Alex Heffes
Alex Heffes (/ˈhɛfəs/;[1] 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, The Last King of Scotland, and Inside Job. Heffes was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for his work on Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.[2]
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 with whom he scored over 20 movies including A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Cousin Bette. He also collaborated on Elton John's score to Women Talking Dirty and worked with members of Blur.[3][4]
Film scoring
In 1999, after a chance meeting with Kevin Macdonald he wrote the score to the Oscar winning documentary One Day in September.[5] 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.[5] He has worked with many notable directors including Stephen Frears (The Program), Mira Nair (Queen of Katwe), Justin Chadwick (The First Grader, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom), Peter Webber (Emperor) and Catherine Hardwick (Red Riding Hood). He contributed additional arrangements to Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd.
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, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Tunde Jegede. The tracks with Matthew Barley were recorded in the Turbine Hall of the Tate Modern in London.[3]
He has been nominated for a Golden Globe,[2] a BAFTA[6] and won an Ivor Novello Award in 2012 for The First Grader.[7]
He always conducts his own orchestral scores[8] and frequently plays piano on his scores.
Works
Film score
Television
| Year | Title | Studio/Channel | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Killer Net | Channel 4 Television Corporation | with Simon Boswell miniseries |
| 2002 | Stan the Man | ITV | 6 episode miniseries |
| 2006 | Tsunami: The Aftermath | BBC HBO Films |
2 part miniseries |
| 2012 | Secret State | Company Pictures Channel 4 |
4 episode miniseries |
| 2016 | 11.22.63 | Bad Robot Warner Bros. Television |
Hulu limited series 8 episodes |
| Roots | History Channel | 4 part miniseries | |
| Black Mirror Series 3 Episode 3: Shut Up and Dance | Netflix | - | |
| 2018 | Next of Kin episodes 1-3 | Mammoth Screen ITV |
6 part miniseries, music for episodes 4-6 composed by Peter Bateman |
| 2020 | A Suitable Boy | BBC One | 6 episode miniseries |
Awards and nominations
- Nominated: 2007 BAFTA TV Awards Best Original Television Music[10] - Tsunami: The Aftermath
- Nominated: 2007 European Film Award, European Composer - The Last King of Scotland
- Won: 2009 ASCAP Award for Top Box Office Films - State of Play
- Won: 2011 World Soundtrack Awards, Discovery of the Year - The First Grader, The Rite
- Nominated: 2012 Black Reel Awards, Best Original Score - The First Grader
- Nominated: 2012 Image Awards, Outstanding Soundtrack Album - The First Grader[11]
- Won: 2012 Ivor Novello Awards, Best Original Film Score - The First Grader
- 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)[12]
- Won: 2016 Hollywood Music In Media Awards, Original Score for a TV Show/Mini Series - Roots (2016)[13][14]
References
- "Alex Heffes on Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom". American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. 29 November 2013. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
- "Golden Globes page". Retrieved 9 November 2016.
- "DeWolfe Music page". Retrieved 9 November 2016.
- "Official website about page". Retrieved 9 November 2016.
- "Soundtrack.net interview". Retrieved 9 November 2016.
- "Bafta Nominations 2007". Bafta.org. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
- "The First Grader wins Ivor Novello Award". Archived from the original on 10 November 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
- "Film Music Magazine interview". Retrieved 9 November 2016.
- "IFMCA Award Nominations 2017". 8 February 2018.
- "BAFTA awards site". Retrieved 9 November 2016.
- "ABC news story". Archived from the original on 23 April 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
- "20th annual OFTA Awards winners". Retrieved 9 November 2016.
- "HMMA award nominees 2016". Archived from the original on 5 November 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
- Pedersen, Erik (18 November 2016). "Justin Timberlake & Alexandre Desplat Among Winners At Hollywood Music In Media Awards". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 18 November 2016.