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Brandon Cronenberg was born on 10 January 1980 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is a director and writer, known for Possessor (2020), Infinity Pool (2023) and Antiviral (2012).- Producer
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Park Chan-wook was born on 23 August 1963 in Seoul, South Korea. He is a producer and writer, known for Oldboy (2003), The Handmaiden (2016) and Decision to Leave (2022). He is married to Eun-hee Kim. They have one child.- Writer
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- Actor
David Michôd is known for The King (2019), Animal Kingdom (2010) and The Rover (2014). He is married to Mirrah Foulkes.- Writer
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Jeff Nichols was born on 7 December 1978 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He is a writer and director, known for Take Shelter (2011), Mud (2012) and Midnight Special (2016).- Writer
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Na Hong-jin born in 1974 is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. His debut film The Chaser (2008) won Best Director at the 45th Grand Bell Awards in 2008. The film also won the award for Best Film. His follow up film, The Yellow Sea, was released in South Korea on December 15, 2010. It is scheduled to be screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.- Producer
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Zhangke Jia was born on 24 May 1970 in Fenyang, Shanxi, China. He is a producer and director, known for Ash Is Purest White (2018), A Touch of Sin (2013) and Mountains May Depart (2015). He has been married to Tao Zhao since 7 January 2012.- Director
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Duncan Jones was born on 30 May 1971 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK. He is a director and writer, known for Moon (2009), Source Code (2011) and Mute (2018). He has been married to Rodene Ronquillo since 6 November 2012. They have two children.- Director
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Lu Chuan is considered one of the most talented young directors in China, and his films are known for daring and commercially successful takes on historical and social issues.
After receiving a Master's degree in film studies from Beijing Film Academy in 1998, Lu Chuan started as a co-writer for Black Hole, which became one of most-watched TV series in China. His directional debut, The Missing Gun (2002), a black comedy about a small-town policeman who searches desperately for his missing gun, was presented at Cannes, Venice, and Sundance. It won Best Script at the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Best Maiden Work Award at the College Student Film Festival of China.
Lu Chuan's second feature, Kekexili, (or Mountain Patrol, 2004), won praised from critics around the world. Lu Chuan used his beautiful and tense style to show the heroism of the Tibetan volunteers who fought poachers to protect the endangered Tibetan antelope. The film turned Lu Chuan into one of the most popular directors in China with great commercial value in the Chinese film market. It won numerous awards including the Special Jury Prize at the Tokyo International Film Festival, Best Picture and Best Cinematography at the Golden Horse Awards, Best Film (shared) at the Golden Rooster Awards, the Don Quixote Award at the Berlin International Film Festival, Outstanding Film and Outstanding Director at the Huabiao Film Awards, and Best Asian Film at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Lu Chuan was then chosen a juror at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival.
Lu Chuan worked on his third film, City of Life and Death (2009), for four years. This epic film brought to the screen the story of the Nanjing Massacre by Japan during WWII in China. The director's unique take on the massacre attracted over 3 million viewers and made $30 million domestically, making him the fifth director in China to pass the 100 million RMB mark ($16 million USD). It won for Best Director and Best Cinematographer at the Asian Film Awards, Best Cinematography at the Golden Horse Film Awards, Best Film at the Oslo Film Festival, Achievement in Directing and Achievement in Cinematography at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, and Golden Shell prize and Best Cinematography at the San Sebastian Film Festival.
In 2012, Lu Chuan released The Last Supper, based on the fall of the Qin dynasty and the founding of the Han dynasty, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. In 2015, he released Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe, a 3D action adventure film which made $106 million USD at the Chinese box office. His newest film, Born in China, is a Disneynature feature to be release worldwide in 2016-2017.- Writer
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Lee Chang-Dong was born in 1954 in Daegu, which some consider the most right-wing city in South Korea. Lee is a former high-school teacher and an acclaimed novelist. He turned to cinema when he was over 40 years old. His debut film "Green Fish" (1997) brought immediate success and critical acclaim. "Peppermint Candy" (2000), seemingly having the same 'lost innocence' theme as his former work, shoots fiery criticisms against the still-powerful remnants of the Korean military dictatorship regime. With "Oasis" (2002) Lee received countless awards, including the Special Director's Award at the Venice Film Festival. Since 2003, Lee worked as the Minister of Culture in the newly elected liberal national government.- Director
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Frédéric Schoendoerffer was born on 3 October 1962 in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France. He is a director and assistant director, known for Scènes de crimes (2000), Switch (2011) and Fast Convoy (2016).- Director
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Jonathan first found fame for his revolutionary work on Radiohead's 'Street Spirit' and Jamiroquai's multi-MTV award winning 'Virtual Insanity' video.
In 1999 he directed the ground-breaking Guinness 'Surfer', which picked up 2 D&AD Black Pencils and the top spot at most of the other awards festivals that year. The film still heads many lists as one of the best commercials of all time. He has made iconic commercials for Stella Artois, Levis, Nike, Sony, Volkswagen, Channel 4, Wrangler, Apple and many others. His film for Alexander McQueen won a Grand Prix at the Ciclope Festival in Berlin.
In 2000 Jonathan directed Sexy Beast which was nominated for Best British Film by BAFTA. This was followed 4 years later with Birth, staring Nicole Kidman and Lauren Bacall. His 2014 film, Under The Skin stars Scarlett Johansson and is an adaptation of Michel Faber's 2000 novel of the same name. Under The Skin received 2 BAFTA nominations and won critical acclaim as a 'landmark in filmmaking'.
