Andrei Toncu

Andrei "Otto" Toncu (April 8 1978 Bucharest - August 24 2006 Bucharest) was a Romanian sound designer.

Biography

Andrei Toncu graduated from Bucharest University for Theater and Film (Film and TV Department, Multimedia, Sound, and Editing) in 2000.His final project short film, "Free Fall", directed by Dorin Stana, received the best sound award at the International Student Film Festival CineMAiubit in Bucharest (2000) [http://www.uk.imdb.com/Sections/Awards?CineMAiubit_-_International_Student_Film_Festival/2000] .

After graduation, he worked with film and TV sound for Antena1 and B1TV Romanian TV channels. He also continued to work as an independent filmmaker [http://www.sound-design.ro] .

In 2004 - Chicago, USA -, Andrei Toncu finished his work on the thriller "To Kill a Killer" directed by Ricardo Islas, being responsible for all aspects of sound on the English and Spanish versions of the movie [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0867117] . "To Kill a Killer" was released on DVD by Warner Bros in June 2007.

The sound of many documentaries, cartoons, and medium and short length films also bear Andre Toncu's signature. Among them is "The Tube With A Hat" by Radu Jude, which has already received 17 international awards.

The movies "Mihai and Cristina, C Block Story," and "Marilena from P7" are a result of his long, fruitful collaboration with the Romanian film director Cristian Nemescu. During the summer of 2006, the two were wrapping up work on Nemescu's debut feature "California Dreamin' " starring Armand Assante. On August 25th, Andrei Toncu and Cristian Nemescu were killed in a car crash. The two filmmakers were riding in a taxi on their way home after completing the trailer for "California Dreamin"'. On Eroilor Bridge, the cab was struck by a Porsche Cayenne SUV driven by British citizen Ali Imran who ran a red light at the speed of 120km/h [http://www.jurnalul.ro/articol_60473/two_gifted_film_makers_and_their_taxi_driver_die_in_a_car_crash.html] .

Just a couple of days before the accident, Andrei Toncu had been invited to join the film team to work on special sound effects for Francis Ford Coppola's upcoming film "Youth Without Youth".

In November 2006, the NexT Cultural Society was created in the memory of the two filmmakers. NexT organized the first annual short and medium length film festival "NexT", which took place March 29-31 2006 in Bucharest [http://www.nextproject.ro] .

At the beginning of March 2007, during the award ceremony for the Romanian Union of Filmmakers, sound designer Andrei Toncu was awarded the 2006 prize for best sound [http://www.ucin.ro]

Filmography

* 2000 - "Free Fall" [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt270875] , Dorin Stana director [http://www.cinemagia.ro/actor.php?actor_id=13366]
* 2000 - "Fragile", Doru Nitescu director
* 2001 - "Mihai and Cristina" [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0399353] , Cristian Nemescu director
* 2002 - "Work Now", Ion Puican director
* 2003 - "C Block Story", Cristian Nemescu director
* 2003 - "Human & Bread", Matei Branea director
* 2004 - "To Kill a Killer", Ricardo Islas director [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0867117]
* 2004 - "Heaven", Matei Branea director
* 2006 - "The Tube with a Hat", Radu Jude director [http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=384905]
* 2006 - "Marilena from P7" [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0805188/combined] , [http://www.milanofilmfestival.it/eng/2007/palmares.php] , Cristian Nemescu director
* 2006 - "California Dreamin' "(endless) [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0449573/combined] , Cristian Nemescu director

Awards

** 2000 - Best Sound Prize - International Student Film Festival CineMAiubit
** 2006 - 5.1 Surround Contest Winner [http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?AID=207589]
** 2006 - Best Sound Prize - Romanian Union of Filmmakers [http://www.ucin.ro]
** 2001 - 2007 - Participant in international awards received for films "Mihai and Cristina, C Block Story, Marilena from P7, The Tube with the Hat ", and "California Dreamin' ".

External links

* [http://www.sound-design.ro Official site of Andrei Toncu]
* [http://www.cinemagia.ro/actor.php?actor_id=17062 Cinemagia - Andrei Toncu]
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