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12 YEARS A SLAVE is a 2013 biographical period-drama film and an adaptation of the 1853 slave memoir Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup, a New York State-born free African-American man who was kidnapped in Washington, D.C., by two conmen in 1841 and sold into slavery. Northup was put to work on plantations in the state of Louisiana for 12 years before being released. The film was directed by Steve McQueen, and the screenplay was written by John Ridley. Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as Solomon Northup. Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Lupita Nyong’o, Sarah Paulson, Brad Pitt, and Alfre Woodard feature in supporting roles.
127 HOURS – Aron Ralston, a mountain climber, is on a hiking adventure in Utah when he gets trapped in a canyon. Soon, he takes desperate measures to survive and struggles for 127 hours before he is rescued. This 2010 biographical survival drama is co-written, produced and directed by Danny Boyle. The film stars James Franco, Kate Mara, Amber Tamblyn and Clémence Poésy. The film, based on Ralston’s memoir Between a Rock and a Hard Place (2004), was written by Boyle and Simon Beaufoy
A ROYAL AFFAIR – A young queen, who is married to an insane king, falls secretly in love with her physician – and together they start a revolution that changes a nation forever. The story is set in the 18th century, at the court of the mentally ill King Christian VII of Denmark, and focuses on the romance between his wife, Caroline Matilda of Great Britain, and the royal physician Johann Friedrich Struensee. 2012 Danish historical drama film directed by Nikolaj Arcel. Alicia Vikander, Mads Mikkelsen, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard
A WALK IN THE WOODS – After spending two decades in England, Bill Bryson returns to the U.S., where he decides the best way to connect with his homeland is to hike the Appalachian Trail with one of his oldest friends. 2015 American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Ken Kwapis and starring Robert Redford, Nick Nolte and Emma Thompson. Based on the 1998 book of the same name by Bill Bryson.
ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD – The story of the kidnapping of 16-year-old John Paul Getty III and the desperate attempt by his devoted mother to convince his billionaire grandfather Jean Paul Getty to pay the ransom. 2017 crime thriller film directed by Ridley Scott and written by David Scarpa. Based on John Pearson’s 1995 book Painfully Rich: The Outrageous Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Heirs of J. Paul Getty. The film stars Michelle Williams as John Paul Getty III’s mother, Christopher Plummer as Getty, and Mark Wahlberg as an adviser of the Getty family.
AMADEUS – 1984 period biographical drama directed by Miloš Forman and adapted by Peter Shaffer from his 1979 stage play Amadeus. The story is set in Vienna, Austria during the latter half of the 18th century, and is a fictionalized story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart from the time he left Salzburg, described by its writer as “fantasia on the theme of Mozart and Salieri”. Mozart’s music is heard extensively in the soundtrack of the film. The film follows a fictional rivalry between Mozart and Italian composer Antonio Salieri at the court of Emperor Joseph II. The film stars F. Murray Abraham as Salieri
AT ETERNITY’S GATE – 2018 biographical drama about the final years of painter Vincent van Gogh’s life. The film dramatizes the controversial theory put forward by Van Gogh biographers Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, in which they speculate that Van Gogh’s death was caused by mischief rather than it being a suicide. The film is directed and co-edited by Julian Schnabel, from a screenplay by Schnabel, Jean-Claude Carrière and Louise Kugelberg. It stars Willem Dafoe as Van Gogh, Rupert Friend, Oscar Isaac, Mads Mikkelsen, Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner and Niels Arestrup.
BANG BANG CLUB – A 2010 Canadian-South African biographical drama written and directed by Steven Silver and stars Ryan Phillippe as Greg Marinovich, Malin Åkerman as Robin Comley, Taylor Kitsch as Kevin Carter, Frank Rautenbach as Ken Oosterbroek and Neels Van Jaarsveld as João Silva. They portray the lives of four photojournalists active within the townships of South Africa during the apartheid period, particularly between 1990 and 1994, from when Nelson Mandela was released from prison to the 1994 elections. It is a film adaptation of the book The Bang-Bang Club: Snapshots from a Hidden War co-written by Greg Marinovich and João Silva who were part of the group of four photographers known as Bang-Bang Club, the other two members being Kevin Carter and Ken Oosterbroek.
BATTLE OF THE SEXES – Battle of the Sexes is a 2017 biographical sports film directed by Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton and written by Simon Beaufoy. The plot is loosely based on the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. The film stars Emma Stone and Steve Carell as King and Riggs, leading an ensemble cast including Andrea Riseborough, Elisabeth Shue, Austin Stowell, Bill Pullman, Natalie Morales, Eric Christian Olsen, and Sarah Silverman in supporting roles.
BEHIND THE CANDELABRA – 2013 biographical drama directed by Steven Soderbergh. It dramatizes the last ten years in the life of pianist Liberace and the relationship that he had with Scott Thorson. It is based on Thorson’s memoir, Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace. Richard LaGravenese wrote the screenplay. The film received critical acclaim from television critics including praise for the performances of Michael Douglas and Matt Damon.
