Gus Van Sant

Known for: Good Will Hunting (1997), Elephant (2003)

Gus Van Sant has moved between mainstream Hollywood productions and formally experimental independent films, developing two distinct bodies of work that share an interest in youth, alienation, and the Pacific Northwest. Drugstore Cowboy (1989) and My Own Private Idaho (1991) established him as a major independent filmmaker; his Death Trilogy — Gerry (2002), Elephant (2003), Last Days (2005) — drew on the work of Béla Tarr and Chantal Akerman. He won Best Director at Cannes for Elephant.