Damien Chazelle

Damien Chazelle was born on January 19, 1985 in Providence, Rhode Island. He got his start with his first film, Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench (2009), which he wrote and directed as part of his senior thesis at Harvard University. He then wrote for films like The Last Exorcism Part II (2013), Grand Piano (2013) and 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016).

In 2014 he directed the film Whiplash, which went on to earn 5 Academy Award nominations including Best Adapted Screenplay for Chazelle (he won three). His short film Black List (2012) was accepted at the Sundance Film Festival 2013 and then released as a full-length film in 2014. He later directed La La Land (2016), which was an enormous success starring Emma Stone. He received a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Director. He is the youngest to win both of these awards.