Every year, JIMFF presents the Jecheon Film Music Honorary Award to honor legendary film composers who left a lasting legacy.
From 2005 to 2016, the award celebrated pioneering Korean film composers. From 2017, it has expanded to honor leading Asian figures like KAWAI Kenji, TAN Dun, and LIM Giong. Since 2022, world-renowned masters such as Justin HURWITZ, SAKAMOTO Ryuichi, YOSHIMATA Ryo, and Éric SERRA have joined its ranks.
This year’s laureate is ZHAO Jiping, one of China’s most distinguished composers, honored through screenings of four landmark works: Yellow Earth(1984), JU DOU(1990), Raise the Red Lantern(1991), and Farewell My Concubine(1993).
ZHAO Jiping
ZHAO Jiping is one of China’s most distinguished composers who has established a unique style by blending traditional Chinese music with Western techniques. Since emerging as a leading film composer in the 1980s, he has composed the scores for many landmark Chinese films including Yellow Earth(1984), Red Sorghum(1987), Ju Dou(1990), Raise the Red Lantern(1991), and Farewell My Concubine(1993). He previously served as Chairman of the Chinese Musicians Association and currently serves as Chairman of the Shaanxi Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and Honorary President of the Xi'an Conservatory of Music, making significant contributions to the development of China's music policy and music education.