A child sits between two arguing parents, surrounded by a tension he cannot escape. There are no easy words for what he is feeling, but in Milo, the music says it for him. That emotional space is where Bengaluru-based composer Keziah Thomas found herself while scoring the animated short – figuring out how a melody could carry deep emotions like fear, hope and the pain of uncertainty. Her work on the film has now earned her Best Soundtrack and Best Composer of the Future at the World Film Festival in Cannes.
Interestingly, the 22-year-old approaches music long before the first note is written, as she shares, “Before I write any music, I spend time understanding the characters, the emotional arc and what the film is really trying to say beneath the dialogue.” This approach became particularly important while working on Milo, which follows a young child caught in the middle of his parents’ constant arguments. Thomas also had several conversations with director Dillon Sharp about the story and the emotional direction he wanted to take.
She also believes animation presents a different relationship between image and music because the score can carry much of the emotional storytelling. And for Milo, she wanted the music to have its own identity but rooted in the story. I recorded myself humming a simple melody, which became the main motif and emotional thread connecting the entire film. I then manipulated those vocal recordings by stretching, reversing, and transforming them into different textures and colours to reflect the changing emotions throughout the story,” she says.
But one particular scene pushed that idea further, bringing two worlds together. The music had to move from something hopeful and ethereal into something much darker, without making the transition feel abrupt. “The emotional shift had to feel completely seamless – it couldn’t sound like one cue ending and another beginning. Finding that balance took a lot of experimentation, but it ended up being one of my favourite moments in the score,” she says.
Even with a distinct musical identity, Thomas also sees film scoring as a collaborative process. “I believe my job is to serve the film first. Every composer brings their own artistic identity, but I never want my style to overshadow the story and vision the director has. If a director asks for a rewrite, I don’t see it as a setback. Those conversations lead to even stronger ideas than the original,” she says.
Thomas’ relationship with music began in Bengaluru when she was seven, creating simple melodies on the piano. By 14, she explored different instruments and musical styles. She moved to Boston in 2023 to study at Berklee College of Music, and now she doesn’t separate the two cities when she thinks about where she is today. “Bengaluru is where I built my entire musical foundation and Berklee is where I refined my craft as a composer," she says.
The Cannes recognition has given that journey another kind of validation. Not simply because of what the awards mean professionally, sharing, “It made my dreams feel real to people who once doubted them. That’s been a very rewarding part of this experience as well.”
However, while technology has made international collaboration and global platforms accessible, she believes India still needs to change the way it views creative careers. “Many people still don’t see it as a viable profession, which means a lot of talented young musicians are discouraged from pursuing it. If that mindset begins to change and more families and institutions support creative careers, we’ll see many more Indian composers making their mark internationally. The talent is already here, we just need more people to believe that this path is possible,” she says.
Now, she looks forward to film and television scoring, collaborations with filmmakers around the world and, ultimately, stories she genuinely connects with. “I want to contribute to stories that bring a change in the viewers. Because my hope is to create music that not only supports a film but leaves a lasting emotional impact on the audience.”