RIP Michael Wolf Snyder

Michael Wolf Snyder, ‘Nomadland’ Production Sound Mixer, Dies at 35

The Hollywood Reporter

By Trilby Beresford

March 6, 2021

Michael Wolf Snyder, a production sound mixer on Nomadland, has died. He was 35.

Snyder’s aunt Cathy shared a Facebook message from her brother David — Michael’s father — confirming his son’s death. In the post, Snyder wrote that Michael took his own life last week and that he suffered from depression for many years.

The message read, in part, “Michael took his own life sometime in the last week and wasn’t discovered until I went to check on him Monday after he had dropped out of contact for several days. He has suffered from Major Depression for many years. For most people, this is an illness that waxes and wanes over the years. I’m sure it was difficult for Michael that he spent most of the last year alone in his small, Queens apartment, being responsible about dealing with the coronavirus. In spite of this, we all believed he was doing well, and for most of this past year I think he was. He seemed especially joyful and invigorated in these last few months since he was able to return to work on several different film projects. He was certainly thrilled about all of the accolades for Nomadland and told us many happy stories about his work on the film and the amazing people he got to spend time with.”

Of Michael’s career, Synder shared, “We have always known how much Wolf loved his work in film; it was the brightest spot in his life.” This year, Michael was nominated for best sound/effects at the CinEuphoria awards for Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland. His additional credits in the sound department include Zhao’s The Rider, mini-series HodoBuzz and Good Omens, and numerous short films. On set over the last decade, his roles ranged from sound mixer to boom operator, location sound recordist and sound director.

In sharing the circumstances of his son’s death, Synder, a psychiatrist, urged others struggling with depression to seek support. “I hope that the shocking nature of Michael’s death will alert others to speak up, risk being vulnerable, and seek the help that they need,” he wrote.

Among many tributes on Facebook, actor Yuval Davis wrote, “Michael Wolf Snyder was the super-cool award-winning sound mixer who recorded on set audio for the latest feature film I directed. His tragic loss is painfully heard.” Filmmaker Craig Blair remembered Snyder as a “wonderful friend & talented collaborator,” writing on Facebook that he “embodied everything that I love about filmmaking and the community that he was and will always be a part of.”

The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to Searchlight Pictures, as well as representatives for several of the cast from Nomandland, for comment.

 

SNYDER, Michael Wolf

Born: 1987, U.S.A.

Died: 2/2?/2021, Queens, New York, U.S.A.

Michael Wolf Snyder’s western – sound mixer:

The Rider - 2017