Arsen was born in Split, Croatia, on the Adriatic coast, in 1965. At the tender age of twelve, he discovered his passion for filmmaking after joining a cinema group in his elementary school. He began making silent, short genre films in black and white on Normal 8 film stock, which he and his classmates would invent the stories for, shoot, act in, and develop the footage for.
As a teenager, his Super 8 short film 'The Stone Mason' premiered on prime-time TV, earning the title of best short film by a teenager. During his high school years, he was an active member of the Kino-club Split, where he primarily made experimental films.
Arsen then pursued his Bachelor of Arts degree in film directing at the Film and TV Directing department of the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb, Croatia, graduating with top honors. Some of his student short films received awards at professional film festivals, and he also began working as an assistant director to renowned Croatian directors.
He went on to study film directing and producing at the Graduate Film Department of the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, earning his Master of Fine Arts degree with top honors. During his time in New York, he made several award-winning short films and worked on numerous low-budget films as an assistant director and production manager.
After struggling to secure funding for his screenplays, Arsen taught filmmaking at the Polytechnic University in Salzburg, Austria, for two years before returning to Croatia. He wrote and directed his first feature film, A Wonderful Night in Split, starring Coolio, which garnered over 20 awards and critical acclaim.
Arsen's subsequent films, including No One's Son and Halima's Path, received widespread recognition, earning him multiple award nominations and wins. He has been a member of the European Film Academy since 2005 and is also a professor of film production at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb, Croatia.
In addition to his film work, Arsen has directed a successful stage play, 'Billie Holliday', and has been the president of the Croatian Film Directors' Guild. Despite facing financial difficulties, Arsen continues to work on new projects, including his fourth feature film, F20, which has earned almost 30 awards at international film festivals.