BIG EYES – The film is about the life of American artist Margaret Keane—famous for painting and drawing portraits of people with big eyes. It follows the story of Margaret and her husband, Walter Keane, who took credit for Margaret’s phenomenally successful and popular paintings in the 1950s and 1960s. It follows the lawsuit and trial between Margaret and Walter, after Margaret reveals she is the true artist behind the paintings. 2014 biographical comedy-drama directed by Tim Burton, written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski and starring Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz.
BLACKKKLANSMAN is a 2018 American biographical black comedy crime directed by Spike Lee and written by Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott and Lee, based on the 2014 memoir Black Klansman by Ron Stallworth. The film stars John David Washington as Stallworth, along with Adam Driver, Laura Harrier, and Topher Grace. Set in the 1970s in Colorado Springs, the plot follows the first African-American detective in the city’s police department as he sets out to infiltrate and expose the local Ku Klux Klan chapter.
BLACK MASS – The true story of Whitey Bulger, the brother of a state senator and the most infamous violent criminal in the history of South Boston, who became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf. 2015 American biographical crime drama film about American mobster Whitey Bulger. Directed by Scott Cooper and written by Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth, it is based on Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill’s 2001 book Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob. The film features an ensemble cast led by Johnny Depp as Bulger, alongside Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Bacon, Jesse Plemons, Peter Sarsgaard, Dakota Johnson, and Corey Stoll.
BREAKTHROUGH – When her 14-year-old son drowns in a lake, a faithful mother prays for him to come back from the brink of death and be healed. 2019 American Christian drama film directed by Roxann Dawson in her feature film directorial debut. The film was written by Grant Nieporte, and based on the Christian book, The Impossible, an account of true events written by Joyce Smith with Ginger Kolbaba. It stars Chrissy Metz, Josh Lucas, Topher Grace, Mike Colter, Marcel Ruiz, Sam Trammel, and Dennis Haysbert with a cameo by Phil Wickham and Lecrae.
BREATHE is a 2017 biographical drama film directed by Andy Serkis in his directorial debut, from a screenplay by William Nicholson. The film stars Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy, Hugh Bonneville, Tom Hollander, Ed Speleers and Dean-Charles Chapman; it tells the story of Robin Cavendish, who became paralysed from the neck down by polio at the age of 28.
BLACK BUTTERFLIES – An English-language Dutch drama about the life of South-African poet Ingrid Jonker. Poetry, politics, madness, and desire collide in the true story of the woman hailed as South Africa’s Sylvia Plath. In 1960s Cape Town, as Apartheid steals the expressive rights of blacks and whites alike, young Ingrid Jonker finds her freedom scrawling verse while frittering through a series of stormy affairs. Amid escalating quarrels with her lovers and her rigid father, a parliament censorship minister, the poet witnesses an unconscionable event that will alter the course of both her artistic and personal lives.
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY – 2018 biographical drama directed by Bryan Singer from a screenplay by Anthony McCarten, and produced by Graham King and Queen manager Jim Beach. The film tells the story of Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of the British rock musical band Queen. The film stars Rami Malek as Mercury, with Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joe Mazzello, Aidan Gillen, Tom Hollander, Allen Leech, and Mike Myers.
BOY ERASED– 2018 biographical drama based on Garrard Conley’s 2016 memoir of the same name. It is written and directed by Joel Edgerton, who also produced with Kerry Kohansky Roberts and Steve Golin. The film stars Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, and Edgerton, and follows the son of Baptist parents who is forced to take part in a gay conversion therapy program.
BRIGHT STAR – In 1818, high-spirited young Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish) finds herself increasingly intrigued by the handsome but aloof poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw), who lives next door to her family friends the Dilkes. After reading a book of his poetry, she finds herself even more drawn to the taciturn Keats. Although he agrees to teach her about poetry, Keats cannot act on his reciprocated feelings for Fanny, since as a struggling poet he has no money to support a wife. British-French-Australian 2009 British-French-Australian biographical fiction romantic drama based on the last three years of the life of poet John Keats and his romantic relationship with Fanny Brawne.
BRONSON – 2008 British biographical crime film directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, based on a script written by Refn and Brock Norman Brock. The film stars Tom Hardy as Michael Peterson, known since 1987 as Charles Bronson. The film follows the life of this prisoner, considered Britain’s most violent criminal, who has been responsible for a dozen or so cases of hostage-taking while incarcerated. He was given the name Charles Bronson by his fight promoter, for his bare-knuckle fighting years. Born into a respectable middle-class family, Peterson became known as one of the United Kingdom’s most dangerous prisoners. Because of his violence, Bronson was repeatedly put into isolation or solitary confinement, which may have contributed to his emotional problems.
CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? – 2018 biographical comedy-drama directed by Marielle Heller and with a screenplay by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty, based on the 2008 confessional memoir of the same name by Lee Israel. Melissa McCarthy stars as Israel, and the story follows her attempts to revitalize her failing writing career by forging letters from deceased authors and playwrights. The film also features Richard E. Grant, Dolly Wells, Jane Curtin, Anna Deavere Smith, Stephen Spinella, and Ben Falcone in supporting roles. Israel took the title from an apologetic line in a letter in which she posed as Dorothy Parker.
