Bio
Diego Ayala Raffalli is a Venezuelan film composer based in Paris, with an eclectic musical background spanning rock, jazz, classical, and electroacoustic music. He graduated from the film score composition program at the Paris Conservatoire (CNSMD Paris) in 2022.
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Diego has composed original music for films, advertising, dance performances, live-to-picture concerts, projection mappings, and orchestral works. Notable projects include Don't Cry, Butterfly (Venice Critics’ Week Grand Prize, Verona Film Club Prize 2024, TIFF, Busan International Film Festival), Como si la tierra se las hubiera tragado (Sundance Short Film Jury Award winner 2025, Clermont-Ferrand…), My Wonderful Life (Special Jury Award at SXSW 2025, Singapore International Film Festival, Annecy 2025…), and On the Edge (Student Academy Award nominee). In 2025, he was awarded the Grand Prize for Best Original Score at the Marseille Musique et Cinéma Film Festival for his work on Como si la tierra se las hubiera tragado.
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His diverse musical experience allows him to explore a wide range of influences, always aiming to serve the unique universe of each project. He values creative collaboration and enjoys working closely with directors to find the perfect musical voice for their films.
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His debut album Ausencia was released on Shimmering Moods Records in 2025. A deeply personal project, Ausencia is a minimalist ambient exploration around the subject of grief.
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In addition to composing, he is also an orchestrator and composer assistant. He notably orchestrated the Latin Grammy-nominated album Gerry Weil Sinfónico and has worked with French composer Delphine Malausséna on various film and TV projects.
Photo by Sofîa Barandiaran
Musical approach and philosophy
One of the key aspects of why I enjoy doing what I do is that film scoring is always an adventure into the unknown. Music is infinite, and the possibilities for scoring a scene are endless. It's in this initial discovery phase that, alongside the director or the creative team, we sail into the "sea of possibilities" (as Patti Smith would say) and set out to discover the music that best suits the film. Intuition guides every step of this journey, often taking us to strange or unexpected places. Sometimes the most obvious musical choice works best for a scene, and sometimes, through musical exploration and experimentation, we find something completely unexpected that resonates on a core emotional level.
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Formal musical training and experience in screen scoring have provided me with the technical knowledge and sensibility to explore all genres. I always approach every project with a blank slate, detached from any preconceived notion of what a film score can or cannot be.
Artwork by Fanny Marec
Awards, residencies and festivals
FESTIVAL INTERNATIONAL MUSIC & CINEMA MARSEILLE 2025
Grand prize for best original score for "Como si la tierra se las hubiera tragado"
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FESTIVAL INTERNATIONAL MUSIC & CINEMA MARSEILLE
Masterclass 2022 et Troisième Personnage 2023, 2024
Composer and performer of the closing cine-concert of the Festival in 2022.
France Music-SACEM film score award
Michel Legrand fait son cinéma 2022
Commission from Radio France following the 2020 "Prix de l'avenir"
FESTIVAL DES ARCS
Music Village 2021
Among the four composers selected to participate in the 2021 Music Village residency
PARIS CITY HALL
Festival Enfances au Cinéma 2021, 2020
Composer for a children’s film concert
FESTIVAL D'ANIMATION D'ANNECY
Festival credits
Composer for festival opening credits films Taste of Tokyo (2019), Idol-Idol (2019), Bumba meu Boi (2018)
