Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American film director, screenwriter and film producer. He attended Harvard University and AFI to study both live-action and animation.
His films are noted for their surrealistic, melodramatic, and sometimes disturbing elements, often in the form of psychological fiction. His feature debut, the surrealist psychological thriller Pi (1998), was produced for $60,000 and grossed over $3 million; It won Aronofsky the Directing Award at the Sundance Film Festival and an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay.