Scoring for Screen
A five-day film scoring residency led by Neel Dutt
Venue: KCC 4th Floor, Studio Space
Date: 21th November, 2026
“Ekta chotto kotha, chotto sur, Ektu ektu kore onek dur.” — Chalo Jai, Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbona, 2011 As part of AMI Arts Festival 2026, KCC presents Scoring for Screen, a five-day residency led by National Award-winning composer Neel Dutt. Participants will be introduced to the creative journey of film scoring, from identifying the emotional centre of a scene and developing a musical language to understanding how a score interacts with dialogue, silence, pacing and visual storytelling. Dutt’s filmography includes The Bong Connection, Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbona and Shonar Pahar, to name a few, with his music accompanying some memorable moments in contemporary Bengali cinema. Over five days, participants will have the opportunity to learn directly from the composer behind these scores. The residency is open to filmmakers, film students, musicians, writers, editors, storytellers and anyone curious about how cinema finds its sound.
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As part of AMI Arts Festival 2026, Kolkata Centre for Creativity presents Scoring for Screen, a five-day film scoring residency led by National Award-winning composer Neel Dutt.
Designed for filmmakers, film students, musicians, storytellers, writers, editors and cinema enthusiasts, the residency examines the relationship between music and the moving image.
Participants will be introduced to the creative journey of film scoring, from identifying the emotional centre of a scene and developing a musical language to understanding how a score interacts with dialogue, silence, pacing and visual storytelling.
Through discussions, guided listening, film clips and practical exercises, the residency will explore thematic scoring, leitmotifs, background music, minimalism, subtext and the expressive use of silence.
Rather than approaching film music only as composition, Scoring for Screen looks at how sound can alter perspective, create emotional space and change the way an audience understands a scene.
- The history and evolution of film scoring
- Developing themes and leitmotifs
- Approaches to background music
- Music, dialogue, pacing and visual narrative
- Subtext and emotional perspective
- Minimalism and the creative use of silence
- Guided listening, film analysis and practical exercises
Neel Dutt is an Indian composer, producer, guitarist and songwriter whose work spans cinema, independent music, theatre and live performance.
He received the National Film Award for Best Music Direction in 2012 for Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbona. His work includes collaborations with filmmakers including Aparna Sen, Anjan Dutt, Kaushik Ganguly, Srijit Mukherjee, Mainak Bhaumik, Pratim Dasgupta and Rituparno Ghosh.
