Darren Aronofsky

Darren Aronofsky born February 12 1969 is an American filmmaker His films are noted for their surreal melodramatic and often disturbing elements frequently in the form of psychological fiction Aronofsky studied film and social anthropology at Harvard University before studying directing at the AFI Conservatory He won several film awards after completing his senior thesis film Supermarket Sweep which became a National Student Academy Award finalist In 1997 he founded the film and TV production company Protozoa Pictures His feature film debut the surrealist psychological thriller Pi 1998 was produced for 60000 and grossed over 3 million it won Aronofsky the Directing Award at the Sundance Film Festival and an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay Aronofskys followup the psychological drama Requiem for a Dream 2000 received favorable reviews and an Academy Award nomination for Ellen Burstyns performance After writing the World War II horror film Below 2002 Aronofsky released his third film the romantic fantasy scifi drama The Fountain 2006 It received mixed reviews and performed poorly at the box office but has since garnered a cult following His fourth film the sports drama The Wrestler 2008 was released to critical acclaim Aronofsky won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and the films lead actors Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei received Academy Award nominations His next film the psychological horror Black Swan 2010 received further acclaim and many accolades with five Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Best Director and a Best Actress win for Natalie Portman His sixth feature film the biblically inspired epic Noah 2014 became his first film to open at No 1 at the box office despite its mixed reception from critics and audiences His seventh and eighth films Mother 2017 and The Whale 2022 sparked controversy and received both widespread praise and criticism Aronofskys film titled Postcard from Earth 2023 was produced and filmed exclusively for the Sphere in the Las Vegas Valley on its 16K resolution screen