Nurturing Careers in Music for Media
VIFF Amp’s Music in Media Summit continues to nurture, educate and champion emerging and established music professionals, including composers, songwriters and music entrepreneurs, with a strong emphasis on supporting those from marginalized or underrepresented communities.
The summit offers creative insights, mentorship and unique career development opportunities in the form of feature panels, workshops, 1:1 dialogues, interactive sessions and more from international experts in the Music Media space.
This year’s Amp cohort will be selected through a competitive, juried application process. Those chosen will receive free admission to the summit, encouraging diverse participation and engagement.
How do I access VIFF Amp?
If you are an industry professional with an interest in music and its role in media, you can register for an Artist & Industry Pass and get access to exclusive Amp panels and more!
Supported by
Funded by
Music in Media Summit 2026
Full line-up will be announced on August 26
Art of Music Supervision
The visual media and advertising landscape has changed dramatically in recent years. As film and television production has slowed and consolidated, new content powerhouses have emerged, reshaping entertainment.
Marketing has expanded beyond traditional trailers and TV spots to include TikTok-first content, vertical trailers, localized campaigns, and platform-specific assets, while AI continues to reshape creative workflows. Our panel will explore how music supervisors are adapting to these changes, the challenges and opportunities ahead, and the future of the profession across film, television, advertising, streaming, and global markets.
Stages-to-Screens
In this edition of Stages-to-Screens, we are focusing on music artists who have transitioned to visual media. Three up-and-coming composers will explain their stories, challenges and rewards of adapting to the world of scoring.
Featured Speakers: Meg Remy (US Girls, Dead Lovers), Peter Peter (Heated Rivalry), Matthew Rogers (The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer)
Presented by
SOUNDOFF
Hip Hop & R&B Edition
SOUNDOFF is a platform for showcasing our most promising local musicians, focusing on song placement and sync licensing in film and TV. Local artists perform their songs in front of music supervisors at this live event.
Presented by
Amp Program Curators
Amp is curated by Tony Scudellari and Rob Calder. Tony oversees all aspects of music for Sony Pictures Television’s programming, and is also the lead creative executive for the division’s music releases. Rob has been an active part of Canada’s creative industries for over 20 years. He is known for building impactful events and growing audiences and community.
Featured Guests
Full line-up will be announced on August 26
Danny Exum
Heather Gardiner
Héctor Vázquez
Matthew Rogers
Meg Remy
Peter Peter
Success Stories
Chan Brothers
Vancouver composers Brian and Caleb Chan attended VIFF Amp in 2020, where they met Frank Garcia from DreamWorks, as part of an animation panel. This resulted in them landing two animated series. In 2021, Arbel Bedak of Spectra Creative Agency met the duo and chose to represent them. Through Tony Scudellari and Sony Pictures Television, the Chan brothers were selected to score two series: Panhandle, produced by Nick Stoller (Bros, Neighbors), and Alert, produced by Carla Kettner (Bones, The Blacklist).
Felipe Téllez
Felipe Téllez (CFA 23) received the 2025 Macondo Award for Best Original Score from the Colombian Film Academy for his work on Estimados Señores. The Macondo Awards are among Colombia’s most prestigious film honours, recognizing outstanding achievements in cinema across the country. Felipe’s recognition highlights the growing impact of CFA alumni within the international film community and celebrates his exceptional contribution to the emotional and sonic landscape of the film.
Mina Samy
Mina Samy has rapidly emerged as one of the most exciting new voices in international film composition. Following his participation in CFA 23, Mina was selected for Berlinale Talents and became an alumnus of the Academy Gold Program. His score for Happy Birthday accompanied the film’s international success at the Tribeca Festival, where it won Best International Narrative Feature, and the film was later selected as Egypt’s official submission to the Academy Awards. Mina also composed the score for The Tale of Daye’s Family, which screened at the Berlinale, further cementing his growing international profile.
Bukola
A local singer songwriter who participated in VIFF Amp in 2020 and 2021 drew high praise from invited international music supervisors and impressed the ear of composer Natalie Holt. Holt, an accomplished composer on Marvel and Star Wars projects, was a 2021 speaker at Amp, and heard Bukola at the SOUNDOFF showcase. Holt subsequently hired Bukola to do original vocals for the film The Princess.
What Attendees are Saying
For an Asia-based composer and songwriter aiming to enter the North American screen and sync market, VIFF AMP was not only an accumulation of knowledge but also a clear and inspiring direction for career growth.
As someone who attended VIFF Amp from the U.S., I found it educational to learn about the differences in the Canadian music scene and it was helpful to network with folks working in both similar and different sides of the industry.
The world of Sync has always been a mystery to me, so I learned a lot about how to get my foot in the door and who some key players are in the world of sync. I’m grateful for the valuable connections I garnered from this experience.
