Oscar-nominated Todd Haynes has since the early 90s been one of the foremost and most critically-aclaimed directors of the American Indie scene. His bold, eclectic and provocative body of work is renowned for its profound and multifacted interrogation of female subjectivity, identity and sexuality.
Todd began his career in 1987 with the defiantly brilliant short film “Superstar” a stop-motion masterpiece which told the tragic story of Karen Carpenter’s life and death through the medium of dolls.
His sophomore 1998 feature “Velvet Goldmine” – a carnivalesque pop-art panegyric to glam rock – starred Christian Bale, Ewan McGregor, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Toni Collette. 2002’s “Far From Heaven” – a decadent pastiche and tribute the films of Douglas Sirk – starred Julianne Moore and Dennis Quaid, and gleaned Todd four Academy Award nominations. His 2007 feature “I’m Not There” won widespread acclaim for its unconventional decision to cast seven different actors, including Heath Ledger and Cate Blanchett, to play the role of Bob Dylan, once again upending the conventions of the rock-and-roll biopic.
The five-part HBO miniseries “Mildred Pierce” followed, starring Kate Winslet, Guy Pearce and Evan Rachel Wood, and was Todd’s first foray into episodic television, earning him five Emmys.
In more recent years, Todd directed Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara in the Academy Award Nominated “Carol” in 2015. This was followed in 2017 by the Palm D’Or nominated “Wonderstruck” starring long-time muse Julianne Moore. In 2019, Todd shifted gear to direct the paranoid, real-life eco-conspiracy thriller “Dark Waters”, starring Mark Ruffalo. And then in 2021, Todd made the pivot to full-throated documentary with “The Velvet Underground” a documentary portrait of the eponymous rock band.
Between writing and directing his narrative projects, Todd has also directed global campaigns for brands including Givenchy, Revlon and Heineken.
Todd’s latest project is “May December” a romance-drama starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore, and was released in October 2023.