British post-classical composer, producer and pianist Derek Kirkup is a graduate of the UK’s Academy of Contemporary Music, a foundation that kick-started his career in songwriting before invitations to score for film soon came in.
He scored interactive feature Olive Green (2014) which picked up the Gold World medal at New York Festivals TV and Film awards in competition with HBO’s Game of Thrones’ spin-off web series. 2016 saw a collaboration with writer/director Carl Mackenzie on the acclaimed short The Interrogation of Olivia Donovan. Successes that increased demand for Kirkup’s scores and continued the flow of awards.
His feature score for James Webber’s multi-award-winning Sorority (2022), starring Kate Dickie and Sophie Kennedy Clark, saw him pick up the Alan Parsons Award for Best Original Score at the Scotland International Festival of Cinema.
His latest film score sees him reunite with director Carl Mackenzie for Choice Point Productions’ PTSD drama ‘Unseen Scars’.