Darren Aronofsky

Who is Darren Aronofsky?

Darren Aronofsky 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 well known for their often violent, bleak subject matter.

Aronofsky attended Harvard University, where he studied film and social anthropology, and the American Film Institute to study 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, 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. Aronofsky's followup, Requiem for a Dream, was based on the novel of the same name by Hubert Selby, Jr.