CONCUSSION – In Pittsburgh, a forensic pathologist fights against the National Football League trying to suppress his research on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) brain degeneration suffered by professional football players. 2015 biographical sports drama written and directed by Peter Landesman, based on the exposé “Game Brain” by Jeanne Marie Laskas, published in 2009 by GQ magazine. Will Smith, Alec Baldwin, Albert Brooks
CAPOTE – 2005 biographical film about Truman Capote directed by Bennett Miller. It follows the events during the writing of Capote’s 1966 non-fiction book In Cold Blood. Philip Seymour Hoffman won several awards, including the Academy Award for Best Actor, for his portrayal of the title character. The film was based on Gerald Clarke’s 1988 biography Capote.
THE DANISH GIRL – With support from his loving wife Gerda (Alicia Vikander), artist Einar Wegener (Eddie Redmayne) prepares to undergo one of the first sex-change operations. 2015 biographical romantic drama film directed by Tom Hooper, based on the 2000 novel of the same name by David Ebershoff, and loosely inspired by the lives of Danish painters Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. The film stars Eddie Redmayne as Elbe, one of the first known recipients of sex reassignment surgery, Alicia Vikander as Wegener, and Sebastian Koch as Kurt Warnekros, with Ben Whishaw, Amber Heard, and Matthias Schoenaerts in supporting roles.
THE DISASTER ARTIST – A 2017 biographical comedy-drama directed by James Franco. It was written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, based on Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell’s 2013 non-fiction book of the same title. The film chronicles an unlikely friendship between budding actors Tommy Wiseau and Sestero that results in the production of Wiseau’s 2003 film The Room, widely considered one of the worst films ever made. The Disaster Artist stars brothers James and Dave Franco as Wiseau and Sestero, respectively, alongside a supporting cast featuring Alison Brie, Ari Graynor, Josh Hutcherson, Jacki Weaver, and Seth Rogen.
CITIZEN GANGSTER – Unable to support his family on a bus driver’s salary, World War II veteran Edwin Boyd (Scott Speedman) finds a way to combine his love of acting and his need for cash by robbing banks. 2011 Canadian biographical drama directed and written by Nathan Morlando.
CREATION – Devastated by the death of his beloved daughter, Annie, Charles Darwin (Paul Bettany) sinks into a deep depression, and cannot bring himself to finish his book about evolution. Though Annie’s death has broken Darwin’s faith in God, it has galvanized that of his wife, Emma (Jennifer Connelly). Darwin’s associates urge him to finish his revolutionary work, while Emma strongly objects, leaving Darwin with an agonizing choice. 2009 British biographical drama about Charles Darwin’s relationship with his wife Emma and his memory of their eldest daughter Annie, as he struggles to write On the Origin of Species. The film, directed by Jon Amiel and starring real-life couple Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly as Charles and Emma Darwin, is a somewhat fictionalised account based on Randal Keynes’s Darwin biography Annie’s Box.
DANNY COLLINS – An ageing rocker (Al Pacino) decides to change the course of his life after receiving a long-undelivered letter from the late John Lennon. 2015 comedy-drama written and directed by Dan Fogelman in his feature directorial debut. Inspired by the true story of folk singer Steve Tilston, the film stars Al Pacino, Annette Bening, Jennifer Garner, Bobby Cannavale, and Christopher Plummer.
THE DEVIL’S DOUBLE – Having been forced to act as a body double for one of Saddam Hussein’s sons, Latif Yahia (Dominic Cooper) gives an insider’s look at the life of the Iraqi tyrant. 2011 English-language Belgian—Dutch film directed by Lee Tamahori, written by Michael Thomas, and starring Dominic Cooper in the dual role of Uday Hussein and Latif Yahia.
DEVIL’S KNOT – Based on the actual events of the West Memphis Three, where three young boys were savagely murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas in 1993. Spurred on by the demand from a grieving town, the local police act quickly to bring three “devil-worshipping” teenagers to trial. With their lives hanging in the balance, investigator Ron Lax is trying to find the truth between the town’s need for justice and the guilt of the accused. 2013 biographical crime drama directed by Atom Egoyan. Adopted from Mara Leveritt’s 2002 book of the same name, the film is about the true story of three murdered children and the three teenagers known as the West Memphis Three who were convicted of killing them, during the Satanic ritual abuse panic. The film stars Colin Firth, Reese Witherspoon, Mireille Enos, Dane DeHaan, Kevin Durand, Bruce Greenwood, Stephen Moyer, Elias Koteas, Amy Ryan, and Alessandro Nivola.
DIANA – During the last two years of her life, Princess Diana (Naomi Watts) campaigns against the use of land mines and has a secret love affair with a Pakistani heart surgeon (Naveen Andrews). 2013 biographical drama directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, about the last two years of the life of Diana, Princess of Wales. The screenplay is based on Kate Snell’s 2001 book, Diana: Her Last Love, and was written by Stephen Jeffreys.