Later on, Jonathan directed work for the BBC in the form of 2019's 'The Fall', a short film influenced by Goya's 'The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters' and a hunting photograph of Donald Trump's two sons posing with a dead leopard; and 2020's Strasbourg 1518, a collaboration in isolation created during Covid, inspired by a unique plague striking inhabitants of the city who danced until their ultimate demise.- Producer
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Juan Carlos Fresnadillo was born on 5 December 1967 in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. He is a producer and director, known for 28 Weeks Later (2007), Intacto (2001) and Linked (1996).- Producer
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Carlos Reygadas was born on 10 October 1971 in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico. He is a producer and director, known for Silent Light (2007), Japan (2002) and Post Tenebras Lux (2012). He is married to Natalia López.- Writer
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Alejandro Jodorowsky was born in Tocopilla, Chile on February 17, 1929. In 1939 he moved to Santiago where he attended university, was a circus clown and a puppeteer. In 1953 he went to Paris and studied mime with Marcel Marceau. He worked with Maurice Chevalier there and made a short film, La cravate (1957). He also befriended the surrealists Roland Topor and Fernando Arrabal, and in 1962 these three created the "Panic Movement" in homage to the mythical god Pan. As part of this group Jodorowsky wrote several books and theatrical pieces. In the later 1960s he directed avant-garde theater in Paris and Mexico City, created the comic strip "Fabulas Panicas", and made his first "real" film, the surrealist love story Fando and Lis (1968), based on a play by Arrabal. In 1971, El Topo (1970) was released and became a cult classic, as did The Holy Mountain (1973). In 1975 he returned to France to begin work on a film that was never made: a colossal adaptation of Frank Herbert's "Dune", which was to star Orson Welles, Salvador Dalí and others, was to be scored by Pink Floyd, and which brought together the visionary talents of H.R. Giger, Dan O'Bannon, and 'Jean "Moebius' Giraud' (Giger and O'Bannon later collaborated on Alien (1979).) The project's financiers backed out, and "Dune" was eventually filmed by David Lynch. Jodorowsky's next film was 1979's Tusk (1980), a story of a young girl's friendship with an elephant, which quickly faded into obscurity. In the early 1980s he began working with Moebius and other artists on various comic strips, graphic novels and cartoons, and wrote several more books. He returned to film with 1989's Santa Sangre (1989), which was critically acclaimed and widely distributed. In 1990 he directed Omar Sharif and Peter O'Toole in the fantasy film The Rainbow Thief (1990). Throughout the 1990s he continued to produce cartoons with a variety of graphic artists and is reportedly to begin work on another film, the long-awaited "Sons Of El Topo", sometime in 2002 or 2003. Jodorowsky's wife Valerie and sons Brontis, Axel and Adan have all at times appeared in his films.- Director
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Steve Balderson was born in Manhattan, Kansas, USA. He is a director and writer, known for Firecracker (2005), Alchemy of the Spirit (2022) and El Ganzo (2015).- Director
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Lynne Ramsay was born on 5 December 1969 in Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland, UK. She is a director and writer, known for You Were Never Really Here (2017), We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) and Ratcatcher (1999). She was previously married to Rory Stewart Kinnear.- Director
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Isabel Coixet was born on 9 April 1960 in Sant Adrià de Besòs, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. She is a director and writer, known for My Life Without Me (2003), The Secret Life of Words (2005) and The Bookshop (2017).- Director
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Born in 1966 in Salta in the North of Argentina,Lucrecia Martel settled down in Buenos Aires where she attended the ENERC (National Film School). She started by directing a few shorts among which Historias Breves I: Rey muerto (1995), which garnered several awards in the international film festival circuit. From 1995 to 1998, she made a series of documentaries for TV as well as a children's TV programme, hailed by the Argentinian press for its unusual dark humor. From 2001 until today, Lucrecia Martel has managed to make three very personal feature films, The Swamp (2001), The Holy Girl (2004) and The Headless Woman (2008), in which she explores her favorite theme, troubled minds.- Writer
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Sebastián Silva was born on 9 April 1979 in Santiago, Metropolitan Region, Chile. He is a writer and director, known for Tyrel (2018), The Maid (2009) and Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus (2013).- Director
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Brillante Mendoza is a Philippine director and producer. He is the first Filipino to receive the Best Director award at Cannes for his film Kinatay in 2009. He is also the only Filipino to receive France's "Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres" (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) in 2014.
He was born on October 30, 1960, in San Fernando, Pampanga, Philippines. He studied Advertising Arts at the University of Santo Tomas.
He worked in advertising, and became a production designer. He was in his forties when he directed his first film, Masahista, which won the 2005 Locarno International Film Festival's Golden Leopard (video competition). His films have received awards and nominations in major competitions in Venice, Berlin, Cannes, San Sebastian, Cairo and others.
His film Mindanao in 2019 received the Henry Barakat Best Artistic Contribution and Best Actress awards. In 2018 his film Alpha: The Right to Kill took home the Special Jury Prize in the San Sebastian International Film Festival. In 2016 Ma Rosa was nominated for Cannes' Palm d'Or, and won Best Actress for Jaclyn Jose, the first Filipina to bag it.
His film Taklub, which tackles climate change, was nominated for the Un Certain Regard, and won the Ecumenical Jury Prize in the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. Captive, which stars Isabelle Huppert, competed for the Golden Bear at the 2012 Berlin International Film Festival. Thy Womb, which was selected for the main competition in 2012 Venice Film Festival also took home the La Navicella, P. Nazareno Taddei and Bisato d'Oro awards; it also won the Best Director award at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. Lola, in 2009, was the Best Feature Film in Dubai International Film Festival, and was nominated for Venice's Golden Lion. In 2007 Tirador won Singapore International Film Festival's Best Director and Best Asian Feature Award; it also received the Caligari Film Award in Berlin. In 2007 Serbis was the first Philippine film to be nominated for Cannes' Palm d'Or. The same year his film Foster Child was screened at the Directors Fortnight in Cannes, which also bagged the NETPAC Jury award in Brisbane. Manoro in 2006 took home the Cinema for Peace award at the Torino Film Festival.
Mendoza's Amo is the first Philippine crime drama series shown on Netflix. His upcoming films are Resbak, and the Philippine-Japanese co-produced sports biopic Gensan Punch (2020). He produced successful festival films like Kintsugi (2020), Verdict (2019) Pailalim (2016), and Imbisibol (2015); he is also a producer of The Brokers, to be released soon.- Writer
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Born in Paris, France, in 1952. Jacques Audiard's family has always been involved in movie business. His father, Michel, was a popular screenwriter and director and his uncle a producer. But in his teens he refused that world and wanted to be a teacher. He studied literature and philosophy at the Sorbonne but didn't finish his degree. By that time, his then girlfriend suggested he work as a trainee editor during his university holidays. He worked as an assistant editor on several movies like "Le locataire" (1976) directed by Roman Polanski.
He also joined a theater where he did all kinds of work. He specially enjoyed adapting works for stage. In the eighties he wrote the screenplays of some successful movies like "Mortelle Randonnee" (1983), "Reveillon Chez Bob" (1984), "Saxo" (1987), "Frequence meurtre" (1988) and "Grosse fatigue" (1994). Most of those films were thrillers directed by prestigious filmmakers like Claude Miller and Michel Blanc. He also directed some well received short movies.
Thanks to the success of those movies he was able, in 1994, to raise up the money to make his first movie "Regarde les hommes tomber" a somber road movie starred by two of the most important French actors: Mathieu Kassovitz and Jean Louis Trintignant. That movie won 3 Cesars of the French academy for best editing, best new director (Jacques Audiard) and best new actor (for Kassovitz).
Kassovitz also became the star of his second movie "Un heros tres discret" released in the Festival de Cannes in 1996 where it won the award for best screenplay. "Un heros tres discret" undermined the myth of the French resistance to the Nazis by telling the story of a young impostor who rises high in French society after World war by concocting a past for himself as a hero. It also won awards in the festivals of Stockholm and Valladolid and made his name internationally.
In 2001 he made his third movie "Sur mes levres". The love story between two outsiders (a deaf office worker and a hoodlum) who decide to con a group of gangsters also became a success. It also won three Cesars (best actress, sound and screenplay).
His last movie, "De battre mon Coeur sest arrête" (a remake of "Fingers" a James Toback's movie) was released in the Berlin festival of 2005.
