16/05/2026 - CANNES 2026: Eiko Ishibashi and Milena Fessmann have explored how trust, networks and financing realities shape international film-music collaborations

l-r: Perrine Quennesson, Eiko Ishibashi and Milena Fessmann during the panel

At Cannes’ Palais Stage, a Spot the Composer panel entitled “Composing Without Borders: Film Music on the International Stage” brought together Japanese composer Eiko Ishibashi and German music supervisor and producer Milena Fessmann for a discussion moderated by Le Film Français journalist Perrine Quennesson. Held on 15 May and presented in association with SACEM, the conversation examined how cross-border collaborations emerge, both artistically and practically.

Ishibashi, best known internationally for her work with Ryûsuke Hamaguchi on Drive My Car and Evil Does Not Exist, explained that she had never set out to become a film composer. “I didn’t have any ambitions to specialise in this,” she said, recalling that she had made her own albums and worked on music for theatre and exhibitions before cinema entered the picture. What mattered most, she stressed, was staying close to the culture and sensibility she cared about, rather than adapting herself to mainstream expectations.

That path gradually connected her with like-minded artists, including international collaborators such as Jim O’Rourke and bassist Marty Holoubek. Ishibashi said that she had not consciously sought out foreign musicians, but had naturally found people with whom she could share “the same vision” and artistic values.

Her connection with Hamaguchi began when producer Maiko Doi recommended Ishibashi’s album to the director, who listened to it and decided to use her music. Asked about the difference between making albums and composing for film, Ishibashi said the latter can actually feel less restrictive. With an album, she has to make every decision herself, without having the same external framework to refer to. In cinema, by contrast, “the image and the characters allow me to compose music more easily”.

Discussing Drive My Car, Ishibashi recalled that Hamaguchi initially wanted something “more dry and rhythmic” before shooting. However, once the footage was edited, he asked for music that could better connect the audience to the image. Watching the scene of the protagonist eating bread in a parking area, she felt that, even after tragedy, he still had to continue living. “I wanted to remain alongside his existence itself,” she said.

For another key scene, in which Misaki explains why she drives so well, Ishibashi said she initially felt the moment did not need music at all. “It’s already a good scene,” she noted. The music instead arrives afterwards, during the montage, where it can release and extend the emotion, rather than explain it.

Trust, she suggested, was central to the collaboration. She and Hamaguchi were not close friends at the time, but they spoke extensively before shooting, and this long exchange allowed her to feel confident. She would send him numerous files and variations, while he decided which pieces worked best for particular scenes. “I didn’t want to explain by making music,” she said, adding that she wished to maintain a distance between image and score.

Since Drive My Car, Ishibashi admitted, she has not received a large number of international offers, but she said this does not concern her. For her, quantity matters less than building a community with people who share a similar sensibility.

Fessmann then shifted the discussion towards the realities of production. In an ideal world, she said, producers, directors and key crew would sit together from the start, read the script and decide what kind of music the film needs: original score, source songs, existing tracks or a combination of these. From there, the search for the right composer begins.

But in European co-productions, artistic ambition often meets financial and territorial constraints. “You sometimes find that you encounter borders because it’s a European co-production,” she said. A film may need to spend money in France, Denmark or Germany, meaning that certain crew positions become tied to national funding requirements. In Germany, she explained, some funding mechanisms require invoices from local entities, otherwise the production may lose a significant percentage of support.

Fessmann was careful to stress that money should not be the only factor. If everyone agrees a composer is right for the film, solutions can usually be found. But contracts, availability, time zones, agency structures and invoicing can all shape the final decision. Streamers may also enter the conversation with their own preferences, including requests for younger or female composers.

Asked how to make international collaborations easier, Fessmann argued for more platforms connecting composers and directors, especially emerging ones. She encouraged composers to attend festivals, watch films, meet students and build relationships early. “Go to a film festival,” she advised. “You’ll probably meet them at four o’clock in a bar somewhere; you never know.”

The panel closed with questions from the audience, including one on Ishibashi’s working method with musicians. She explained that some parts, such as strings, are written out, while other elements depend on trusted collaborators. She enjoys making variations together in the studio, trying out different arrangements and recording multiple possibilities. “After composing, I always enjoy the variations,” she said. “I’m very lucky to have team members with whom to enjoy an arrangement together.”