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‘The White Lotus’ Composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer Honored by Miami Film Fest

Chilean-born, Montreal-based composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer — the musician behind the music of HBO’s hit series “The White Lotus” — is set to receive Miami Dade College’s (MDC) acclaimed Miami Film Festival’s Art of Light (Composer) Award, presented by Alacran Group, set to resume this year with an in-person format running from March 4-13.

IndieWire spoke last month with Emmy contender Tapia de Veer, whose score keeps the audience unsettled and at a distance from the mostly soulless characters. The addictive theme song actually started as a piece written for Kanye West. “The sounds really came from just jamming [on] all these percussions. I went for a traditional sound, so playing big native flutes and little South American guitars and all this African percussion,” he told IndieWire. “It’s bringing more of a dimension and a perspective to what’s happening, and maybe adding to things that are not there, but could be there,” Tapia de Veer added of the way the score is used in the show.

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Tapia de Veer is known for creating some of the most memorable soundtracks in modern entertainment. His early television work includes the critically acclaimed Channel 4 cult series “Utopia,” which earned him awards from the Royal Television Society, among others. Along with “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency” and “Black Mirror,” Tapia de Veer earned a BAFTA and other honors for C4’s miniseries “National Treasure” and an Emmy nomination for Amazon/C4’s Philip K. Dick’s “Electric Dreams.” Recent television projects include HBO series “The White Lotus” and cult mystery “The Third Day,” as well as the Jordan Peele-produced “Hunters” for Amazon Prime Video.

Miami Film Festival’s past Art of Light Award winners include Aldis Hodge, Andra Day, and “Nomadland” cinematographer Joshua James Richards.

“Music is an essential chaperone in entertainment, intensifying the action on the screen as well as the emotions that audiences feel, and Cristobal Tapia de Veer’s art reminded us of the vitality of the work of the composer in 2021,” said Miami Film Festival executive director Jaie Laplante. “We are thrilled to be able to present him our Art of Light (Composer) Award at the 2022 Miami Film Festival.”

The full 2022 Miami Film Festival line-up and additional honorees will be announced at a later date.

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