THE DUCHESS – Though adored by the people, the Duchess of Devonshire (Keira Knightley) is not content to sit as a pretty figurehead. Determined to be a major player in affairs of state, she rises to the forefront of the Whig Party and helps usher in reform in late-1700s England. The one thing it seems she cannot do is to win the heart of her husband (Ralph Fiennes). 2008 British drama is directed by Saul Dibb. It is based on Amanda Foreman’s biography of the late 18th-century English aristocrat Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire.
EAT PRAY LOVE – Liz Gilbert (Julia Roberts) thought she had everything she wanted in life: a home, a husband and a successful career. Now newly divorced and facing a turning point, she finds that she is confused about what is important to her. Daring to step out of her comfort zone, Liz embarks on a quest of self-discovery that takes her to Italy, India and Bali. 2010 biographical romantic drama is based on Gilbert’s 2006 memoir of the same name. Ryan Murphy co-wrote and directed the film
EDDIE THE EAGLE – A 2016 biographical sports film directed by Dexter Fletcher. The film stars Taron Egerton as Michael Edwards, a British skier who in 1988 became the first competitor to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping since 1928. Hugh Jackman, Christopher Walken, Iris Berben and Jim Broadbent co-star.
THE END OF THE TOUR – David Lipsky, a reporter with Rolling Stone magazine, interviews acclaimed novelist David Foster Wallace for five days, during which they form a unique bond. A 2015 drama about writer David Foster Wallace. The film stars Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg, was written by Donald Margulies, and was directed by James Ponsoldt. Based on David Lipsky’s best-selling memoir Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself.
EVEREST – On the morning of May 10, 1996, climbers from two expeditions start their final ascent toward the summit of Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. With little warning, a violent storm strikes the mountain, engulfing the adventurers in one of the fiercest blizzards ever encountered by man. Challenged by the harshest conditions imaginable, the teams must endure blistering winds and freezing temperatures in an epic battle to survive against nearly impossible odds. 2015 biographical survival adventure film directed and produced by Baltasar Kormákur and written by William Nicholson and Simon Beaufoy. It stars an ensemble cast of Jason Clarke, Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Robin Wright, Michael Kelly, Sam Worthington, Keira Knightley, Martin Henderson and Emily Watson. It is based on the real events of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster.
EXTREMELY WICKED, SHOCKINGLY EVIL AND VILE – A 2019 American biographical crime drama film about the life of serial killer Ted Bundy. Directed by Joe Berlinger with a screenplay from Michael Werwie, the film is based on Bundy’s former girlfriend Elizabeth Kendall’s memoir, The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy. The film stars Zac Efron as Bundy, Lily Collins as Kendall, Kaya Scodelario as Bundy’s wife Carole Ann Boone, and John Malkovich as Edward Cowart, the presiding judge at Bundy’s trial. The title of the film is a reference to Cowart’s remarks on Bundy’s murders while sentencing him to death.
FILM STARS DON’T DIE IN LIVERPOOL – 2017 biographical romantic drama directed by Paul McGuigan and starring Annette Bening and Jamie Bell, with a cast that includes Vanessa Redgrave and Julie Walters. It is based on the memoir of the same name by Peter Turner, which tells of his relationship with Academy Award-winning American actress Gloria Grahame in 1970s Liverpool and, some years later, her death from stomach cancer.
THE 5TH ESTATE – WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and a colleague, Daniel Domscheit-Berg (Daniel Brühl), join forces to become watchdogs over the actions of the privileged and powerful. Despite scant resources, they are able to create a platform for whistle-blowers to leak covert data anonymously, thereby exposing government secrets and corporate crimes. However, a major battle erupts when Assange and Berg gain access to the biggest cache of confidential intelligence documents in U.S. history. 2013 biographical thriller directed by Bill Condon about the news-leaking website WikiLeaks. Based in part on Domscheit-Berg’s book Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange at the World’s Most Dangerous Website (2011), as well as WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange’s War on Secrecy (2011) by British journalists David Leigh and Luke Harding. The film’s name is a reference to people who operate in the manner of journalists outside the normal constraints imposed on the mainstream media.
FIFTY DEAD MEN WALKING – It’s 1989, and in a Belfast tore apart by conflict and terrorism, petty criminal Marty McGartland is recruited by the British police to infiltrate the IRA. Guided by Special Forces officer Fergus, McGartland gains unparalleled insight into the organisation’s dealings, providing his British handler with priceless, life-saving information. 2008 English-language crime thriller written and directed by Kari Skogland. It is a loose adaptation of Martin McGartland’s 1997 autobiography of the same name.
