Jim Jarmusch

Jim Jarmusch is an American independent filmmaker whose long list of films, among them "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai" (1999), "Broken Flowers" (2005), and "Paterson" (2016), received widespread critical praise.

Born and raised in 1950s Akron, Ohio, Jarmusch first became fascinated with movies as a young boy. His mother would drop him off at the local cinema while she ran errands, and it was there that Jarmusch would catch double features of monster movies like "Creature from the Black Lagoon" (1954). By the time he was a teenager, Jarmusch knew he wanted to create art for a living, so he enrolled in Columbia University in New York. He studied English and Literature while attending the University, and began writing poetry and short fiction pieces. After graduating in 1975 Jarmusch enrolled in the film program at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. During his final year at Columbia Jarmusch worked as an assistant for the legendary film director Nicholas Ray. The experience was transformative for the aspiring young filmmaker, as Ray encouraged Jarmusch to make his first feature film on his terms.

Jarmusch followed Ray's advice and in 1980 he released his first feature film "Permanent Vacation" (1980). That film, which was made for about $15,000, was about a young man who drifts around Manhattan aimlessly. "Permanent Vacation" showed a good deal of promise, but was never released theatrically. Jarmusch's next film, "Stranger Than Paradise" (1984), received widespread praise, and earned the young director the Camera d'Or at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival.

Over the next two decades Jarmusch cemented his reputation as one of the most respected indie filmmakers of his generation, with his films like "Mystery Train" (1989), "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai," and "Broken Flowers," now considered landmarks of independent cinema. In 2019 Jarmusch wrote and directed the zombie comedy "The Dead Don't Die." That film, which starred Bill Murray, Adam Driver and Tom Waits, was nominated for the prestigious Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.