Darren Aronofsky is an American filmmaker known for directing several psychological thrillers and dramatic works. He has received several awards including a Primetime Emmy Award, three Independent Spirit Awards and the Golden Lion from the Venice International Film Festival as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award and a Golden Globe Award.
Aronofsky directed his feature film debut, the conceptual psychological thriller Pi (1998) for which he won the Directing Prize at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay and the Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Director. He earned acclaim for his psychological drama Requiem for a Dream (2000) earning a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Director.
For the sports drama The Wrestler (2008) he earned the Venice International Film Festival's Golden Lion and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Film. For the psychological horror film Black Swan (2010) he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director, BAFTA Award for Best Director, Directors Guild of America Award for Best Director, Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Director and Golden Globe Award for Best Director. The film competed for the Golden Lion at the 67th Venice International Film Festival.
Aronofsky received positive reviews but controversy with the Biblical epic film Noah (2014). He then directed films which received polarized responses at the Venice International Film Festival, the psychological horror film Mother! (2017) and the psychological drama The Whale (2022) both of which competed for the Golden Lion at the 2017 ceremony and the 2022 ceremony respectively. For his work on television, he received the Primetime Emmy Award for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking and the Peabody Award for the documentary film The Territory (2022).
Major associations Academy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 2010 Best Director Black Swan
BAFTA Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.British Academy Film Awards 2010 Best Direction Black Swan
Critics' Choice Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.Critics' Choice Movie Award 2010 Best Director Black Swan
Emmy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.Primetime Emmy Awards 2023 Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking The Territory
Golden Globe Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 2010 Best Director Black Swan
Independent Spirit Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1998 Best First Screenplay Pi Best First Feature 2000 Best Director Requiem for a Dream 2008 Best Film The Wrestler 2010 Best Director Black Swan 2016 Best Film Jackie
Venice Film Festival Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 2006 Golden Lion The Fountain 2008 The Wrestler 2010 Black Swan 2017 Mother! 2022 The Whale
Miscellaneous awards Year Award Category Title Result Ref. 1998 Gotham Awards Open Palm Award Pi National Board of Review Special Recognition for Excellence in Filmmaking Sundance Film Festival Best Director Grand Jury Prize 2000 National Board of Review Special Recognition for Excellence in Filmmaking Requiem for a Dream Valladolid International Film Festival Best Picture – Golden Spike Award 2001 Webby Award Movie & Film Webby Award Winner American Film Institute Franklin J. Schaffner Award Recipient 2006 Stockholm International Film Festival Visionary Award The Fountain Chicago International Film Festival Emerging Visionary Award Recipient 2008 Golden Tomato Best Drama The Wrestler 2009 London Critics Circle Film Awards Best Film Best Director National Board of Review Best Film Fantasporto Audience Award 2010 Gotham Awards Best Feature Black Swan Chicago Film Critics Association Best Director San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards Best Director Satellite Award Best Director Toronto Film Critics Association Best Director Vancouver Film Critics Circle Best Director Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Best Director Camerimage Cinematographer – Director Duo Award 2011 Directors Guild of America Outstanding Directing – Feature Film Provincetown International Film FestivalFilmmaker on the Edge Award Recipient Scream AwardsBest Director 2012 Japanese Academy Awards Outstanding Foreign Language Film 2014 Woodstock Film Festival Honorary Maverick Award Recipient 2015 Odesa International Film Festival Golden Duke for Lifetime Achievement Motion Picture Sound Editors Filmmaker's Award Recipient 2017 Deauville Film Festival Achievement Tribute Award PETA Oscats PETA Pick AwardMother! 2018 Golden Raspberry Awards Worst Director Yerevan International Film Festival Parajanov Thaler Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution Into World Cinema Mumbai Film Festival Excellence in Cinema Award 2022Peabody AwardEntertainmentThe Territory
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