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Francisco Mazza

Lecturer

Francisco Mazza 


BIO


Francisco Mazza is a Brazilian, London-based sound artist, lecturer and researcher whose work operates at the intersection of sonic practice, critical theory, and technology. Winner of the 2024 BAFTSS Award for his practice research film Notes on Listening, Mazza brings rigorous intellectual inquiry to bear on the sensory, political, and cultural dimensions of sound — across media, space, and body.

His practice spans fiction and documentary film, radio art, podcasts, immersive installations, museum exhibitions, and conceptual audio design for architectural environments, products, and brands. What unites this range is a consistent, theoretically grounded commitment to expanding how we think about listening — not merely as perception, but as a critical and embodied act.

Mazza holds a Master's degree in Sound Arts from the London College of Communication and a PhD from Staffordshire University, where his doctoral research made substantive contributions to the study of the sonic mediascape.

He has collaborated with leading cultural institutions including the BBC, BFI, Serpentine Galleries, Tate Modern, the British Museum, Resonance FM, Museu da Imagem e do Som (MIS), and Memorial da América Latina, as well as with organisations such as Stella McCartney and Heatherwick Studio.

At its core, his practice asks what it truly means to listen — not at the world, but from within it.


UCL Profile: https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/97362-francisco-mazza 

Website: www.framazza.com 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/framazza/

 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/franciscomazza/


TEACHING APPROACH

Francisco Mazza is a Lecturer in Film and Sound Production at UCL on the BA Media programme, and also teaches Sonic Fictions on the Digital Storytelling MA. His modules span sound production and design for fiction film and documentary, podcasting, interactive media, degree show, and practice-based research — all grounded in a practice-as-research framework.

Beyond the classroom, Mazza shapes the broader direction of sound studies within the programme. He has delivered lectures and workshops at the University of the Arts London, Staffordshire University, and the University of Reading, and brings that accumulated expertise to his current post at UCL. His pedagogical aim is direct: to equip students with the technical rigour, critical awareness, and disruptive thinking needed to work meaningfully with sound in an industry — and a world — in constant flux.

"I emphasise experimentation, active learning, and radical innovation. My long-term goals in pedagogy and research involve developing work on experimental listening practices mediated by sonic media technologies — refining sonic thinking within cutting-edge methodologies to provide not only technical proficiency, but a deep understanding of the socio-cultural implications of sound and media." — Francisco Mazza, 2024


PUBLICATIONS AND CONFERENCES

  • Rebbellious Reserach Seminar (2024): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlaSMmfmlUA
  • Mazza, F. (2023). More Than Background: What Sounds Do. Audio-Paper, Seismograf (peer-reviewed platform). [Online]
  • Mazza, F. (2022). Listening as Strategy: Extending Sonic Thinking in Documentary Filmmaking. International Journal of Creative Media Research, UK. [Online]
  • Conference Presentations
  • Rethinking Sonic Cultures in Nonfiction Filmmaking. The Listening Biennial, London (2021)
  • More than Background. PhD Seminar, Staffordshire University (2021)
  • Arts/Practice Research Core Reading Introduction. Rebellious Practice Research Online Seminar Series (2021)
  • Sound as Critical Practice in Nonfiction Media. Innovation Week, Staffordshire University (2022)
  • Extending Sonic Thinking in the Documentary. NoiseFloor Festival/Conference (2022)
  • Listening as Strategy: Understanding Peckham Through Sound. MeCCSA Postgraduate Conference (2023)