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Profile: Olivier Assayas, director of Something in the Air
17 May 2013
The writer-director specialises in period pieces that don't slide into nostalgia
Born 1955, Paris Background The son of a screenwriter father and a painter mother, Assayas worked as a critic for Cahiers du Cinéma, before making his directorial debut in 1986 with Disorder. A writer-director with an impressive ability to work…
Profile: Jeff Nichols, director of Mud
16 Apr 2013
The writer-director is influenced by Terrence Malick, David Gordon Green and, on Mud, Mark Twain
Born 7 December, 1978, Arkansas Background After studying filmmaking at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, writer-director Jeff Nichols announced his arrival with his 2007 low-budget debut Shotgun Stories, the story of a feud…
Profile: Francois Ozon, director of In the House
8 Mar 2013
The former enfant terrible of French cinema on his dislike of writing and admiration for Hitchcock
Born 15 November, 1967, Paris Background On the basis of his early shorts See the Sea and A Summer’s Dress and his debut feature Sitcom, writer-director Francois Ozon was labelled in the late 1990s as an enfant terrible of French cinema. He has…
Profile: Ben Lewin, director of The Sessions
15 Jan 2013
The film is inspired by poet and journalist Mark O'Brien's experiences with a sex surrogate
Born Poland, 1946. Raised in Melbourne, Australia. Background In 1971 Lewin quit his job as a barrister to study filmmaking at the National Film and Television School in England. Lewin’s work to date includes Ally McBeal and the films Georgia and…
Five reasons to see the films of Alexander Mackendrick
20 Nov 2012
The director of Whisky Galore! and Sweet Smell of Success is the subject of a retrospective
It’s the centenary of the birth of the Scottish-American filmmaker who became one of Ealing studios’ greatest directors. Born in Boston, Massachusetts to Scottish immigrant parents, Mackendrick moved back to Glasgow with his grandfather when he was just…
5 things you might not know about Chantal Akerman
13 Nov 2012
The director of Almayer's Folly is the subject of a retrospective at the 2012 French Film Festival
1 In 1968, as an 18-year-old film school dropout, she funded her first short film by selling shares on the Antwerp diamond exchange. 2 She then relocated to New York City to immerse herself in the avant-garde scene, gaining particular inspiration…
Profile: Yorgos Lanthimos, director of Alps
1 Nov 2012
The Greek filmmaker is also the man behind comedy drama Dogtooth
Born Athens, Greece, 1973 Background Having studied at film school in Athens, Lanthimos made his debut feature with My Best Friend in 2001. It was his third feature Dogtooth however, a bizarre black comedy about an upper-class Greek couple who try…
Lisa Immordino Vreeland, director of Diana Vreeland: The Eye Must Travel - profile
18 Sep 2012
The filmmaker is the granddaughter-in-law of the legendary fashionista
Background Despite never meeting her grandmother-in-law, the fashion icon Diana Vreeland, Lisa Immordino Vreeland has dedicated the past few years to documenting the story of this influential editor. Having previously worked in the fashion industry as a…
Interview: Toby Jones on Peter Strickland's Berberian Sound Studio
15 Aug 2012
Hannah McGill speaks to the actor about the genre-defying anti-horror movie
Two stories drew Toby Jones to Berberian Sound Studio, the sophomore feature project by British-born director Peter Strickland. There was the tale to be spun onscreen: that of a mild-mannered British sound engineer coming unstuck whilst working on sound…
Profile: Bart Layton - director of The Imposter
15 Aug 2012
Compelling documentary on French con-artist who impersonated missing boy
Along with producer Dimitri Doganis, Layton runs the London production company RAW, which has made numerous documentary series for UK and US television. Their first feature project, The Imposter, is based on the true story of a French drifter who…
Scala Beyond festival
8 Aug 2012
Celebrating alternative film with screenings across the UK
The rise of the sanitized multiplex will never fully erase the down and dirty charm of the cult cinema event. Scala Beyond, a festival celebrating independent cinema exhibition, embarks on a six-week nationwide tour this autumn taking inspiration from…
Paul Brannigan, star of Ken Loach's The Angels' Share - profile
23 May 2012
The actor is also set to appear with Scarlett Johansson in Under the Skin
Born 1987, Glasgow, Scotland Background After working as a football coach in the Barrowfield community in Glasgow and helping to tackle knife crime as part of a Strathclyde Police initiative, Paul Brannigan was spotted by screenwriter Paul Laverty…
Ralph Fiennes, star and director of Coriolanus - profile
5 Jan 2012
Man behind the modernised Shakespeare adap has Bardic pedigree
Name Ralph Fiennes Born Ipswich, Suffolk, 22 December, 1962 Background Initially a star onstage with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Fiennes gained international film recognition for his Oscar-nominated performance as Nazi Commander Amon Göth in…
Interview - Rob Brydon
17 Oct 2011
The comic actor answers our questions ahead of the release of his autobiography, Small Man in a Book
First record you ever bought Apart from Rupert Bear, Propaganda by Sparks. Last extravagant purchase you made A cashmere scarf. First film you saw that really moved you Barney’s Version. Last lie you told I never lie. First movie you…
Profile - Sebastian Koch
13 Sep 2011
German star of coming-of-age Brit comedy Albatross
Name Sebastian Koch Born Karlsruhe, Germany, May 31 1962 Background Koch has worked solidly in European films and TV for over 25 years, but it was his terrific performance in The Lives of Others (2006) that made him recognisable to cinema…
Profile: Andre Ovredal
24 Aug 2011
Writer and director of Troll Hunter
Born 1973, Norway Background After studying at Santa Barbara’s Brooks Institute, where he made his first film, Future Murder (2001), Ovredal established himself as a successful director of commercials in Norway. What’s he up to now? He’s written and…
Profile: Chris Weitz, director of A Better Life
18 Jul 2011
Director known for American Pie, About a Boy and The Golden Compass
Name Chris Weitz Born 30 November 1969, New York City Background Weitz began his career co-directing the hit teen comedy American Pie (1999) with his brother Paul. After another successful collaboration, 2002’s About A Boy, Weitz’s first solo…
Profile: Philip Seymour Hoffman, director and star of Jack Goes Boating
27 May 2011
The much-respected actor screens his directorial debut at the EIFF
Born Fairport, New York, 23 July 1967. Background Known as the ‘character actor’s character actor’, Hoffman has been a jobbing actor since the early 1990s. After playing bit parts in television shows, shorts and features, Hoffman got his breakthrough…
Profile: Jim Mickle, director of vampire horror Stake Land
23 May 2011
Director turnes hometown into a post-apocalyptic wasteland
Name Jim Mickle Born Pottstown, Pennsylvania, 1977 Background After graduating from New York University’s filmmaking programme, Mickle worked in the camera department for features Transamerica, Shortbus and Pride and Glory. The experience gave him…
Profile: Gregg Araki - director of Kaboom
23 May 2011
A wild, sex-filled ride heavily influenced by the B-movie genre
Name Gregg Araki Born 17 December 1959, Los Angeles Background Araki came to prominence in the 1990s as one of the leading figures in what was labelled New Queer Cinema (a collection of films by directors including Derek Jarman and Todd Haynes…
Profile: Simon Hynd, director of horror thriller Senseless
24 Mar 2011
Jason Behr plays US businessman who is kidnapped
Born 20 January, 1974, Edinburgh Background Hynd studied Film & Television at Napier, making a few shorts that got him noticed by the Scottish film industry, going on to win a Scottish BAFTA for his short Tumshie Mcfadgen’s Bid for Ultimate…
Profile: Ken Wardrop, director of documentary His & Hers
10 Mar 2011
Irish director paints collective picture of woman in Irish Midlands
Wardrop grew up in a farming community in rural Ireland. After a stint working in London he enrolled at the National Film School, Dublin where he graduated in 2004 specialising in creative documentary making. His graduating short film, Undressing My…
Profile: Richard Ayoade
2 Mar 2011
Boosh, IT Crowd and Darkplace star directs Joe Dunthorne adap Submarine
Name Richard Ayoade Born 12 June 1977, Whipp’s Cross, London Background Best known for playing Moss in Graham Linehan ’s hit TV comedy The IT Crowd, Ayoade first came to the notice of cult comedy fans as writer, director and co-star of spoof…
William Fichtner stars in new horror Drive Angry - profile
17 Feb 2011
The US actor on playing the accountant from Hell
Name William Fichtner Born 27 November, 1956, Long Island, New York. Background ‘I’ve got a Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice but I had to take one arts course as part of my core requirements,’ explains Fichtner, ‘so I took an improv…
Brighton Rock remake actress Andrea Riseborough - Profile
17 Feb 2011
From Made in Dagenham to starring opposite Guy Pearce
Name Andrea Riseborough Born 27 October 1981, Newcastle-upon-Tyne Background She was Sally Hawkins’ mate in Happy-Go-Lucky, Margaret Thatcher in The Long Walk to Finchley, English Civil War-era crumpet in The Devil’s Whore and busty Brenda…
