16-01-2023

OBITUARY: Croatian Sound Designer and Editor Martin Semenčić

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    ZAGREB: The Croatian film community is shaken by the news of the sudden death of Martin Semenčić, one of the most talented young sound designers and editors, whose films were screened at Berlinale, Cannes and Rotterdam. Among the countless awards he won, five Golden Arenas at the Pula Film Festival stand out, making him one of the most awarded Croatian filmmakers.

    Martin Semenčić, credit: ZagrebDoxBorn in 1980 in Samobor, he earned a Master's Degree in film editing at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb, after which he graduated in music production and sound design in Amsterdam and London, at the joint programme of the SAE Institute and Middlesex University. Upon his return to Croatia in 2004, he became one of the most-sought sound designers, a member of the Croatian Association of Freelance Artists and the Croatian Association of Film Workers, and since 2018 he was teaching sound design at the VERN University.

    Some of his recent films include Mater directed by Jure Pavlović and produced by Croatia’s Sekvenca in coproduction with Serbian Wake Up Film & Video Production, France’s Les Films de l'oeil sauvage and Udruženje Novi film from Bosnia and Herzegovina; Blue Flower directed by Zrinko Ogresta and produced by Croatia’s Interfilm and coproduced by Serbia’s Zilion film; and the HBO Original TV series Success directed by Oscar-winning Danis Tanović. His last film Traces, directed by Dubravka Turić and produced by Croatia’s Kinorama in coproduction with Romania’s Microfilm, has just entered Croatian cinemas.