The Sound of Animation: Nicolas Becker and Momoko Seto in Discussion
Schedule
Saturday, February 7, 2026
Run Time: 75 minutes
This event is free!
Talk moderated by Jonathan Zalben, Music composer
Join us for a discussion with Oscar-winning sound designer Nicolas Becker. Becker has shaped the soundscape of dozens of films, including Gravity and The Sound of Metal. In his first foray into sound design for animation, Becker recently worked on Dandelion’s Odyssey (opening this year’s festival) and Arco. Becker will talk about his journey from foley artist to sound designer, his inspirations and the art of crafting the sound into a living character. He will be joined by filmmaker Momoko Seto to discuss their collaboration on Dandelion’s Odyssey, her first feature, where sound plays a crucial role in bringing to life four dandelion seeds and creating a haunting and mesmerizing cinematic experience.
Venue
Event Pricing
Children under seventeen (17) years of age must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian at all times and may not attend events unattended.
Nicolas Becker
Nicolas Becker is a leading French Foley artist and sound designer, with credits on hundreds of acclaimed films, including Batman Begins, Gravity, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Ex Machina, and La Haine. In 2021, he won the Academy Award for Best Sound for the immersive, sensorial masterpiece Sound of Metal.
Becker has also expanded his artistry beyond cinema. He created an immersive sound installation for a Louis Vuitton runway show in collaboration with contemporary artist Philippe Parreno (with whom he also worked on an exhibition featuring musician Arca), and has collaborated with Patti Smith and Soundwalk Collective.
Recently, he has worked on new features with experimental filmmaker Momoko Seto (Dandelion’s Odyssey), Ugo Bienvenu (Arco), and Oscar-winning director Andrea Arnold.
Momoko Seto
Momoko Seto was born in Tokyo in 1980. After studying at the Tokyo French Lycée, she travelled to France to study Art at the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Marseille, then at the Le Fresnoy National Studio of Contempoary Art. At the same time as working as a film director at the CNRS (National Centre of Scientific Research) in Paris, she makes experimental films mingling different genres. She has made a number of short films and documentaries, which have been presented and acclaimed at several international festivals. Her latest film PLANET ∑ received the Audi Short Film Award at the 65th Berlinale. She lives and works in France.
Jonathan Zalben
Jonathan Zalben’s recent projects include original scores for the documentary films, “The Last Twins” narrated by Liev Schreiber and “Can’t Look Away” for Bloomberg Media both directed by Matthew O’Neill and Perri Peltz.He was nominated for an Emmy Award along with the sound team for music editing “Pee-Wee As Himself” (HBO) directed by Matt Wolf. He was nominated for a Guild of Music Supervisors Award for “Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes” (PBS) directed by Peter Schnall.He is music supervising an upcoming PBS docu-series about the Martha Graham Dance Company, and music edited the upcoming Amazon films “Is God Is” and “Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother” starring Mahershala Ali.Previously he wrote scores for the Emmy-award winning series, “Axios on HBO” as well as the Oscar-nominated film “Redemption” (HBO), and “Alone” which won the Sundance Jury Award and was shortlisted for an Oscar.
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