In Cemetery, Casas worked with renowned wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson to construct an almost entirely sonic journey into darkness, drawing on recordings from different landscapes and species to create a world the audience has to navigate by ear. In his new film Krakatoa, Casas continues this exploration together with Oscar-winning sound designer Nicolas Becker (Sound of Metal), working with sound, vibration and physical sensation as fundamental parts of the cinematic experience. Casas has described the collaboration with Becker as an attempt to use sound to reach sensations that the image cannot.

Sound is equally central to Lê Bảo’s Hearing. Its protagonist spends his days measuring noise, while silence and distance grow within his own family. Working with sound designer Vincent Villa and Norwegian electronic musician Mental Overdrive, Lê builds a film where everyday sounds, silence, music and even light become interconnected. Rather than illustrating the images, the soundscape has a life and dramatic function of its own.

Together, the two directors discuss where sound enters their filmmaking process, how they communicate sonic ideas to collaborators, and what becomes possible when we stop thinking of cinema as primarily a visual medium.