With those movies, Audiard has become the new master of the "polar" (French thriller) and inheritor of others great French directors like Jean-Pierre Melville (1917-1973) and Henri Georges-Clouzot (1907-1977).- Writer
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Probably the most ambitious and visually distinctive filmmaker to emerge from Denmark since Carl Theodor Dreyer over 60 years earlier, Lars von Trier studied film at the Danish Film School and attracted international attention with his very first feature, The Element of Crime (1984). A highly distinctive blend of film noir and German Expressionism with stylistic nods to Dreyer, Andrei Tarkovsky and Orson Welles, its combination of yellow-tinted monochrome cinematography (pierced by shafts of blue light) and doom-haunted atmosphere made it an unforgettable visual experience. His subsequent features Epidemic (1987) and Europa (1991) have been equally ambitious both thematically and visually, though his international fame is most likely to be based on The Kingdom (1994), a TV soap opera blending hospital drama, ghost story and Twin Peaks (1990)-style surrealism that was so successful in Denmark that it was released internationally as a 280-minute theatrical feature.- Writer
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A true master of his craft, Michael Haneke is one of the greatest film artists working today and one who challenges his viewers each year and work goes by, with films that reflect real portions of life in realistic, disturbing and unforgettable ways. One of the most genuine filmmakers of the world cinema, Haneke wrote and directed films in several languages: French, German and English, working with a great variety of actors, such as Juliette Binoche, Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Toby Jones, Ülrich Muhe, Arno Frisch and the list goes on.
This grand figure from Austrian cinema was born in Germany on 23 March 1942, from a German father and an Austrian mother, with both parents being from the artistic world working as actors, a career that Michael also tried but without much success. At the University of Vienna he studied drama, philosophy and psychology, and after graduation he went on to become a film critic and TV editor. His career behind camera started with After Liverpool (1974), which he wrote and directed. He went on to direct five more TV films and two episodes from the miniseries "Lemminge" (1979)_.
The years spent on television works prompted him to finally direct his first cinema feature, during his early 40's, which is somewhat unusual for film directors. But it was worth waiting. In The Seventh Continent (1989), Haneke establishes the foundation of what his future cinema would be about: a cinema that doesn't provides answers but one that dares to throw more and more questions, a cinema that reflects and analyses the human condition in its darkest and unexpected ways outside of any Hollywood formula. Films that exist to confront audiences and not comfort them. In it, Haneke deals with the duality of social values vs. internal values while exposing an apparent perfect family that runs into physical and material disintegration for reasons unknown. It was the first time a film of his was sent to the Cannes Film Festival (out of competition lineup) but he managed to cause some commotion in the audience with polemic scenes that were meant to extract all possible reactions from the crowd.
His next ventures at the decade's turn was in dealing with disturbed youth and the alienation they have in separating reality from fiction, trying to intersect both to drastic results. In Benny's Video (1992), it's the disturbing story of a teen boy who experiences killing for the first time capturing the murder on tape, impressed by the power of detachment that films and videos can cause to people; and later on the highly controversial Funny Games (1997), where two teens hold a family hostage to play sadistic games just for their own sick amusement. The film cemented Haneke's name as one of the greatest authors of his generation but sparkled a great debate with its themes of violence, sadism and the influence those things have in audiences. At the 1997's Cannes Film Festival, it was the film that had the most walk-out's by the audience. In between both films, he released 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance (1994) and Kafka's The Castle (1997), the latter being one of the rare times when Haneke developed an adapted work.
In the 2000's, he strongly continued in producing more outstanding works prone to debate and reflection in what would become his most prolific decade with the following films: Code Unknown (2000), The Piano Teacher (2001), Time of the Wolf (2003), Caché (2005), an American remake shot-by shot of Funny Games (2007) and The White Ribbon (2009). His study about romance versus masochism in The Piano Teacher (2001) was an intense work, with powerful performances by Isabelle Huppert and Benoit Magimel, that the Cannes jury in the year were so impressed that Haneke managed to actually reverse their award rules where it was decided that film entries at the festival couldn't win more than one main award (the two lead actors won awards and Haneke got the Grand Prize of the Jury, just lost the Palme d'Or). With The White Ribbon (2009), an enigmatic black-and-white masterpiece following the inception of Nazism in this pre WWI and WWII story focusing on repressed children living in this small village where strange events happen all the time and without any possible reasoning, Haneke conquered the world and audiences with an artistic and daring work that won his first Palme d'Or a Golden Globe as Best Foreign Language Film and received an Oscar nomination for the same category plus the cinematography work of Christian Berger.
2012 was the year that marked his supremacy in the film world with the release of the bold and beautiful Amour (2012), a love story with powerful real drama and one where Haneke removed most of his usual dark characteristics to present more quiet and calm elements without losing input in creating controversy. The touching story of George and Anne provided one the greatest moments of that year and earned Haneke his second and consecutive Palme d'Or at Cannes and his first Oscar nominations for Best Direction and Best Original Screenplay - and it was one of the several nominees for Best Picture Oscar, winning as Best Foreign Language Film.
After abandoning a flash-mob film project, he returned to the screen with Happy End (2017), a film dealing with the refugee crisis in Europe and again he debuted his film at Cannes, receiving mildly positive reviews.
Besides his film work, Haneke also directs theatre productions, from drama to opera, from Così fan tutte to Don Giovanni.- Director
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Neill Blomkamp is a South African-Canadian film director and screenwriter who is known for the science fiction films District 9, Elysium and Chappie. He also directed the supernatural horror film Demonic and the 2007 short film Halo: Landfall, based on the Microsoft science fiction video game franchise. He had a child from his wife Terri Tatchell.- Producer
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Jeffrey Jacob Abrams was born in New York City and raised in Los Angeles, the son of TV producer parents. At 15, he wrote the music for Don Dohler's Nightbeast (1982). In his senior year of college, he and Jill Mazursky teamed up to write a feature film, which became Taking Care of Business (1990). He went on to write and produce Regarding Henry (1991) and Forever Young (1992). He also co-wrote Gone Fishin' (1997) with Mazursky. Along with other Sarah Lawrence alumni, he experimented with computer animation and was contracted to develop pre-production animation for Shrek (2001).
Abrams worked on the screenplay for Armageddon (1998) and co-created (as well as composing the opening theme of) Felicity (1998), which ran for four seasons. He founded the production company Bad Robot in 2001 with Bryan Burk. He created and executive-produced Alias (2001) and Lost (2004), composing the theme music for both, and co-writing episodes of "Lost". He also co-wrote and produced thriller Joy Ride (2001). He made his feature directing debut with Mission: Impossible III (2006), reinvigorating the series. He produced the hit mystery film Cloverfield (2008) and co-created Fringe (2008).
He directed the Star Trek (2009) reboot, proving successful with fans and newcomers to the franchise. He next directed Super 8 (2011), co-produced by Steven Spielberg and produced Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011). He returned to direct the follow-up to his reboot, Star Trek Into Darkness (2013). Disney and Lucasfilm announced J.J. as their choice for director of the first episode in the new 'Star Wars' trilogy, Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015). He initially resisted, as he didn't want to travel away from his family to London, but Kathleen Kennedy convinced him that his voice would be the best to reinvigorate this franchise, as he had done with two others before. He also produced Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015) and Star Trek Beyond (2016), and executive-produced Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017). When it was announced that Colin Trevorrow would no longer direct Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019), it was announced that J.J. would return to complete the trilogy he started.- Writer
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As both writer and director, David Twohy has contributed much to the film world, helping to elevate movies in such a way that Entertainment Weekly was prompted to name him "one of the 100 most creative people in Hollywood." In his career, Twohy has worked with on-screen notables like Harrison Ford, Judi Dench, Kevin Costner, Vin Diesel, Thandie Newton, Tommy Lee Jones, Jeff Daniels, Richard E. Grant, Chris Hemsworth, Demi Moore, Bruce Greenwood, Olivia Williams, Tim Olyphant and Milla Jovovich. To name a few.
