Marta Fracassetti: from directing pop videos to filming war crimes trials in The Hague

<p dir="ltr">When Marta Fracassetti describes her career, she calls it “the road from directing pop music videos to filming war crimes trials.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The shift seems unlikely at first, but Marta’s career has always returned to the same question: what should the camera pay attention to?</p> <p dir="ltr">Marta studied at Arts University Plymouth, then known as Plymouth College of Art &amp; Design, from 1989 to 1994. Across five years, she completed a BTEC National Diploma in Photography, a BTEC HND in Film &amp; TV, and a PQE in Film Direction and Production.</p> <p dir="ltr">She began in photography, but her time in Plymouth opened up a new direction. It was here that she made her first videos and short films as a director, and began to understand moving image as the medium she wanted to pursue.</p> <p dir="ltr">Marta said: “My education at Plymouth College of Art &amp; Design was key to finding my true passion, and I am forever grateful for those wonderful years that encouraged the discovery of my talents. All the projects given to us were formative, and I made my first videos and short films as a director then.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Phil Shingler was my first video tutor and the one to greatly inspire me to pursue Film &amp; TV direction after two years of studying photography.”<br /></p>

<p dir="ltr">After finishing her studies, Marta spent several years directing pop videos.</p> <p dir="ltr">The work suited her at first: quick, visual and full of music, and built around the challenge of making a story land in just a few minutes. But over time, she began to feel that the industry was not where she wanted to stay.</p> <p dir="ltr">Marta said: “After finishing my photography and film studies, I spent a few years mostly directing pop videos. I loved music and the creativity of coming up with short stories, but I found the music industry fickle and eventually grew out of it.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Not long afterwards, Marta began working for the United Nations, making an extensive documentary for an investigation team examining war crimes in the Balkans, specifically the Srebrenica massacre.</p> <p dir="ltr">That work led to 23 years as a dedicated Video Director for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, where she recorded war crimes trials every day.<br /></p>

<p dir="ltr">In The Hague, Marta’s work became part of the daily record of international justice.</p> <p dir="ltr">The work was far removed from the speed and style of pop videos, but it still depended on knowing what to show, when to hold back, and how to record events clearly.</p> <p dir="ltr">Public reporting and tribunal records help show the scale of that work. During the Mladić trial, the Law Gazette described Marta as part of the tribunal’s unit in Court 1, while official transcripts refer directly to footage and trial videos made by Marta Fracassetti.</p> <p dir="ltr">Marta said: “Not too long after directing pop videos, I found myself working for the United Nations, making an extensive documentary for an investigation team on war crimes perpetrated in the Balkans, specifically the Srebrenica massacre.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I then worked for 23 years as a dedicated Video Director for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, recording war crimes trials every day.”<br /></p>

<p dir="ltr">Marta Fracassetti’s story is part of Arts University Plymouth’s 170th anniversary series, celebrating artists, designers and makers whose journeys began here and continue to shape creative life in Plymouth, the South West and beyond.</p> <p dir="ltr">It is not the career Marta imagined when she began studying photography, but it began with learning how to look, how to frame, and how to use film with care.<br /></p>