Rise
Ficiton, Short, 2025
Sound Designer, Re-Recording Mixer & Field Recordist
Dir. Jessica J Rowlands
5.1 Mix
https://risezimbabwe.com/
Ficiton, Short, 2025
Sound Designer, Re-Recording Mixer & Field Recordist
Dir. Jessica J Rowlands
5.1 Mix
https://risezimbabwe.com/
A charismatic young boy who lives on a rubbish dump in Zimbabwe must convince a reclusive boxing coach to teach him to fight in order to find safety and strength in a world that has left him behind.
“I’ve seen this incredible short film from Zimbabwe, and it moved me to my core... with unforgettable performances and stunning humanity. Stories like this deserve to be soon”
Viola Davies, Academy Award Winner & EGOT on Rise
Tribeca Festival (World Premiere) — Narrative Short Category
Indy Shorts International Film Festival: Winner – Shine Global Children's Resilience Short Film Award
HollyShorts Film Festival — Social Impact / Narrative Short Category
San Diego International Film Festival: Winner – Audience Choice Short Award
Savannah Film Festival (SCAD) — Professional Shorts Category
Lady Filmmakers Film Festival (Beverly Hills) — Official Selection
British Urban Film Festival (BUFF) — International Short Category
Denver Film Festival — Short Film Selection
Heartland International Film Festival — Special Showcase Screening
Universal Movie Awards — Official Selection
Independent Shorts Awards International Film Festival — Official Selection
Sound Designer’s Note:
I had quite a unique and educational experience working Rise with Jessica. Early in the post production of the film I pre-mixed the dialogue and designed a scene that takes place in a diner between Rise and Coach.
This was prior to travelling to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, in order to record ADR and field record.
I returned to London with a hard drive full of ambiences and effects recordings - but most importantly an experience of the sound of the location.
When I later revisited the diner scene, the choices I had made previously made sense, but they were also more generic than the true sound of Zimbabwe. I now had both the recordings and experience to redesign the scene.
It’s an experience that I has helped to develop and consolidate my approach to sound design.
“I’ve seen this incredible short film from Zimbabwe, and it moved me to my core... with unforgettable performances and stunning humanity. Stories like this deserve to be soon”
Viola Davies, Academy Award Winner & EGOT on Rise
Tribeca Festival (World Premiere) — Narrative Short Category
Indy Shorts International Film Festival: Winner – Shine Global Children's Resilience Short Film Award
HollyShorts Film Festival — Social Impact / Narrative Short Category
San Diego International Film Festival: Winner – Audience Choice Short Award
Savannah Film Festival (SCAD) — Professional Shorts Category
Lady Filmmakers Film Festival (Beverly Hills) — Official Selection
British Urban Film Festival (BUFF) — International Short Category
Denver Film Festival — Short Film Selection
Heartland International Film Festival — Special Showcase Screening
Universal Movie Awards — Official Selection
Independent Shorts Awards International Film Festival — Official Selection
Sound Designer’s Note:
I had quite a unique and educational experience working Rise with Jessica. Early in the post production of the film I pre-mixed the dialogue and designed a scene that takes place in a diner between Rise and Coach.
This was prior to travelling to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, in order to record ADR and field record.
I returned to London with a hard drive full of ambiences and effects recordings - but most importantly an experience of the sound of the location.
When I later revisited the diner scene, the choices I had made previously made sense, but they were also more generic than the true sound of Zimbabwe. I now had both the recordings and experience to redesign the scene.
It’s an experience that I has helped to develop and consolidate my approach to sound design.
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.