Composer, sound designer, and creator Rafe Axne, has contributed to score and sound on multiple short films, additionally producing a handful of his own short-form films in recent years. His most recent credit for both music and sound design is “Camino”, which premiered at the 2025 San Francisco International Film Festival.

On top of his music and sound abilities, Rafe has extensive knowledge of the pre-, peri-, and post-production film realm after working with various festivals, production companies, and residencies. He has completed internships with both SFFILM’s Artist Development team and documentary production company Interloper Films, and was the liaison for the inaugural year of the SFFILM Sound and Cinema Fellowship with SFCM. He enjoys assisting filmmakers on how to effectively communicate, collaborate, and harmonize with composers and sound designers about their projects, and loves seeing a finished product come to life.

From a young age, Rafe has been surrounded by music. He began studying piano at the Des Moines Symphony Academy when he was five, and attended concerts at the Des Moines Symphony, which contributed to his love of symphonic music. Music of all types blasted through his bedroom wall from his parents’ office, and after listening to Alexandre Desplat‘s scores to Wes Anderson‘s films, Rafe discovered he wanted to write music for media. After becoming a cinephile, he fell in love with all creative aspects of film and animation. Composers like Emile Mosseri, Jonny Greenwood, and Michael Giacchino are also important inspirations to him. 

Born in Wisconsin and raised in rural Iowa, Rafe spent his time exploring cornfields, forests, and lakes with his dog Addie. He likes to record the sounds of life and nature, and use them in his personal work to compliment his compositions, as he feels art and the natural world go hand in hand, and enjoys creating a sense of comfort that reminds him of his past memories.

Rafe is currently earning a Bachelor of Music Degree for Technology and Applied Composition, with a film focus, at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.