Fifteen years after the 2011 tsunami, taxi drivers in the Japanese port town of Kamaishi began picking up passengers who didn’t exist. Using rigged cameras, the taxi is transformed into a moving confession booth. Over the course of one night, a series of conversations between drivers and their passengers reveal how those who survived live with the dead.
Between silence and conversation, myth and memory, Ghost Town inhabits a liminal space between documentary and dream. It reveals a community suspended between the visible and invisible - a portrait of life lived alongside its ghosts.
Premiered in competition at Visions Du Réel 2026
Acquired by Dartmouth Films
Sound Designer’s Note:
Katharine created space for sound design within the cut and conept of Ghost Town and we were able to build a soundscape derived from themaic threads. The uncanny presense of Kamashi’s deer, the haunting presense of payphones, the warped memories of the trauma of the tsunami and the choregraphy taxi interiors. The mix of the film balances the intimate confessions of the contributors while also evoking the memories of Kamashi’s formative disaster and bringing to life the spirtual and ghostly experiences of the inhabitants.
A Notable Recording:
Early in the sound design of Ghost Town I recorded a series of corregated metal sounds to embelish the sound of strong wind buffeting against the large warehouses. Later in the film the same recordings were manipulated to create abstract atmospheric elements that felt evocative of this sparse ghost town.
Press & Reviews:
“an inspired exploration of the myriad ways humans process loss and grief…a haunting cinematic confessional on wheels.” - Slant Magazine (three to watch at Visions du Réel)
“a cinematic séance unfolding on the margins of reality” - Screen Anarchy
"intimate... lyrical” - Business Doc Europe
★★★★ “this poetic elegy... beautifully examined” - International Cinephile Society
★★★★ ‘With their heads resting on the delicate lace of Japanese taxis, people confide in each other about anything and everything...” - Le Polyester
Feature, Documentary, 2026
Between silence and conversation, myth and memory, Ghost Town inhabits a liminal space between documentary and dream. It reveals a community suspended between the visible and invisible - a portrait of life lived alongside its ghosts.
Premiered in competition at Visions Du Réel 2026
Acquired by Dartmouth Films
Sound Designer’s Note:
Katharine created space for sound design within the cut and conept of Ghost Town and we were able to build a soundscape derived from themaic threads. The uncanny presense of Kamashi’s deer, the haunting presense of payphones, the warped memories of the trauma of the tsunami and the choregraphy taxi interiors. The mix of the film balances the intimate confessions of the contributors while also evoking the memories of Kamashi’s formative disaster and bringing to life the spirtual and ghostly experiences of the inhabitants.
A Notable Recording:
Early in the sound design of Ghost Town I recorded a series of corregated metal sounds to embelish the sound of strong wind buffeting against the large warehouses. Later in the film the same recordings were manipulated to create abstract atmospheric elements that felt evocative of this sparse ghost town.
Press & Reviews:
“an inspired exploration of the myriad ways humans process loss and grief…a haunting cinematic confessional on wheels.” - Slant Magazine (three to watch at Visions du Réel)
“a cinematic séance unfolding on the margins of reality” - Screen Anarchy
"intimate... lyrical” - Business Doc Europe
★★★★ “this poetic elegy... beautifully examined” - International Cinephile Society
★★★★ ‘With their heads resting on the delicate lace of Japanese taxis, people confide in each other about anything and everything...” - Le Polyester
Feature, Documentary, 2026
About:
Simon is a sound designer, dubbing mixer and field recordist. His work spans across fiction, documentary, animation, commercials and podcasts. He graduated from the MA in Sound Design for Film at the National Film & Television School in 2023.
Simon’s approach to sound design is always in service of the storytelling. His ambition is to weave his soundtrack into the fabric of every project. As such he is dedicated to field recording during production, collaborating across departments and is keen to experiment with new workflows and techniques.
In 2023 Simon was awarded the MPSE Verne Fields Golden Reel for Outstanding Sound Editing in a Student Film for his design and mix of Dive.
In 2024 Crab Day, which Simon was the Sound Supervisor for, won the BAFTA for the Best British Animated Short as well as the RTS Award for Best Postgraduate Animation, where Simon’s sound design was also recognised for an RTS Craft Award.
He has also sound designed films that have won at the British Animation Awards and been nominated for Young Arrows and Best Short at London Film Festival.
Alongside his film work Simon is a regular mixer for the Financial Times podcasts and has worked with brands such as Google Pixel, Channel 4, Burt’s Bees, Herd and beyond.
He is proudly an assosiate artist of Brain Audio and a BAFTA Connect Member.
Simon is a sound designer, dubbing mixer and field recordist. His work spans across fiction, documentary, animation, commercials and podcasts. He graduated from the MA in Sound Design for Film at the National Film & Television School in 2023.
Simon’s approach to sound design is always in service of the storytelling. His ambition is to weave his soundtrack into the fabric of every project. As such he is dedicated to field recording during production, collaborating across departments and is keen to experiment with new workflows and techniques.
In 2023 Simon was awarded the MPSE Verne Fields Golden Reel for Outstanding Sound Editing in a Student Film for his design and mix of Dive.
In 2024 Crab Day, which Simon was the Sound Supervisor for, won the BAFTA for the Best British Animated Short as well as the RTS Award for Best Postgraduate Animation, where Simon’s sound design was also recognised for an RTS Craft Award.
He has also sound designed films that have won at the British Animation Awards and been nominated for Young Arrows and Best Short at London Film Festival.
Alongside his film work Simon is a regular mixer for the Financial Times podcasts and has worked with brands such as Google Pixel, Channel 4, Burt’s Bees, Herd and beyond.
He is proudly an assosiate artist of Brain Audio and a BAFTA Connect Member.