Fortitude Valley is about to host a night with real music industry weight. The Screen Music Awards will honour Cezary Skubiszewski at Fortitude Music Hall on October 28.
For the Valley, that is a tidy score. It puts a major national event in the heart of Brisbane, and it brings one of Australia’s best-known screen composers into local view.
APRA AMCOS will present the distinguished services to the Australian screen award. The organisation says Skubiszewski has built an extraordinary body of work over more than 30 years.
From Warsaw to Australian screens
Skubiszewski’s career started a long way from Brisbane. He was born in Warsaw in 1948 and studied piano and classical music early on.
Later, he moved through Paris and London before settling in Sydney in the 1970s. From there, he kept moving across styles and projects, working in jazz-rock, theatre, television and film.
That range matters. It helps explain why his name has stayed familiar for so long in Australian screen culture.
He worked on television titles including Neighbours and Sky Trackers. Then he stepped into feature film with Lilian’s Story, which won him the Asia-Pacific Film Festival award for best music in 1996.
A catalogue that still carries weight
Skubiszewski went on to score Two Hands and Red Dog, both widely loved Australian films. He also composed for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games.
That is the sort of resume that does not need much dressing up. It speaks for itself, and it explains why the Screen Music Awards are giving him such a strong nod.
Skubiszewski said the honour came as a surprise. He also said he felt deeply grateful to APRA for recognising his work.
Importantly, he did not frame the award as a solo achievement. He thanked colleagues, mentors and family members who supported him along the way.
A family link that kept the music moving
One of the more interesting parts of his story is the work he later shared with his son, Jan. Together, they created award-winning music for Serangoon Road, Picnic at Hanging Rock and High Country.
That gives the award a nice sense of continuity. The career did not stand still, and the music did not either.
The Screen Music Awards will celebrate excellence across 16 categories. They cover short film, television, documentaries, children’s programming and feature films.
APRA AMCOS and the Australian Guild of Screen Composers present the awards. This year also marks APRA’s centenary, which gives the night an extra layer of significance.
For Fortitude Valley, the event is more than a polished industry function. It brings a national celebration into a suburb that knows how to host a crowd.
And for Skubiszewski, the Screen Music Awards feel like a fitting salute. His music has already soundtracked a lot of Australian life. Now, the Valley gets to help recognise it.
Published 15-October-2026