Twohy struck gold early with his screenplay for the Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones vehicle "THE FUGITIVE," nominated in 1993 for Best Screenplay Previously Produced or Published. Other writing-only credits include "WATERWORLD," "TERMINAL VELOCITY," and Ridley Scott's "G.I. JANE."
As a director, Twohy made his debut with "THE GRAND TOUR," which he adapted from Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore's haunting novella "Vintage Season." The movie received the Grand Prix at the Festival Du Film Fantastique and a Golden Scroll from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror. Twohy was honored again with a Saturn Award for his follow-up directing effort, "THE ARRIVAL."
Twohy's next effort became one of 2000's most unexpected films, "PITCH BLACK." Released by Universal Studios, this modestly budgeted movie shot in the Australian outback startled critics and audiences alike with its chilling mood and unexpectedly deep characters. The success of "PITCH BLACK" would launch a new film franchise for Universal. Its sequels were the sweeping "CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK" and the spartan survival movie "RIDDICK."
Between franchise movies, Twohy found time to write and direct two stand-alone thrillers: "BELOW," co-written with Darren Aronofsky ("REQUIEM FOR A DREAM"), follows a series of eerie occurrences on a claustrophobic submarine during World War II. Twohy then turned to the wide open vistas of Hawaii to film "A PERFECT GETAWAY," a twisted tale that shocked audiences around the world.
Next up for Twohy is "RUNNING WITH LIONS," a contemporary story about the world of Formula One.- Director
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Anderson was born in 1970. He was one of the first of the "video store" generation of film-makers. His father was the first man on his block to own a V.C.R., and from a very early age Anderson had an infinite number of titles available to him. While film-makers like Spielberg cut their teeth making 8 mm films, Anderson cut his teeth shooting films on video and editing them from V.C.R. to V.C.R.
Part of Anderson's artistic D.N.A. comes from his father, who hosted a late night horror show in Cleveland. His father knew a number of oddball celebrities such as Robert Ridgely, an actor who often appeared in Mel Brooks' films and would later play "The Colonel" in Anderson's Boogie Nights (1997). Anderson was also very much shaped by growing up in "The Valley", specifically the suburban San Fernando Valley of greater Los Angeles. The Valley may have been immortalized in the 1980s for its mall-hopping "Valley Girls", but for Anderson it was a slightly seedy part of suburban America. You were close to Hollywood, yet you weren't there. Would-bes and burn-outs populated the area. Anderson's experiences growing up in "The Valley" have no doubt shaped his artistic self, especially since three of his four theatrical features are set in the Valley.
Anderson got into film-making at a young age. His most significant amateur film was The Dirk Diggler Story (1988), a sort of mock-documentary a la This Is Spinal Tap (1984), about a once-great pornography star named Dirk Diggler. After enrolling in N.Y.U.'s film program for two days, Anderson got his tuition back and made his own short film, Cigarettes & Coffee (1993). He also worked as a production assistant on numerous commercials and music videos before he got the chance to make his first feature, something he liked to call Sydney, but would later become known to the public as Hard Eight (1996). The film was developed and financed through The Sundance Lab, not unlike Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992). Anderson cast three actors whom he would continue working with in the future: Altman veteran Philip Baker Hall, the husky and lovable John C. Reilly and, in a small part, Philip Seymour Hoffman, who so far has been featured in all four of Anderson's films. The film deals with a guardian angel type (played by Hall) who takes down-on-his-luck Reilly under his wing. The deliberately paced film featured a number of Anderson trademarks: wonderful use of source light, long takes and top-notch acting. Yet the film was reedited (and retitled) by Rysher Entertainment against Anderson's wishes. It was admired by critics, but didn't catch on at the box office. Still, it was enough for Anderson to eventually get his next movie financed. "Boogie Nights" was, in a sense, a remake of "The Dirk Diggler Story", but Anderson threw away the satirical approach and instead painted a broad canvas about a makeshift family of pornographers. The film was often joyous in its look at the 1970s and the days when pornography was still shot on film, still shown in theatres, and its actors could at least delude themselves into believing that they were movie stars. Yet "Boogie Nights" did not flinch at the dark side, showing a murder and suicide, literally in one (almost) uninterrupted shot, and also showing the lives of these people deteriorate, while also showing how their lives recovered.
Anderson not only worked with Hall, Reilly and Hoffman again, he also worked with Julianne Moore, Melora Walters, William H. Macy and Luis Guzmán. Collectively, Anderson had something that was rare in U.S. cinema: a stock company of top-notch actors. Aside from the above mentioned, Anderson also drew terrific performances from Burt Reynolds and Mark Wahlberg, two actors whose careers were not exactly going full-blast at the time of "Boogie Nights", but who found themselves to be that much more employable afterwards.
The success of "Boogie Nights" gave Anderson the chance to really go for broke in Magnolia (1999), a massive mosaic that could dwarf Altman's Nashville (1975) in its number of characters.
Anderson was awarded a "Best Director" award at Cannes for Punch-Drunk Love (2002).- Producer
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Rian Johnson was born in Maryland and at a young age his family moved to San Clemente, California, where he was raised. After graduating from high school, he went on to attend the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. His first feature film, Brick (2005), was released in 2005 and was the metaphorical building block that launched his career. He is a director, writer, and musician, among other areas of expertise.
