Deadline’s Sound & Screen Film Underway To Start The Awards-Season Drumbeat

Music is the fuel that so often drives our deep emotional connection to the storytelling we see on screen, so what better way to feel its power than with a live orchestra playing against the backdrop of some of our favorite films of the season at Sound & Screen Film?

The event, one of Deadline’s most popular events of the year, has kicked off Friday at UCLA’s Royce Hall, offering a taste of this year’s awards contenders with an exclusive and aurally immersive experience. Beyond the music, you’ll also hear talk from the industry’s top composers and artists in our on-stage panel discussions.

As usual, we have a selection of musical superstars on deck — think Talking Heads frontman David Byrne for example. He’s here with composer Daniel Pemberton and their work from Alex Gibney’s documentary Musk. Pemberton is on double duty tonight, aboard also to discuss his score from Ryan Gosling (and Rocky the alien)-starrer Project Hail Mary.

Another famous musical name on our stage will be Linda Perry, the supercharged composer formerly of the band 4 Non Blondes. She’s here with her original song “What Lies With You” from the documentary Linda Perry: Let it Die Here. And it would not be a night of original songs and scores without the inimitable 17-time Oscar nominee Diane Warren. She’s here with her song “One Right Here” from the sports biopic Maserati: The Brothers.

Add to that list Siddartha Khosla, composer and the singer-songwriter and producer behind the band Goldspot. An Emmy winner for his work on Only Murders in the Building, he’s here with his score from the animated movie Swapped.

From CODA Best Picture Oscar-winning director Siân Heder, we have Being Heumann — a look at the life of disability rights activist Judy Heumann — and its moving, call-to-action score from composer Francesco Le Metre. And with the score from Mahershala Ali-starrer Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, get ready for a powerful triumvirate of musical talent in Son Lux, the trio made up of Ryan Lott, Rafiq Bhatia and Ian Chang.

We’re traveling the world too, heading to the Himalayas with the Everest movie Tenzing and its score from Norwegian composer Rebekka Karijord. And The Eyes of Ghana’s composer Kris Bowers is here to transport us into the documentary about 93-year-old cinematographer Chris Hesse, the personal cameraman of Ghana’s first president Kwame Nkrumah. Plus, from South Korean sci-fi thriller Hope, we have composer Michael Abels, the Pulitzer Prize winner known for his electrifying scores for Jordan Peele’s films Get Out, Us and Nope.

And it’s not all film all the time either. We’ll have some legendary American history with the story of Muhammed Ali in docuseries The Greatest and Marcus “Bellringer” Bell’s original song “Walk With Kings.”

Follow along all evening on Deadline’s social channels using #DeadlineSoundAndScreen, and check back Monday for our full panel coverage. See below for tonight’s lineup in order of appearance (subject to change).

Deadline’s Sound & Screen Film 2026

6:30 p.m. PT – Opening remarks

AMAZON MGM STUDIOS

Project Hail Mary

Daniel Pemberton, Composer

NEON

Hope

Michael Abels, Composer

ORION PICTURES/AMAZON MGM STUDIOS

Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother

Son Lux, Composers/Songwriters

SKYDANCE ANIMATION and NETFLIX

Swapped

Siddhartha Khosla, Composer