THE FINEST HOURS – 2016 American action thriller directed by Craig Gillespie and produced by Walt Disney Pictures. The screenplay, written by Eric Johnson, Scott Silver, and Paul Tamasy, is based on The Finest Hours: The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Most Daring Sea Rescue by Michael J. Tougias and Casey Sherman. The film stars Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Holliday Grainger, John Ortiz, and Eric Bana, and chronicles the historic 1952 United States Coast Guard rescue of the crew of SS Pendleton after the ship split apart during a nor’easter off the New England coast
FIRST MAN – 2018 biographical drama film directed by Damien Chazelle and written by Josh Singer. Based on the 2005 book First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen, the film stars Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong, alongside Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll, Christopher Abbott, and Ciarán Hinds, and follows the years leading up to the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon in 1969.
THE FRONT RUNNER – It chronicles the rise of American Senator Gary Hart, the front-runner candidate to be the 1988 Democratic presidential nominee, and his subsequent fall from grace when media reports suggested he was having an extramarital affair. A 2018 American political drama film directed by Jason Reitman, based on the 2014 book All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid by Matt Bai, who co-wrote the screenplay with Reitman and Jay Carson. The film stars Hugh Jackman, Vera Farmiga, J. K. Simmons, and Alfred Molina.
FUR: AN IMAGINARY PORTRAIT OF DIANE ARBUS (also known simply as Fur). In 1958 New York Diane Arbus (Nicole Kidman) is a housewife and mother who works as an assistant to her husband (Ty Burrell), a photographer employed by her wealthy parents. Respectable though her life is, she cannot help but feel uncomfortable in her privileged world. One night, a new neighbour (Robert Downey Jr.) catches Diane’s eye, and the enigmatic man inspires her to set forth on the path to discovering her own artistry. 2006 romantic drama film directed by Steven Shainberg and written by Erin Cressida Wilson, based on Patricia Bosworth’s book Diane Arbus: A Biography. It stars Nicole Kidman as iconic American photographer Diane Arbus, who was known for her strange, disturbing images, and also features Robert Downey Jr. and Ty Burrell. As the title implies, the film is largely fictional.
GENIUS – Maxwell Perkins, a renowned book editor, develops a friendship with novelist Thomas Wolfe while working together on a project. 2016 British-American biographical drama directed by Michael Grandage and written by John Logan, based on the 1978 National Book Award-winner Max Perkins: Editor of Genius by A. Scott Berg. The film stars Colin Firth, Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Dominic West, and Guy Pearce.
THE GLASS CASTLE – A young girl comes of age in a dysfunctional family of nonconformist nomads with a mother who’s an eccentric artist and an alcoholic father who would stir the children’s imagination with hope as a distraction to their poverty. 2017 American biographical drama film directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and written by Cretton, Andrew Lanham, and Marti Noxon. It is based on Jeannette Walls’ 2005 best-selling memoir of the same name. Depicting Walls’ childhood, where her family lived in poverty and sometimes as squatters, the film stars Brie Larson as Walls, with Naomi Watts, Woody Harrelson, Max Greenfield, and Sarah Snook in supporting roles.
GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN – A 2017 British biographical drama about the lives of Winnie-the-Pooh creator A. A. Milne and his family, especially his son Christopher Robin. It was directed by Simon Curtis and written by Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Simon Vaughan, and stars Domhnall Gleeson, Margot Robbie, and Kelly Macdonald.
GOODFELLAS (stylized GoodFellas) 1990 American biographical crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, who also wrote with Nicholas Pileggi, and produced by Irwin Winkler. It is a film adaptation of the 1985 nonfiction book Wiseguy by Pileggi. Starring Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco and Paul Sorvino, the film narrates the rise and fall of mob associate Henry Hill and his friends and family from 1955 to 1980.
GOYA’S GHOSTS – When the prominent Spanish painter Francisco Goya’s muse gets arrested by the Church on account of heresy, her father pleads with him to secure her release as he is on good terms with Brother Lorenzo. 2006 biographical drama directed by Miloš Forman (his final directorial feature before his death in 2018), and written by him and Jean-Claude Carrière. The film stars Javier Bardem, Natalie Portman and Stellan Skarsgård.
THE GREATEST SHOWMAN – Celebrates the birth of show business and tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation. 2017 American biographical musical drama film directed by Michael Gracey in his directorial debut, written by Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon and starring Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, and Zendaya. Featuring nine original songs from Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the film is based on the story and life of P.T. Barnum, a famous showman and entertainer, and his creation of the Barnum & Bailey Circus and the lives of its star attractions.
GREEN BOOK – Dr. Don Shirley is a world-class African-American pianist who’s about to embark on a concert tour in the Deep South in 1962. In need of a driver and protection, Shirley recruits Tony Lip, a tough-talking bouncer from an Italian-American neighbourhood in the Bronx. Despite their differences, the two men soon develop an unexpected bond while confronting racism and danger in an era of segregation.2018 biographical comedy-drama buddy film directed by Peter Farrelly. Set in 1962, the film is inspired by the true story of a tour of the Deep South by African American classical and jazz pianist Don Shirley and Italian American bouncer Frank “Tony Lip” Vallelonga who served as Shirley’s driver and bodyguard. The film was written by Farrelly, Brian Hayes Currie and Vallelonga’s son, Nick Vallelonga, based on interviews with his father and Shirley, as well as letters his father wrote to his mother. The film is named after The Negro Motorist Green Book, a mid-20th century guidebook for African-American travellers written by Victor Hugo Green.