His second feature, The Brothers Bloom (2008), proved his ability to tell an exciting story with A-list actors, and the visionary Looper (2012) cemented him as a modern science-fiction icon. Among his highest-rated work are three episodes of the critically acclaimed Breaking Bad (2008). His filmography made him a strong candidate to write and direct Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017), the penultimate episode of the 'Star Wars' series. Lucasfilm was pleased with his work and announced that we would write and direct a 'Star Wars' trilogy separate from the main Skywalker story.- Director
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Courtney Hunt was born in 1964 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. She is a director and writer, known for Frozen River (2008), The Whole Truth (2016) and Utopia (2020).- Writer
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He studied fine arts in Paris in 1990-1992. In 1993 he won the award for Best Screenplay from the Educational Institute of Screenwriting with "A Painter and A Criminal Condemned to Death". After two more screenplay awards, he made his directorial debut with Crocodile (1996) ("Crocodile"). Then he went on to direct Wild Animals (1997) ("Wild Animals"), Birdcage Inn (1998) ("Birdcage Inn"), The Isle (2000) ("The Isle") and the highly experimental Real Fiction (2000) ("Real Fiction"), shot in just 200 minutes. In 1999, Address Unknown (2001) ("Address Unknown") was selected by the Pusan Film Festival's Pusan Promotion Plan (PPP) for development.- Director
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Takashi Miike was born in the small town of Yao on the outskirts of Osaka, Japan. His main interest growing up was motorbikes, and for a while he harbored ambitions to race professionally. At the age of 18 he went to study at the film school in Yokohama founded by renowned director Shôhei Imamura, primarily because there were no entrance exams. By his own account Miike was an undisciplined student and attended few classes, but when a local TV company came scouting for unpaid production assistants, the school nominated the one pupil who never showed up: Miike. He spent almost a decade working in television, in many different roles, before becoming an assistant director in film to, amongst others, his old mentor Imamura. The "V-Cinema" (Direct to Video) boom of the early 1990s was to be Miike's break into directing his own films, as newly formed companies hired eager young filmmakers willing to work cheap and crank out low-budget action movies. Miike's first theatrically distributed film was Shinjuku Triad Society (1995) (Shinjuku Triad Society), and from then on he alternated V-Cinema films with higher-budgeted pictures. His international breakthrough came with Audition (1999) (Audition), and since then he has an ever expanding cult following in the west. A prolific director, Miike has directed (at the time of this writing) 60+ films in his 13 years as director, his films being known for their explicit and taboo representations of violence and sex, as seen in such works as Bijitâ Q (2001) (Visitor Q), Ichi the Killer (2001) (Ichi The Killer) and the Dead or Alive Trilogy: Dead or Alive (1999), Dead or Alive 2: Birds (2000) and Dead or Alive: Final (2002).- Actor
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Takeshi Kitano originally studied to become an engineer, but was thrown out of school for rebellious behavior. He learned comedy, singing and dancing from famed comedian Senzaburô Fukami. Working as a lift boy on a nightclub with such features as comic sketches and striptease dancing, Kitano saw his chance when a comedian suddenly fell ill, and he went on stage in the man's place. With a friend he formed the comic duo "The Two Beat" (his artist's name, "Beat Takeshi", comes from this period), which became very popular on Japanese television.
Kitano soon embarked on an acting career, and when the director of Violent Cop (1989) (aka "Violent Cop") fell ill, he took over that function as well. Immediately after that film was finished he set out to make a second gangster movie, Boiling Point (1990). Just after finishing Getting Any? (1994), Kitano was involved in a serious motorcycle accident that almost killed him. It changed his way of life, and he became an active painter. This change can be seen in his later films, which are characterized by his giving more importance to the aesthetics of the film, such as in Fireworks (1997) and Kikujiro (1999).- Director
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Andrey Proshkin was born on 13 September 1969 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. He is a director and producer, known for The Horde (2012), Orlean (2015) and Spartak i Kalashnikov (2002).- Director
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Film director, screenwriter, producer, Born in Moscow, an Israeli citizen, now resides in Berlin. Filmography: Feature films: 2021 - "Medea" - 2.19'. Written by, director, producer. The world premiere was in Locarno IFF in 2021, main competition, award. National awards and nominations. 2011 - "Target" - 2.44'. The world premiere was at Berlin FF, selected to Telluride Film Festival among 20 best films of a year, the same for NY Film Comment Film Festival in Lincoln center, London Film Festival, San Francisco, London, Sidney, Los Angeles, Moscow, and tens of others. Grand Prix for the best Sci-fi movie of a year on the Fantaspoa International Film Fest for Sci-fi movies, Brasil. Director. Co-writer together with Vladimir Sorokin. 2000 - "Moscow" - 2.34'. World premiere in Venice FF, official selection, then Karlovy Vary, London, Munich, and tens of others. "Moscow" became a cult film over all former USSR territory. Grand Prix for the soundtrack on International Biennale for film music in Bonn 2001. Director. Co-writer together with Vladimir Sorokin. 1990 - "Sunset" - 1.34' - premiere in Berlin FF Forum, then San Sebastian, London, Vienna Film Biennale, and others. Gala premiers in Washington center, DC; in Lincoln center in New York. Director. Unrealized: 2013 - 2016 - "Sweet life". Director and screenwriter together with Christopher Hampton and Rebecca Lenkiewicz. 1992 -1995 - "Chagall" - a biopic about Marc Chagall, director and co-writer with Friedrich Gorenstein. The project has been developed in Berlin during the Nipkow Programm fellowship, then with Manfred Durniok as a producer. Documentary: 2002 - "The Trial" (Process) - 1.42' - full meter documentary about the trial and execution of the Soviet Jewish Antifascist Committee in 1952. The film was edited only with unique archive materials and told about the parallel history of Stalinism and Nazism. Short: "Winter Summer" - 52' - 2002. Experimental work shot for "The Warrior"- 54' -1987 "Malva" - 34' - 1985 "Through the city in the night" - 25' - 1983 Theatre: "Otello" - Moscow 2003, Sarah Kane's "4'48 Psychosis" - Moscow 2016. Teaching: TNT Channel. Film directing, screenplay writing - Moscow, The institute of Contemporary Arts - 2021 -2022 Film directing, screenplay writing - Moscow, the state university "High School of Economy" 2018 -2020. Film directing - 2011 -2012 - Moscow, The Institute of Contemporary Arts. Film directing, Director's work with actors - 2001 - 2003 Moscow, High Postgraduate Film school for Film Directors and Script Writers. Other activities: Worked as a psychotherapist in Moscow hospitals from 1981 - 1981. 1986 - 1987. Education: NIPKOW PROGRAMM, Berlin, Fellowship for producing & development film project 1992 - 1993 High Postgraduate School for Film Directors and Screenwriters, Moscow 1983 - 1986. Department of psychology, Moscow State University 1975 -1980. College with advanced mathematics teaching.- Writer
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Wojciech Smarzowski is a famous Polish screenwriter and director. He studied filmmaking at the Jagiellonian University and the National Film School in Lódz. He started his film career as a video camera operator. He received Polish Academy Award for Best Director for 4 times (2004, 2009, 2011, 2017). His 2004 film, The Wedding (not to be confused with the Andrzej Wajda film of the same title) earned special jury mention at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2005.- Director
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Fatih Akin was born in 1973 in Hamburg of Turkish parentage. He began studying Visual Communications at Hamburg's College of Fine Arts in 1994. His collaboration with Wueste Film also dates from this time. In 1995, he wrote and directed his first short feature, "Sensin - You're The One!" ("Sensin - Du bist es!"), which received the Audience Award at the Hamburg International Short Film Festival. His second short film, "Weed" ("Getürkt", 1996), received several national and international festival prizes. His first full length feature film, "Short Sharp Shock" ("Kurz und schmerzlos", 1998) won the Bronze Leopard at Locarno and the Bavarian Film Award (Best Young Director) in 1998. His other films include: "In July" ("Im Juli", 2000), "Wir haben vergessen zurückzukehren" (2001), "Solino" (2002), the Berlinale Golden Bear-winner and winner of the German and European Film Awards "Head-On" ("Gegen die Wand", 2003), and "Crossing the Bridge - The Sound of Istanbul" (2005).- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
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Anders Thomas Jensen was born on 6th April 1972 in Frederiksværk on Sjælland in Denmark to Carl Benny Jensen and Kirsten Jensen (born Sørensen). He attended the high school in Frederiksværk from 1988 to 1991. In 1990 while still in high school, he wrote and directed 10 år på bagen - 3 år i skyggen (1990) (TV).
