Darren Aronofsky

Darren Aronofsky is an Academy Award-nominated director who is noted for his surreal, melodramatic and often disturbing films, most notably, Black Swan (2010), mother! (2017), and Requiem for a Dream (2000).

His film, Black Swan, won Natalie Portman the Academy Award for Best Actress and received four other nominations, including one for Best Picture. The film received scores of other accolades, appeared on over 200 critical Top Ten lists, and swept the 2011 Independent Spirit Award with wins for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Cinematography. The film was also a box office phenomenon grossing more than $328M worldwide.

Aronofsky also directed "Noah," based on the biblical story of Noah’s ark. The film stars Russell Crowe, Ray Winstone, Jennifer Connelly, Douglas Booth, Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, and Anthony Hopkins.

Prior to Black Swan, Aronofsky directed The Wrestler (2008). The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival where it won the esteemed Golden Lion making it only the third American film in history to win this grand prize. One day later it was acquired by Fox Searchlight hours after its gala screening at the Toronto Film Festival. The Wrestler won Best Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards and garnered Academy Award nominations for both Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei. Golden Globes were given to Mickey for his iconic performance and to Bruce Springsteen for his original track The Wrestler.

Aronofsky also wrote and directed The Fountain (2006), a science-fiction romance starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz.

In 2000, Aronofsky premiered Requiem for a Dream at the Cannes Film Festival. The film was named to over 150 Top Ten lists including the New York Times, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and the American Film Institute. The accolades continued with five Independent Spirit Award nominations, including one for Best Director and a win for Best Actress Ellen Burstyn. Burstyn also received Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for her unforgettable performance.

Aronofsky’s first feature, π, won the Director’s Award at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival and an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay.

Among his honors, the American Film Institute gave Aronofsky the prestigious Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal, the Stockholm Film Festival presented him the Golden Horse Visionary Award, he has won three Independent Spirit Awards, and he was president of the jury at the 68th annual Venice Film Festival in 2011.

Aronofsky is also known for his environmental activism. In 2017, Aronofsky released his seventh film, mother!, starring Jennifer Lawrence. The actress stated that the film is an allegory, with the film depicting the rape and torment of Mother Earth. Lawrence represents Mother Earth; Javier, whose character is a poet, represents a form of God, a creator; Michelle Pfeiffer is an Eve to Ed Harris's Adam, there's Cain and Abel and the setting sometimes resembles the Garden of Eden".