SAGindie & Helix Collective
Film Music Connect
BRINGING ORIGINAL MUSIC TO SHORT FILMS
FILM MUSIC CONNECT is a partnership program presented by SAGindie and Helix Collective that matches indie filmmakers with professional composers.
Selected filmmakers are paired with a professional composer to create the original score for their short film.
The chosen composers will score the soundtrack for Helix Collective, a 6-member ensemble with winds, strings, piano, and percussion.
Guiding the filmmakers and composers through the process is Helix Collective, a non-profit organization that produces the Los Angeles Live Score Film Festival and has worked with over 50 film composers and directors on original scores.
Submissions are now closed
Congratulations to the winning films of Film Music Connect 2026 (presented by SAGindie & Helix Collective; in collaboration with Chapman University Dodge College of Film and Media Arts)
- BETWEEN LOVE (Director: Jonathan A. Colon; Producer: Lulu Chouha; Composer: Hope Thal)
- GOOD MORNING MY DEAR (Director: Zhuohan Li; Producer: Tianwei Zhang; Composer: Brianna Rhodes)
- HONOR (Director: Terrence Duncan Jr.; Producer: Brian Lee; Composer: George Shaw)
- LOK (Director: Chenyu Yang; Producer: Geya Liu; Composer: Jarryd Elias)
- MISS AMERICA (Director: Yi Dong; Producer: Emma Jou-Ho Lai; Composer: Cora Chung)
FILM MUSIC CONNECT ALUMNI
- LAST CHANCE MOMS (Director: Mandy Fabian; Producers: Sarah Chaney, Heather Olt; Composer: Logan Stahley)
- Best Picture: Los Angeles Live Score Film Festival; Official Selection: Atlanta Women’s Film Festival, California Women’s Film Festival, Catalyst, Dayton Independent Film Festival, HollyShorts Film Festival, Women’s Comedy Film Festival Atlanta
- FUTURE FRED (Director: Brent Katz; Composer: Annie Rosevear)
- Official Selection: Austin Comedy Film Festival, Los Angeles Live Score Film Festival
- THE PROMPOSAL (Director: Traci Carter Holsey; Composer: Cora Chung)
- Official Selection: Golden State Film Festival, Hollywood Gold Awards, Los Angeles Live Score Film Festival, Rhode Island Black Film Festival
- SILT (Director: Emilie Upczak; Producer: John Otterbacher; Composer: Nathalie Bonin)
- Special Jury Award: Independent Film Festival Boston; Audience Award: Feminist Border Arts Film Festival; Narrative Jury Award: Houston Cinema Arts Festival; Best Score: Los Angeles Live Score Film Festival; Official Selection: Centre Film Festival, Charlotte Film Festival, Chicago Underground Film Festival, Dallas International Film Festival, Denver Film Festival, Green Film Festival of San Francisco, Hawaii International Film Festival, Mother Tongue Film Festival, Santa Fe International Film Festival
- GONE TURBO (Director: Allison Volk; Composer: Logan Stahley)
- Official Selection: Los Angeles Live Score Film Festival
- AS YOU WISH… (Director: Brent Katz; Composer: Silas Hite)
- JEAN & I (Director: Mirta Desir; Composer: Paul Apelgren)
- Grand Prize: DGA Student Film Awards; Official Selection: Emerging Lens Independent Cultural Film Festival, Essence Film Festival, Julien Dubuque International Film Festival, Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival, New York African Film Festival, Roxbury International Film Festival
- THE DAUGHTER (Director: Mary Ann Anane; Composer: Natasha Frank)
- Official Selection: Austin Film Festival, Florida Film Festival, Rehoboth Beach International Film Festival, Sunflower Film Festival
- TARAJI (Director: Davon Cecil; Composer: Madison Anglin)
- Official Selection: Bill Johnson Black Film Festival, My Hero International Film Festival, New Favs Film Fest, XL Fest