He made his film debut in 1996 with the short films Café Hector (1996), Davids bog (1996), Hvileløse hjerte (1996) and the Academy Award nominated Ernst & Lyset (1996), which he also directed. The following year Jensen wrote and directed Wolfgang (1997), which also earned an Academy Award nomination for best short film. He also made a rare appearance in front of the camera in Royal Blues (1997). Baby Doom (1998) and Albert (1998), both released in 1998, were the first feature films with screenplay co-written by Jensen.
After being nominated two previous years Jensen finally won in 1999 an Oscar for best short film with Election Night (1998). He followed it with writing the screenplay for two successful films in 1999, Mifune (1999) and In China They Eat Dogs (1999). Jensen was nominated for a Robert for the both films, but neither won. Mifune, directed by Søren Kragh-Jacobsen was the third dogme film. I Kina spiser de hunde (In China They Eat Dogs), directed by Lasse Spang Olsen and starring Kim Bodnia, was the first of typical Jensen screenplays with an original mixture of humour and action. The formula was very effective and the film was a huge hit in Denmark. In a way it created a new genre, Danish action comedies, as it spawned several imitations as well as a prequel three years later. In 2000 Jensen co-wrote the screenplay for Dykkerne (2000) and The King Is Alive (2000), the fourth dogme-film which is a story about a group of people who decides to stage Shakespeare's King Lear in the desert.
After having written screenplays for films in various genres, in 2000 he also his feature film debut as a director with Flickering Lights (2000). Blinkende lygter (Flickering Lights) tells the story of four small time crooks from Copenhagen who steal 4,000,000 DKR from a gangster boss. Unfortunately their escape route won't take them further than the countryside before the car breaks down. That leads them to renovate an old guesthouse while tring to lay low. With Denmark's best talents Søren Pilmark, Ulrich Thomsen, Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Iben Hjejle, it was a huge blockbuster hit in Denmark and also gained interest abroad. Blinkende lygter also gained a Bodil nomination for the best picture of the year, a Robert nomination for best screenplay and won the audience award at the Robert festival. By now already an established name on the Danish movie scene he wrote the screenplays to Count Axel (2001), made an uncredited contribution to Fukssvansen (2001), Lone Scherfig's Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself (2002) and Susanne Bier's celebrated Open Hearts (2002) highlighted by strong performances from Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Paprika Steen. The screenplay of Elsker dig for evigt (Open Hearts) also showed a completely different side of him. In 2002 he also wrote the screenplay for Lasse Spang Olsen's Gamle mænd i nye biler (2002), the prequel to In China They East Dogs. Jensen received his fourth Robert nomination for the screenplay of Gamle mænd i nye biler (Old Men In New Cars).
Jensen then wrote and directed The Green Butchers (2003). With outstanding performances by Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Mads Mikkelsen, Jensen contributed yet another characteristic story of two butchers with very unorthodox methods. This time Jensen was for De Grønne slagtere (The Green Butchers) nominated for both screenplay and direction at the Robert Festival. He also wrote the screenplays for Søren Kragh-Jacobsen's Skagerrak (2003) and Rembrandt (2002). Skagerrak tells the story of Danish Marie (Iben Hjejle) who finds happiness when she least expects it as she is offered to be a surrogate mother in Northern Scotland. Rembrandt on the other hand continues the adventures of Danish small time crooks, as they by mistake steal a painting by Rembrandt which causes them more problems that they ask for. In 2004 Jensen wrote the screenplay for Susanne Bier's Brothers (2004). Brødre (Brothers), starring Connie Nielsen, Ulrich Thomsen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas is a story of two brothers whose lives alter in many ways when one is sent to war in Afghanistan and the other one takes his place in the brother's family. For Brothers Jensen finally won a Robert for best screenplay. In February 2005 premiered Solkongen (2005), directed by Tomas Villum Jensen, and followed by Adam's Apples (2005) in April 2005. Jensen's third directorial effort Adams æbler is written and directed by himself and stars once again Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Ulrich Thomsen. His next contribution will be After the Wedding (2006) (After the Wedding), which will be directed by Susanne Bier and with Mads Mikkelsen and Rolf Lassgård in leading roles. Efter brylluppet is due to be released in March 2006.- Writer
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Writer, director, and producer Nicolas Winding Refn was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1970, to Anders Refn, a film director and editor, and Vibeke Winding (née Tuxen), a cinematographer. Just before he turned 11, in 1981, he moved to New York with his parents, where he lived out his teen years. New York quickly became his city and soon began to shape Nicolas' future.
At seventeen, Nicolas moved back to his native Copenhagen to complete his high-school Education. After graduation, he swiftly flew back to New York, where he attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. However, this education was cut short when Nicolas threw a desk at a classroom wall and was expelled from the Academy. Consequently, he applied to the Danish Film School and was readily accepted. This education too was to be short-lived, though, as one month prior to the start of the semester, Nicolas dropped out.
A short film Nicolas had written, directed, and starred in was aired on an obscure cable TV channel and lead to the offer of a life-time. Nicolas was spotted and offered 3.2 million kroners to turn the short into a feature. At only twenty-four, Nicolas had written and directed the extremely violent and uncompromising Pusher (1996), which became a cult phenomenon and won Nicolas instant international critical acclaim. The success of his debut spurred him to push the boundaries of his creative filmmaking further, which resulted in the close-to-the-edge and intricately gritty Bleeder (1999). Highly stylized and focused on introverted reactions to outward situations, this film was a marking point for the shaping of Nicolas's future career. The movie was selected for the 1999 Venice International Film Festival as well as winning the prestigious FIPRESCI Prize in Sarajevo.
Nicolas's fourth feature, the much-anticipated Fear X (2003) was also his first foray into English-language movies. Starring the award-winning actor John Turturro, "Fear X" made its world premiere at the Sundance Film festival. However, Fear X divided critics and it flopped, which made Nicolas Winding Refn broke and in debt.
Having to provide for his family and paying his debt, he returned to Denmark to revisit "Pusher." Refn was reluctant to revisit his past success but decided that he could both make commercially viable and artistically pleasing films. In just two years he managed to write, direct and produce the two sequels. Pusher II (2004) and Pusher III (2005) sealed the box and success of the internationally renowned "Pusher" trilogy. In 2005, the Toronto Film Festival held a "Pusher" retrospective showing all three features cementing its worldwide phenomenon.
In 2006 Nicolas embarked on a second English-language (and first digital) feature called Valhalla Rising (2009), which was inspired by a story his mother read to him at the age of five about a father and son who embark on a trip to the moon. Not recalling the ending of this story has been a long time fascination of Nicolas's with the unknown. During the pre-production on "Valhalla Rising," his long time collaborator and friend, Rupert Preston, urged him into accepting an offer to write and direct Bronson (2008), an ultra-violent, surreal, and escapist film following the real-life landmarks and self-entrapment of Charles Bronson, Britain's most notorious criminal. Before its cinematic release, "Bronson" was making waves inside and outside the film industry. The 2009 Sundance Film Festival selected the blistering film for its World Cinema Dramatic Competition and it soon became the talk of the festival. With such a prestigious premiere, "Bronson" went on to be selected for other major international film festivals and reap strong box-office rewards. But, even with such a buzz surrounding the film, no one could predict how the British press would bite at "Bronson's" bit. The content was close to the knuckle, the subject matter controversial, but Nicolas's take on this was even more inspired leading him to be labeled by the British media as the next great European auteur.
