Notes on Listening (UK) is one of the three sets of work that are selected from DIVFUSE Film Archive Open Call No.1 with a theme on domesticity.
Film Screenings + Audio Essay + Photography Documentation :
Session One 25 July 2025 Friday 7pm (+ artist’s talk)
Session Two 26 July Saturday 3pm
Session Three 26 July Saturday 4:30pm
Session Four 26 July Saturday 6pm (+ artist’s talk)
Session Five 27 July Sunday 3pm
Session Six 27 July Sunday 4:30pm
£8 for sessions with artist’s talk and £5 for other sessions | 8 places only per session | Please email divfuse@gmail.com for tickets
Running time : 45 minutes. The screenings will be presenting the experimental film Notes on Listening (2024), an audio essay More Than Background (2023) and a series of photography by Raquel Diniz on the making of Notes on Listening.
Notes on Listening is a groundbreaking practice-based research film that captures the essence of people, sound, and place in Peckham, London—a neighbourhood on the brink of cultural displacement due to gentrification. Winner of the prestigious BAFTSS Award (British Association of Film, TV, and Screen Media Studies) in 2024, this experimental documentary employs a unique ‘sensory documentary’ approach. Using sound as the driving force, it immerses viewers in Peckham’s vibrant yet threatened community.
What the judges from BAFTSS had to say:
“The panel agreed that NOTES ON LISTENING is a highly original sound-driven narrative documentary that successfully puts the audience inside the area it explores, Peckham in London. The film skilfully represents the complex and unique soundscape of this London borough, giving a visual and sonic sense of its vivacity and vibrancy. In doing so, it makes a clear case for resisting the impending threats posed by encroaching gentrification. The panel commended the filmmaker’s creative and intricate approach, which provides a vivid evocation of Peckham’s rich cultural life.”
‘This audio paper explores the “acoustic territory” (Labelle, 2010) of Peckham Rye Lane through my sonic journey as a Peckham resident, practitioner, and researcher. My relationship with this place has expanded throughout my studies, moving beyond the simple notion of documentation or representation from an “outsider” perspective. As a resident, I have apprehended my methodologies oflistening and representing sound through my everyday life in Peckham and my involvement with various community groups.’
BUT WHY SOUND? AND WHY NOW?
“With the urgent necessity of communicating places and sounds” (Wright, 2022), this acoustic territory of Peckham Town Centre vibrates to my “idiosyncratic” position (Schulze, 2018). The one that can be expanded into a broader social-political dimension resonates with grassroots community engagement in Peckham. In this context, amplifying ambience became a methodological tool and critical framework to infuse “sonic sensibilities” (Voegelin, 2021) into discussions about urban spaces and community engagement as a response to the new “re-generation” plans spreading across London.
How can listening be incorporated into community activism as a reflective strategy? And how can the agency of the acoustic environment be articulated in those reflections?
Credits: Interview with: Eileen Conn – founder and coordinator of the local community action group Peckham Vision – who has been combining impressive theoretical intelligence with the practical ability to mobilise, engage, and inspire grassroots social change.
Francisco Mazza (UK) is a London-based sound artist, lecturer, and BAFTSS award winner (2024) for his practice-research film Notes on Listening. His work explores the intersections of modern composition, installation, nonfiction filmmaking, interactive audio production, and radio art to investigate listening practices and environmental interactions. He completed a Master’s in Sound Arts at the London College of Communication in 2016. He frequently collaborates with communities and artists to examine how expanded listening practices shape individual and collective experiences. In 2024, he was awarded a PhD for his research on the Sonic Ecosystem of Documentary Form.
He has exhibited and contributed to a wide range of arts events, film screenings, and installations, including Tate Modern, Dilston Grove Gallery, Nunnery Gallery, University of the Arts London, Resonance FM, the 46th Brazilian Film Festival of Brasília, the International Sound & Film Music Festival (ISFMF), the International Biennial of Sound Cinema (BIS), Latin America Memorial, Red Bull Studios Artistic Residency, and MIS (Museum of Image and Sound). He was also invited to serve on the judging panel for the 2019 Sound Art category at The Ivors Composer Awards (formerly the British Composer Awards).
Raquel Diniz (UK) is a photographer with a deep interest in the built environment and community engagement. She works at an architecture practice, where she documents projects that shape cities and public spaces. Her photography explores the relationship between people and the spaces they inhabit, capturing both the intent behind architectural design and its real-world impact. Beyond her professional work, Raquel has been actively involved with her local community group for the past three years. Through her images and visual documentation, she helps raise awareness of developments that disregard the neighbourhood’s constraints and character.
Diniz’s work blends artistic vision with a documentary approach, ensuring that the built environment is seen not just as a collection of structures but as a lived in experience. She believes that photography has the power to advocate for more thoughtful and inclusive design, bridging the gap between architects, policymakers, and the people most affected by their decisions. Whether capturing large-scale projects or small community efforts, her lens is always focused on the human side of architecture.
Images from Francisco Mazza and Raquel Diniz