HIDDEN FIGURES is a 2016 American biographical drama directed by Theodore Melfi and written by Melfi and Allison Schroeder. It is loosely based on the 2016 non-fiction book of the same name by Margot Lee Shetterly about African American female mathematicians who worked at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) during the Space Race. The film stars Taraji P. Henson as Katherine Johnson, a mathematician who calculated flight trajectories for Project Mercury and other missions. The film also features Octavia Spencer as NASA supervisor and mathematician Dorothy Vaughan and Janelle Monáe as NASA engineer Mary Jackson, with Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Mahershala Ali, Aldis Hodge, and Glen Powell in supporting roles
HOWL – 2010 drama which explores both the Six Gallery debut and the 1957 obscenity trial of 20th-century American poet Allen Ginsberg’s noted poem Howl. The film is written and directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman and stars James Franco as Ginsberg. Howl explores the life and works of 20th-century American poet, Allen Ginsberg. Constructed in a nonlinear fashion, the film juxtaposes historical events with a variety of cinematic techniques. It reconstructs the early life of Ginsberg during the 1940s and 1950s. It also re-enacts Ginsberg’s debut performance of “Howl” at the Six Gallery Reading on October 7, 1955 in black-and-white. The reading was the first important public manifestation of the Beat Generation and helped to herald the West Coast literary revolution that became known as the San Francisco Renaissance. In addition, parts of the poem are interpreted through animated sequences. Finally, these events are juxtaposed with color images of the 1957 obscenity trial of San Francisco poet and City Lights Bookstore co-founder, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who was the first person to publish “Howl” in Howl and Other Poems.
INTO THE WILD – 2007 biographical adventure drama written, co-produced, and directed by Sean Penn. It is an adaptation of the 1996 non-fiction book of the same name written by Jon Krakauer and tells the story of Christopher McCandless (“Alexander Supertramp”), a man who hiked across North America into the Alaskan wilderness in the early 1990s. The film stars Emile Hirsch as McCandless and Marcia Gay Harden and William Hurt as his parents; it also features Jena Malone, Catherine Keener, Brian Dierker, Vince Vaughn, Kristen Stewart, and Hal Holbrook.
I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS – 2009 biographical black comedy drama based on the 1980s and 1990s real-life story of con artist, impostor and multiple prison escapee Steven Jay Russell, as played by Jim Carrey. While incarcerated, Russell falls in love with his fellow inmate, Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor). After Morris is released from prison, Russell escapes from prison four times to be reunited with Morris. The film was adapted from the 2003 book I Love You Phillip Morris: A True Story of Life, Love, and Prison Breaks by Steve McVicker
THE IRON LADY – 2011 British biographical drama based on the life and career of Margaret Thatcher, a British politician who was the first woman and longest-serving Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of the 20th century. The film was directed by Phyllida Lloyd and written by Abi Morgan. Thatcher is portrayed primarily by Meryl Streep, and, in her formative and early political years, by Alexandra Roach. Thatcher’s husband, Denis Thatcher, is portrayed by Jim Broadbent, and by Harry Lloyd as the younger Denis. Thatcher’s longest-serving cabinet member and eventual deputy, Geoffrey Howe, is portrayed by Anthony Head.
JACKIE – 2016 biographical drama directed by Pablo Larraín and written by Noah Oppenheim. The film stars Natalie Portman as Jackie Kennedy. Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup, and John Hurt also star; it was Hurt’s final film released before his death in January 2017. The film follows Jackie Kennedy in the days when she was First Lady in the White House and her life immediately following the assassination of her husband, United States President John F. Kennedy, in 1963. It is partly based on Theodore H. White’s Life magazine interview with the widow at Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, in November 1963.
JARHEAD – 2005 American biographical war drama based on U.S. Marine Anthony Swofford’s 2003 memoir of the same name. The film was directed by Sam Mendes, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Swofford with Jamie Foxx, Peter Sarsgaard, Lucas Black, and Chris Cooper. Jarhead chronicles Swofford’s life story and his military service in the Gulf War.
JOBS – College dropout Steve Jobs (Ashton Kutcher), together with his friend, technical whiz-kid Steve Wozniak (Josh Gad), sparks a revolution in home computers with the invention of the Apple 1 in 1976. Built in the garage of Jobs’ parents, the device — and the subsequent formation of Apple Inc. — have changed the world for all time. Though he is viewed as a visionary, Jobs’ tenure as Apple’s leader is a rocky one, leading to his eventual ouster from the company he co-founded. 2013 biographical drama based on the life of Steve Jobs, from 1974 while a student at Reed College to the introduction of the iPod in 2001.
JOY– A story of a family across four generations, centered on the girl who becomes the woman (Jennifer Lawrence) who founds a business dynasty and becomes a matriarch in her own right. Facing betrayal, treachery, the loss of innocence and the scars of love, Joy becomes a true boss of family and enterprise. Allies become adversaries and adversaries become allies, both inside and outside the family, as Joy’s inner life and fierce imagination carry her through the storm she faces. 2015 biographical comedy-dramawritten and directed by David O. Russell and starring Jennifer Lawrence as Joy Mangano, a self-made millionaire who created her own business empire.
THE LADY IN THE VAN – A 2015 British comedy-drama directed by Nicholas Hytner, and starring Maggie Smith and Alex Jennings, based on the memoir of the same name created by Alan Bennett. It was written by Bennett, and it tells the (mostly[ true story of his interactions with Mary Shepherd, an elderly woman who lived in a dilapidated van on his driveway in London for 15 years.
LA VIE EN ROSE – A 2007 biographical musical film about the life of French singer Édith Piaf. The film was co-written and directed by Olivier Dahan, and stars Marion Cotillard as Piaf.
LEAVE NO TRACE is a 2018 drama directed by Debra Granik and written by Granik and Anne Rosellini, based on the 2009 novel My Abandonment by Peter Rock. The plot follows a military veteran father with post-traumatic stress disorder (Ben Foster) who lives in the forest with his young daughter (Thomasin McKenzie). The novel is based on a true story.
LEGEND – A 2015 biographical crime thriller written and directed by American director Brian Helgeland. It is adapted from John Pearson’s book The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins, which deals with their career and the relationship that bound them together, and follows their gruesome career to life imprisonment in 1969.
LIFE – In 1955, young photographer Dennis Stock (Robert Pattinson) develops a close bond with actor James Dean (Dane DeHaan) while shooting pictures of the rising Hollywood star. 2015 biographical drama directed by Anton Corbijn and written by Luke Davies. It is based on the friendship of Life photographer Dennis Stock and Hollywood actor James Dean, starring Robert Pattinson as Stock and Dane DeHaan as Dean.
LION – 2016 Australian biographical drama directed by Garth Davis (in his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Luke Davies based on the 2013 non-fiction book A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley. The film stars Dev Patel, Sunny Pawar, Rooney Mara, David Wenham and Nicole Kidman, as well as Abhishek Bharate, Divian Ladwa, Priyanka Bose, Deepti Naval, Tannishtha Chatterjee and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. It tells the true story of how Brierley, 25 years after being separated from his family in India, sets out to find them.
LITTLE ASHES – set against the backdrop of Spain during the 1920s and 1930s, three of the era’s most creative young talents meet at university and set off on a course to change their world. Luis Buñuel watches helplessly as the friendship between surrealist painter Salvador Dalí and the poet Federico García Lorca develops into a love affair. Directed by Paul Morrison and written by Philippa Goslett. Stars Robert Pattinson, Javier Beltrán and Matthew McNulty
LOVING – The story of Richard and Mildred Loving, a couple whose arrest for interracial marriage in 1960s Virginia began a legal battle that would end with the Supreme Court’s historic 1967 decision. The film takes inspiration from The Loving Story (2011) by Nancy Buirski, a documentary which follows the Lovings and their landmark case. Stars: Ruth Negga, Joel Edgerton, Will Dalton
LONE SURVIVOR – 2013 biographical military action film based on the eponymous 2007 non-fiction book by Marcus Luttrell with Patrick Robinson. Set during the war in Afghanistan, it dramatizes the unsuccessful United States Navy SEALs counter-insurgent mission Operation Red Wings, during which a four-man SEAL reconnaissance and surveillance team was given the task of tracking down the Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. The film was written and directed by Peter Berg, and stars Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster, and Eric Bana.
THE LOST CITY OF Z – A true-life drama, centering on British explorer Major Percival Fawcett, who disappeared whilst searching for a mysterious city in the Amazon in the 1920s. A 2016 American biographical adventure drama film written and directed by James Gray, based on the 2009 book of the same name by David Grann. It stars Charlie Hunnam as Fawcett; Robert Pattinson as his fellow explorer Henry Costin, Sienna Miller as his wife, Nina Fawcett; and Tom Holland as his son, Jack.
LOVING – The story of Richard and Mildred Loving, a couple whose arrest for interracial marriage in 1960s Virginia began a legal battle that would end with the Supreme Court’s historic 1967 decision. The film takes inspiration from The Loving Story (2011) by Nancy Buirski, a documentary which follows the Lovings and their landmark case. Stars: Ruth Negga, Joel Edgerton, Will Dalton
LOVING VINCENT – 2017 experimental animated biographical drama film about the life of the painter Vincent van Gogh, and, in particular, about the circumstances of his death. It is the first fully painted animated feature film. The film, written and directed by Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman, First conceived as a seven-minute short film in 2008, Loving Vincent was realized by Dorota Kobiela, a painter herself, after studying the techniques and the artist’s story through his letters. Each of the film’s 65,000 frames is an oil painting on canvas, created using the same techniques as Van Gogh by a team of 125 artists drawn from around the globe.
