#6 - ALFONSO CUARÓN

In the last three years, Alfonso Cuarón has left an indelible mark upon the film world. Among the most successful and talked-about Mexican filmmakers of his generation, Cuarón has shown a remarkable versatility, able to embrace the Hollywood blockbuster as well as rough-edged and darker-themed contemporary stories set to please independent film buffs.

In 1995, Cuarón released his first feature film produced in the United States, A Little Princess, a graceful and elegant adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic novel. Cuarón's next feature was also a literary adaptation, a modernized version of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations starring Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Robert De Niro. But Cuarón's next project found him making a sharp left turn; shot in Mexico with a Spanish-speaking cast, Y Tu Mamá También was a funny, provocative, and controversial tragicomedy about two sexually obsessed teenagers who take an extended road trip with an attractive woman in her thirties. The film's open portrayal of sexuality and frequent rude humor, as well as the politically and socially relevant asides, made the film an international hit and a major success with critics. The film quickly propelled Cuarón into the elite list of contemporary directors who are at once unconventional, uncompromising, and wholly unpredictable.

This past summer, Cuarón released the darker, more emotional, and most mature third film in the successful Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Easily the best of the series, Cuarón's film perfectly captured Harry's pivotal transformation from child magician to young-adult sorcerer.

Cuarón's next film, tenatively titled Mexico '68, is based on Mexico's violent student revolt of 1968. The film is scheduled to be released in 2006.