With such critical acclaim, Nicolas's reputation as a producer, writer and director was solidly reaffirmed. Nicolas and his wife Liv Corfixen were the subjects of an acclaimed documentary, Gambler (2006), which premiered at the Rotterdam International Film Festival in 2005. In addition, Nicolas already received two lifetime-achievement awards (one from the Taipei International Film festival in 2006 and the second from the Valencia International Film Festival in 2007), and it was the winner of the Emerging Master Award from the Philadelphia International Film Festival 2005.- Director
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Paul Verhoeven graduated from the University of Leiden, with a degree in math and physics. He entered the Royal Netherlands Navy, where he began his film career by making documentaries for the Navy and later for TV. In 1969, he directed the popular Dutch TV series, Floris (1969), about a medieval knight. This featured actor Rutger Hauer, who has appeared in many of Verhoeven's later films. Verhoeven's first feature, Wat zien ik (1971) (trans. "What do I See?"), was released in 1971. However, it was his second, Turkish Delight (1973), with its combination of raw sexuality and a poignant story-line, that gained him great popularity in the Netherlands, especially with male audiences. When his films, especially Soldier of Orange (1977) and The 4th Man (1983), received international recognition, Verhoeven moved to the US. His first US film was Flesh+Blood (1985) in 1985, but it was RoboCop (1987) and, especially, Total Recall (1990) that made him a big box office success. Sometimes accused of portraying excessive violence in his films, Verhoeven replies that he is only recording the violence of society. Verhoeven has co-scripted two of his films: Soldier of Orange (1977) and Flesh+Blood (1985). He also directed an episode of the HBO The Hitchhiker (1983) TV series. Several of his films have been photographed by Jost Vacano, including the hit cult film, Starship Troopers (1997), starring Casper Van Dien.- Producer
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Pablo Larraín was born in Santiago, Chile. He is a director, writer and producer, known for Spencer (2021), Jackie (2016), El Club (2015), NO (2012), among others. Together with his brother Juan de Dios Larraín, they founded Fabula in 2004, one of the most prolific production companies in Latin America.- Director
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Fernando Meirelles was born in a middle class family in São Paulo City, Brazil.
He studied architecture at the university of São Paulo. At the same time he developed an interest in filmmaking. With a group of friends he started producing experimental videos and video art. They won a huge number of awards in Brazilian video festivals. After that, the group formed a small independent company called Olhar Eletrônico.
After working in independent television during nine years, in the eighties, Meirelles gravitated towards publicity and commercials. He also became the director of a very popular 180 episodes of a children's television show called Ra Tim Bum.
In the early 90s, together with Paulo Morelli and Andrea Barata Ribeiro, he opened the O2 Filmes production company which became the biggest production company in Brasil working from development until distribution, including complete post-production facilities.
His first feature,in 1998, was the family film "Menino Maluquinho 2: A Aventura". His next feature, "Domésticas" (2001), exposed the invisible world of five Brazilian maids in São Paulo and their secret dreams and desires.
In 1997 he read the Brazilian best-seller "Cidade de Deus/City of God", written by Paulo Lins, and decided to turn it into a movie despite an the intimidating story that involves more than 350 characters. Once the the screenplay, written by Bráulio Mantovani, was ready, Meirelles gathered a crew mixed with professional technicians and inexperienced actors chosen between the youngsters living in the favelas surrounding Rio de Janeiro.
The film was a huge success in Brazil and began to attract attention around the world, after it screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2002. "Cidade de Deus/City of God" (2003) has won nore than 50 awards from film festivals and societies all over the world, as well as four 2004 Oscar nominations, including a Best Director for Fernando Meirelles.
Since 2002 , Meirelles has split his time between international feature and TV series in Brazil. The Constant Gardner (2005,) had four Academy nominations plus four Golden Globes. Blindness (2008) opened Cannes. 360 (2011) opened the LFF. In the same period he directed several series for TV Globo and HBO in Brazil.
In addition to cinema, Meirelles directed Bizet's opera , Pearl Fishers, and was one of the directors of the 2016 Olympic opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro.
In 2019 Meirelles finished The Two Popes, for Netflix, and start filming a scientific documentary on the soil.
Apart from cinema, Meirelles is also a farmer. He plants sugar cane, coffee, palm heart, avocado, and mahogany. He is developing ways to produce organically n large scale. Agroforest is his bet.
In the next few years, his plan is to be involved in projects related to the environmental crisis and climate emergency. Meirelles is not optimistic about the future of our species and, in a shorter period, neither in the future of his grandchildren, which is very sad. --- Producer
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He is best known for directing the Brazilian critical and financial successes Elite Squad and Elite Squad: The Enemy Within and the 2014 remake of RoboCop. He has won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival for Elite Squad in 2008. He is also the producer and director of the Netflix original series Narcos, starring frequent collaborator Wagner Moura.- Director
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David Mackenzie was born on 10 May 1966 in Corbridge, Northumberland, England, UK. He is a director and producer, known for Starred Up (2013), Perfect Sense (2011) and Hell or High Water (2016).- Writer
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Gregg Araki was born on 17 December 1959 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is a writer and director, known for Mysterious Skin (2004), White Bird in a Blizzard (2014) and Kaboom (2010).- Director
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Though Academy Award®, Golden Globe Award and Emmy Award winning writer and director Susanne Bier's work often plays out against a wide-reaching global backdrop, its focus is intimate, carefully exploring the explosive emotions and complexities of familial bonds. This unique combination is part of the formula that has made her Denmark's leading female filmmaker and a powerhouse worldwide.
Bier's 2010 film In a Better World won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2011, as well as an Italian Golden Globe Award® for Best European Film and Best Director at the European Film Awards. She previously helmed the multi-award-winning After the Wedding (2006), which was also an Academy Award® nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, and was remade as an English-language film in 2019 starring Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, and Billy Crudup.
Bier won an Emmy Award in 2016 for directing the six-part AMC mini-series The Night Manager, based on the 1993 novel of the same name by John le Carré, with stars Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, and Olivia Colman all winning Golden Globes for their work.
Bier followed this with the 2018 Netflix film Bird Box, starring Sandra Bullock, which went on to become the most-watched film in Netflix history. In 2020, she directed the six-part HBO series The Undoing, starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant, the network's first original series to grow its audience each week.
Prior to this, Bier co-wrote and directed the romantic comedy The One and Only (1999), which won Best Film at the Danish Robert Awards and was the most watched domestic film in Denmark in 20 years, with one-fifth of the country's population having seen it at the cinema.
In 2002, she directed Open Hearts, shot in accordance with the Dogme '95 filmmaking aesthetic. The film won numerous awards, including the Audience Award at the Robert Festival (Danish Academy Award) and the International Film Critics' Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Bier followed this with Brothers (2004), which won, among others, the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival.
