Van Sant has been winning over critics and audiences alike since bursting onto the scene with his widely acclaimed feature film MALA NOCHE (1985), which won the Los Angeles Film Critics Award for the Best Independent-Experimental Film in 1987.

Van Sants body of work includes many hallmarks of 1990s independent cinema, notably DRUGSTORE COWBOY (1989), MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO (1991), and EVEN COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES (1993).

Van Sants direction of Nicole Kidman in the black comedy TO DIE FOR (1995) won her a Golden Globe Award and was screened at the Cannes and Toronto Film Festivals.

Van Sant received a Best Director Academy Award nomination for GOOD WILL HUNTING (1997), which received a total of nine Academy Award nominations (including wins for Best Supporting Actor Robin Williams and Best Original Screenplay by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck). Van Sanst next film was the controversial remake of a Alfred Hitchcocks classic thriller, PSYCHO (1998), which was the first shot-for-shot recreation of a film.

The new millennium brought the release of the literary drama FINDING FORRESTER (2000), starring Sean Connery, Rob Brown, F. Murray Abraham and Anna Paquin. Van Sant returned to his indie roots with the beautiful and austere GERRY (2002), which he wrote with the films stars Matt Damon and Casey Affleck. The experience of making the improvisational GERRY influenced Van Sants next film, ELEPHANT (2003). ELEPHANT premiered in competition at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival, where it wan the Palme dOr and Best Director prizes.

Throughout his career Van Sant has continued to make evocative short films, which have been winning awards at film festivals worldwide. These works include his 1982 adaptation of William S. Burroughs short story THE DISCIPLINE OF DE, a deadpan black-and-white gem shown at the New York Film Festival. In 1996 Van Sant directed Allen Ginsberg reading his own poem, BALLAD OF THE SKELETONS, to the music of Paul McCartney and Philip Glass, which premiered at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. Other acclaimed shorts include FIVE WAYS TO KILL YOURSELF (1987), THANKSGIVING PRAYER (1991), a re-teaming with Burroughs, and EASTER (1999), scripted by Harmony Korine.

Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Van Sant earned a BA at the Rhode Island School of Design before moving to Hollywood. Early in his career he spent two years directing commercials for New York advertising agencies. Eventually he settled in Portland, Oregon, where in addition to directing and producing, he pursued his other interests painting, photography, and writing. In 1995 he published a collection of photography entitled 108 Portraits (Twelvetrees Press) and two years later published his first novel, Pink (Doubleday), a satire on filmmaking. A longtime musician himself, Van Sant has directed music videos for many top recording artists including David Bowie, Elton John, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Hanson.

Filmography

2007 PARANOID PARK 2005 LAST DAYS 2003 ELEPHANT 2002 GERRY 2000 FINDING FORRESTER 1998 PSYCHO 1997 GOOD WILL HUNTING 1997 BALLAD OF THE SKELETONS 1996 FOUR BOYS IN A VOLVO 1995 TO DIE FOR 1993 EVEN COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES 1991 MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO 1991 THANKSGIVING PRAYER 1989 DRUGSTORE COWBOY 1987 FIVE WAYS TO KILL YOURSELF 1987 MY NEW FRIEND 1987 KEN DEATH GETS OUT OF JAIL 1985 MALA NOCHE