| Tarek Sharkawy |
Nicolas Winding Refn (born 29 September 1970) is a Danish film director, screenwriter and producer. He moved to the United States in 1978 and attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts but was expelled.
Winding Refn made his directorial debut with the Danish crime drama film "Pusher” (1996), a film about a drug pusher who grows increasingly desperate after a botched deal leaves him with a large debt to a ruthless drug lord. Refn later made two sequels, “Pusher II” (2004) (aka Pusher II: With Blood on My Hands) and "Pusher 3” (2005) (aka Pusher III: I'm The Angel of Death). For "Pusher II”, lead actor Mads Mikkelsen won a Best Actor at the 2005 Bodil Awards, Best Actor at the 2005 Robert Festival (where the film was also nominated for Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Film, among other nominations) and Best Actor at the 2005 Zulu Awards.
In 2003, Refn directed and wrote his first U.S.-based Hollywood film, “Fear X”, which starred John Turturro. Although being a commercial failure that bankrupted the film company (Jang Go Star) at the time, it garnered many favorable reviews by critics and film buffs.
In 2008, Refn returned to the European art house film circuit after his unsuccessful Hollywood venture “Fear X,” and directed and wrote "Bronson” (2008), which starred Tom Hardy as the title character, the infamous real-life U.K. Prisoner Charles Bronson. The film won Best Film at the 2009 Sydney Film Festival, and was also nominated for the Grand Jury Prize (World Cinema - Dramatic) at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.
In 2011, Winding Refn directed the American neo-noir crime drama "Drive” (2011). It premiered in competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, where he received the Best Director award.
The film went on to collect many international prizes, and was Refn's first successful attempt in Hollywood, in addition to receiving an Academy Award nomination, and four BAFTA nominations.
In his latest film, “Only God Forgives,”Refn re-joined “Drive” lead star Ryan Gosling, where he appears as Julian, a drug-smuggler thriving in Bangkok's criminal underworld, who sees his life get even more complicated when his mother compels him to find and kill whoever is responsible for his brother's recent death. The film was highly controversial upon its release, receiving a very divided response from critics, but it also earned Refn a Best Film prize at Sydney Film Festival.
|
|
|
