A NEW ERA FOR THE SHORT SOUNDS FILM FESTIVAL: SSFF Student Takeover 2025

We’re back – with a BANG!

After a three-year hiatus, THE SHORT SOUNDS FILM FESTIVAL is relaunching for 2025 with a special STUDENT TAKEOVER event.

We will continue to focus and celebrate the power of sound and music in film, but this time around the festival will be open exclusively to student film productions with outstanding sound and music. We are the only student short film festival dedicated to sound design and music composition and we’re here to champion the craft that brings film to life.

A little background…

Founded by White Lantern Film in 2016, THE SHORT SOUNDS FILM FESTIVAL celebrated the often-overlooked role that sound and music play in the art and craft of storytelling in film and screen-based media. Between 2016 and 2022, the festival hosted annual events at PDSW, Bournemouth. These events screened the short-listed films and featured international guests and panellists from the industry including Oscar winning sound practitioners as well as Directors, Producers, filmmakers and academics all sharing their passion for sound.

Whilst things fell silent in 2023, THE SHORT SOUNDS FILM FESTIVAL now has a new home as it transfers to Bournemouth University. BU has always had very close ties with the festival and are pleased to relaunch it in 2025 with a one-off, STUDENT TAKEOVER culminating in an event hosted by BU during the Summer 2025.

Please check out the rest of this site and our social channels for more information on previous festivals and to find out more about the upcoming SSFF25: STUDENT TAKEOVER. The festival is now open to submissions via FIlmFreeway.

We look forward to a bright new era for Short Sounds.