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.

Aronofsky was born in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on February 12, 1969, the son of teachers Charlotte and Abraham Aronofsky.

He grew up in Brooklyn's Manhattan Beach neighborhood.

He said he was "raised culturally Jewish, but there was very little spiritual attendance in the temple. It was a cultural thing—celebrating the holidays, knowing where you came from, knowing your history, having respect for what your people have been through."

He graduated from Edward R. Murrow High School.

He has one sister, Patti, who attended a professional ballet school through high school.

His parents would often take him to Broadway performances, which sparked his interest in show business.

During his youth, Aronofsky trained as a field biologist with The School for Field Studies in Kenya in 1985 and Alaska in 1986.

He attended school in Kenya to pursue an interest in learning about ungulates.

He later said that the School for Field Studies "changed the way [he] perceived the world".

Aronofsky's interest in the outdoors led him to backpack his way through Europe and the Middle East.

At the age of 18, he entered Harvard University, where he majored in social anthropology and studied filmmaking; he graduated in 1991.

He became seriously interested in film while attending Harvard after befriending Dan Schrecker, an aspiring animator, and Sean Gullette, who would go on to star in Aronofsky's first film, Pi.

His cinematic influences included Akira Kurosawa, Roman Polanski, Federico Fellini, Terry Gilliam, Shinya Tsukamoto, Hubert Selby Jr.. Spike Lee, Satoshi Kon, and Jim Jarmusch.

Aronofsky's senior thesis film, Supermarket Sweep, was a finalist in the 1991 Student Academy Awards.

In 1992, Aronofsky received his MFA degree in directing from the AFI Conservatory, where his classmates included Todd Field, Doug Ellin, Scott Silver, and Mark Waters.

He won the institute's Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal.

In 1997, he founded the film and TV production company Protozoa Pictures.

Aronofsky's debut feature, titled Pi—sometimes stylized as π—was shot in October 1997.

The film was financed in part from $100 donations from his friends and family.

In return, he promised to pay each back $150 if the film made money, and they would at least get screen credit if the film lost money.

His feature film debut, the surrealist psychological thriller Pi (1998), was produced for $60,000 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.

Producing the film with an initial budget of $60,000, Aronofsky premiered Pi at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, where he won the Best Director award.

The film itself was nominated for a special Jury Award.

Artisan Entertainment bought distribution rights for $1 million.

The film was released to the public later that year to critical acclaim and it grossed a total of $3,221,152 at the box-office.

Pi was the first film to be made available for download on the Internet.

Aronofsky followed his debut with Requiem for a Dream, a film based on Hubert Selby Jr..'s novel of the same name.

Aronofsky's follow-up, the psychological drama Requiem for a Dream (2000), received favorable reviews and an Academy Award nomination for Ellen Burstyn's performance.

After writing the World War II horror film Below (2002), Aronofsky released his third film, the romantic fantasy sci-fi 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 film's 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.

Aronofsky's film titled Postcard from Earth (2023), was produced and filmed exclusively for the Sphere in the Las Vegas Valley on its 16K resolution screen.