the audience, director and scriptwriter Nenad Puhovski described Kabilko as one of the greatest Croatian, European and world composers of film, theater and TV music. Alfi Kabiljo wrote the original scores for more than 40 films and 100 TV series, which makes him one of the most prolific authors of film music. His career spans half a century. Some of the films he made music for: Kužiš, stari moj, Novinar, Occupation in 26 Pictures, The Fall of Italy, Lea i Darija, Seljačka buna, Banović Strahinja, Neka ostane među nama… The last three in this unfinished list won him Golden Arenas at Pula Film Festival. The long list of TV series he made music for include Nikola Tesla, Mačak pod šljemom and Nepokoreni grad. Kabiljo is also known by his legendary musicals, such as Jalta, Jalta, Kralj je gol and One Song a Day Takes Mischief Away. He also wrote a comical opera, Casanova in Istria.

He also worked for Hollywood productions. He says it wad hard because there you never know what the future brings. He alkso said his favorite films are The Great Dictator, Amarcord and The Shape of Water. Despite his age, he still cannot live without music, film, theater and sports. His hedonistic natures made him proclaim himself president of the World’s Hedonist Party to which he invites all those who enjoy good food and companionship.