Darren Aronofsky

Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American film director, screenwriter and film producer. He has received acclaim for his often surreal, disturbing films and has been noted for frequent collaborations with cinematographer Matthew Libatique, film editor Andrew Weisblum and composer Clint Mansell. His films have generated controversy and are known for their often violent, bleak subject matter. "The themes in the six Aronofsky’s films from 1998 to 2014 include the search for perfection, the search for happiness, longing for love, intoxication with publicity, the pain of alienation, and the burden of responsibility."

Aronofsky attended Harvard University, where he studied film and social anthropology, and the American Film Institute where he studied directing. He won several film awards after completing his senior thesis film, Supermarket Sweep, which went on to become a National Student Academy Award finalist. Aronofsky's feature debut, the surrealist psychological thriller Pi, was shot in November 1997. The low-budget, $60,000 production, starring Sean Gullette, was sold to Artisan Entertainment for $1 million, and grossed over $3 million; Aronofsky won the Directing Award at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival and an Independent Spirit Award for best first screenplay.