Sonic Visions

Exploring sound and music in all its aural wonder, this selection of shorts goes on a sensory journey across the globe.

In Taiwan we hear the organic soundscapes of cicadas, cackling Blue Magpies, forests, mountains and seas in Listen Closely. The utterly wondrous Achewiq, the Song of the Brave Women takes us to Northern Algeria, where the women of Kabylie cope with suffering through 'achewiq', a musical form in which long, improvised lines of song explore the great issues of life. And closer to home, Birmingham-based artist and musician Dazz Joyce showcases one of his spellbinding experiments using lights, multiple microscopic camera lenses, and broken bits of glass - the result is a mix of otherworldly visuals set to a sumptuous musical soundtrack.

All of the short films screened are up for the coveted Optical Sound Award.

FILMS

Achewiq, the Song of the Brave Women
dir: Elina Kastler, France 2022, 16 mins

Falling Apart
dir: Darren Joyce, UK 2023, 3 mins

Birdsong
dir: Omi Zola Gupta & Sparsh Ahuja, UK 2022, 18 mins

The Hour Coat
dir: Amy Kravitz, US 2022, 13 mins

Listen Closely
dir: George Hiraoka Cloke, Taiwan 2022, 9 mins

Intro
dir: Anne Isensee, Germany 2022, 7 mins