Summer is officially gone, and we're stepping into a new academic year—a new season filled with fresh geographic and cultural environments for many of you.

What do you feel when you read this? Excited? Stressed? Full of energy to meet new people and embrace old colleagues and challenges? Or maybe wishing this day never came?

We invite you to share your unique experience and perspective of starting the new academic year in our podcast episode "Ready for the Fall" (and yes, the irony in that wording may or may not be accidental).

This is a special, collaborative episode of the FilmEU podcast made entirely by you. We want to weave together audio stories from our student community across Europe to create a vibrant, global snapshot of students' moods at the start of this new chapter.

Your Mission: Create a Story with Sound

Your task is to record a short audio segment (1–5 minutes) about the beginning of the academic year, a day in your class, a night on campus, or another moment that feels relevant. It can be inspiring, funny, dramatic, or even perfectly ordinary.

You can use one or combine any of the following elements:

• Spoken Word: Narrate your story in your own voice.
• Natural Sound: Include ambient audio that paints a picture—conversations, campus-scapes, city streets, music, or laughter.
• Voices of Others: Short audio clips of friends or colleagues who were part of your story.
• Your Native Language: Include a short phrase or quote that fits the mood.

Don't worry about perfection; focus on emotion and atmosphere. You can even record on your phone!

How to Submit

1. Your Audio File: Export your final segment as an MP3 or WAV file. Please title it in this format: Title of Piece, Your Name, Your Institution, Your Country.
2. Your Description: Write a short paragraph (100–150 words) about your segment: where it takes place, why you chose it, and any special sounds you used. Please title it in this format: Title of Piece, Your Name, Your Institution, Your Country.
3. Send Everything To:
   • zuzana.ferenczova@filmeu.eu
   • tamara.abdul.khalek@filmeu.eu
   • nastya.maksymchuk@filmeu.eu
   • jeppe.olesen@filmeu.eu

Deadline for all submissions: October 10, 2025.

Got a Story About How Your New Semester Started?

We can't wait to hear your voice and experience as part of the FilmEU community!