In 2007, Bier directed the award-winning Things We Lost in the Fire, starring Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro, her first English-language film.
In 2012, Bier made her triumphant return to the genre with the 2013 winner of the European Film Award for Best Comedy, Love Is All You Need, starring Pierce Brosnan and Trine Dyrholm. In 2014, Bier directed A Second Chance, starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Most recently, Susanne Bier directed the Showtime limited series The First Lady, starring Viola Davis, Michelle Pfieffer, and Gillian Anderson.- Director
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A very talented painter, Kathryn spent two years at the San Francisco Art Institute. At 20, she won a scholarship to the Whitney Museum's Independent Study Program. She was given a studio in a former Offtrack Betting building, literally in an old bank vault, where she made art and waited to be critiqued by people like Richard Serra, Robert Rauschenberg and Susan Sontag. Later she earned a scholarship to study film at Columbia University School of Arts, graduating in 1979. She was also a member of the British avant garde cultural group, Art and Language. Kathryn is the only child of the manager of a paint factory and a librarian.- Producer
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Darren Aronofsky was born February 12, 1969, in Brooklyn, New York. Growing up, Darren was always artistic: he loved classic movies and, as a teenager, he even spent time doing graffiti art. After high school, Darren went to Harvard University to study film (both live-action and animation). He won several film awards after completing his senior thesis film, "Supermarket Sweep", starring Sean Gullette, which went on to becoming a National Student Academy Award finalist. Aronofsky didn't make a feature film until five years later, in February 1996, where he began creating the concept for Pi (1998). After Darren's script for Pi (1998) received great reactions from friends, he began production. The film re-teamed Aronofsky with Gullette, who played the lead. This went on to further successes, such as Requiem for a Dream (2000), The Wrestler (2008) and Black Swan (2010). Most recently, he completed the films Noah (2014) and Mother! (2017).- Director
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Steve McQueen was born on 9 October 1969 in London, England, UK. He is a director and producer, known for 12 Years a Slave (2013), Shame (2011) and Hunger (2008). He is married to Bianca Stigter. They have two children.- Director
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Jorge Daniel Espinosa is a Swedish-Chilean film director, screenwriter and film producer from Trångsund, Stockholm. He graduated from the National Film School of Denmark in 2001. He notably directed the Sony's Marvel Universe film Morbius starring Jared Leto and other films including Life, Easy Money, The Boxer, Babylon Disease, Outside Love and Child 44.- Director
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Petri Kotwica was born in 1964 in Parainen, Finland. He is a director and actor, known for Musta jää (2007), Rat King (2012) and Tunnel Vision (1996).- Producer
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Jérôme Salle was born in 1971 in Paris. He is a producer and writer, known for The Odyssey (2016), Zulu (2013) and Anthony Zimmer (2005).- Producer
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Ulrich Seidl was born on 24 November 1952 in Vienna, Austria. He is a producer and director, known for Rimini (2022), Paradise: Love (2012) and Goodnight Mommy (2014). He is married to Veronika Franz. They have two children.- Director
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Amat Escalante was born on 28 February 1979 in Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. He is a director and producer, known for The Untamed (2016), Heli (2013) and The Bastards (2008).- Director
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Gerardo Naranjo was born on 6 April 1971 in Salamanca, Guanajuato, Mexico. He is a director and producer, known for Miss Bala (2011), I'm Gonna Explode (2008) and Kokoloko (2020).- Producer
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Sean Durkin was born on 9 December 1981 in Canada. He is a producer and director, known for Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011), The Nest (2020) and The Iron Claw (2023).- Producer
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Jérôme Salle was born in 1971 in Paris. He is a producer and writer, known for The Odyssey (2016), Zulu (2013) and Anthony Zimmer (2005).- Director
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Amat Escalante was born on 28 February 1979 in Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. He is a director and producer, known for The Untamed (2016), Heli (2013) and The Bastards (2008).- Director
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Francesco Munzi was born in 1969 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. He is a director and writer, known for Black Souls (2014), Saimir (2004) and The Rest of the Night (2008).- Director
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Clio Barnard was born in Otley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, UK. She is known for The Selfish Giant (2013), Ali & Ava (2021) and The Arbor (2010).- Director
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Kim Nguyen was born in 1974 in Montréal, Québec, Canada. He is a director and writer, known for War Witch (2012).- Writer
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Álex de la Iglesia is one of the most popular and respected European filmmakers of his generation. Considered a genre of his own, based on his skill and originality in a range of cinematographic art styles, he has currently finished shooting the second season of "30 Coins", the successful HBO Max series. 2022 saw the release of two feature films directed by de la Iglesia: the slasher "Veneciafrenia" (part of The Fear Collection) and the romantic road movie "Four's a Crowd", alongside "Venus" by Jaume Balagueró, which was produced by Álex de la Iglesia, in association with Sony Pictures and Amazon Prime Video.
Born in Bilbao, Álex de la Iglesia started out in the world of comics and he has never lost this side to him throughout his career in film. He began as a director in "Mutant Action" and "The Day of the Beast", movies that changed the face of Spanish fantastique genre forever. Among his most renowned works are "The Last Circus" - praised by The New York Times the same day it was released in the US -"Ferpect Crime", "Witching and Bitching", "My Big Night" and "The Bar".
With Pokeepsie Films, the production company De la Iglesia created with his wife, prestigious producer Carolina Bang, he has contributed as a producer to nurturing a new generation of filmmakers, such as Paul Urkijo, Eduardo Casanova, Zoe Berriatúa, Juanfer Andrés and Esteban Roel.
With Bang and De La Iglesia as producers, Pokeepsie Films had great success with movies such as "70 Big Ones" by Koldo Serra and "Perfect Strangers" and "Veneciafrenia", both directed by Álex de la Iglesia himself. "Four's a crowd" is his latest release as a feature director, while as a producer he has also been part of "La Pietà", by Eduardo Casanova, and the aforementioned "Venus", directed by Jaume Balagueró.
In 2023, Pokeepsie Films has released the HBO Max series, "Headless chickens", starring Hugo Silva, the Prime Video original feature film "My fault" (the most watched non-English language movie in the history of the platform), and has started shooting "1992", a Netflix series directed by Álex de la Iglesia.- Director
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Everardo Gout is known for Días de gracia (2011), The Chosen One (2023) and The Forever Purge (2021).- Director
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Jean-Marc Vallée was a Canadian filmmaker, editor and screenwriter from Montreal. He directed Black List, C.R.A.Z.Y., The Young Victoria, Wild, Dallas Buyers Club, Los Locos, Loser Love and Café de Flore. He also created the HBO shows Big Little Lies and Sharp Objects. He was married to Chantal Cadieux and had two sons. He passed away on Christmas Day 2021.- Writer
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Nicolas Boukhrief was born on 2 June 1963 in Antibes, Alpes-Maritimes, France. He is a writer and director, known for Wrath of Man (2021), Gardiens de l'ordre (2010) and Comme un fils (2023).- Director
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Felix van Groeningen was born on 1 November 1977 in Gent, Flanders, Belgium. He is a director and writer, known for Beautiful Boy (2018), The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012) and The Eight Mountains (2022).