MADE IN DAGENHAM – A dramatization of the 1968 strike at the Ford Dagenham car plant, where female workers walked out in protest against sexual discrimination. 2010 British comedy-drama film directed by Nigel Cole and starring Sally Hawkins, Bob Hoskins, Miranda Richardson, Geraldine James, Rosamund Pike, Andrea Riseborough, Jaime Winstone, Daniel Mays and Richard Schiff. It dramatises the Ford sewing machinists strike of 1968 that aimed for equal pay for women. Its theme song, with lyrics by Billy Bragg, is performed by Sandie Shaw, a native of the area and former Ford Dagenham clerk.
THE MAN WHO INVENTED CHRISTMAS – 2017 Christmas biographical comedy drama directed by Bharat Nalluri and written by Susan Coyne. Based on the 2008 book of the same name about Charles Dickens by Les Standiford, the joint Irish/Canadian production stars Dan Stevens, Christopher Plummer, and Jonathan Pryce, and follows Dickens (Stevens) as he conceives and writes his 1843 novella A Christmas Carol.In 1843 London, author Charles Dickens finds himself in financial trouble after writing three unsuccessful novels in a row. Desperate for a hit, Dickens relies on real-life inspiration and his vivid imagination to bring Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim and other classic characters to life in “A Christmas Carol,” forever changing the holiday season into the celebration known today.
THE MAN WITH THE IRON HEART – In 1942, the Czech resistance in London sends two young recruits to Prague to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, the most ruthless Nazi leader who is the Reich-protector, head of the SS and the Gestapo, and the architect of the Final Solution. 2017 English-language French-Belgian biographical action-thriller directed by Cédric Jimenez and written by David Farr, Audrey Diwan, and Jimenez. It is based on French writer Laurent Binet’s 2010 novel HHhH, and focuses on Operation Anthropoid, the assassination of Nazi leader Reinhard Heydrich in Prague during World War II. The film stars Jason Clarke, Rosamund Pike, Jack O’Connell, Jack Reynor, and Mia Wasikowska.
MARSHALL – The story of Thurgood Marshall, the crusading lawyer who would become the first African-American Supreme Court Justice, as he battles through one of his career-defining cases. 2017 American biographical legal drama film directed by Reginald Hudlin and written by Michael and Jacob Koskoff. It stars Chadwick Boseman as Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court Justice, and focuses on one of the first cases of his career, the State of Connecticut v. Joseph Spell. It also stars Josh Gad, Kate Hudson, Dan Stevens, Sterling K. Brown, and James Cromwell.
MEGAN LEVY – (also known as Rex) A 2017 American biographical drama film directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite and written by Pamela Gray, Annie Mumolo, and Tim Lovestedt, based on the true events about a young female Marine named Megan Leavey and a combat dog named Rex. The film stars Kate Mara as the titular character, with Edie Falco, Common, Ramón Rodríguez, and Tom Felton in supporting roles.
MILK – In 1972, Harvey Milk (Sean Penn) and his then-lover Scott Smith leave New York for San Francisco, with Milk determined to accomplish something meaningful in his life. Settling in the Castro District, he opens a camera shop and helps transform the area into a mecca for gays and lesbians. In 1977 he becomes the nation’s first openly gay man elected to a notable public office when he wins a seat on the Board of Supervisors. The following year, Dan White (Josh Brolin) kills Milk in cold blood. 2008 American biographical film based on the life of gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk, who was the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Dustin Lance Black, the film stars Sean Penn as Milk and Josh Brolin as Dan White, a city supervisor, and Victor Garber as San Francisco Mayor George Moscone.
MR. TURNER – The film depicts the last quarter-century of the British painter J. M. W. Turner’s life. Profoundly affected by the death of his father, loved by his housekeeper, Hannah Danby, whom he takes for granted and occasionally uses sexually, he forms a close and loving relationship with a seaside landlady, Mrs. Booth. Turner travels, paints, stays with the country aristocracy, visits a brothel, is a popular if anarchic member of the Royal Academy of Arts, has himself strapped to the mast of a ship so that he can paint a snowstorm, and is both celebrated and reviled by the public and by royalty. 2014 biographical drama based on the last 25 years of the life of artist J. M. W. Turner (1775–1851). Written and directed by Mike Leigh, the film stars Timothy Spall in the title role, with Dorothy Atkinson, Paul Jesson, Marion Bailey, Lesley Manville, and Martin Savage.
MOLLY’S GAME – The true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world’s most exclusive high-stakes poker game and became an FBI target. 2017 American biographical crime drama film written and directed by Aaron Sorkin (in his directorial debut), based on the 2014 memoir of the same name by Molly Bloom. It stars Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera, Jeremy Strong, Chris O’Dowd, Joe Keery, Brian D’Arcy James, and Bill Camp.
THE MULE is a 2018 crime drama produced and directed by Clint Eastwood, who also plays the lead role. The screenplay, by Nick Schenk, is based on the 2014 The New York Times article “The Sinaloa Cartel’s 90-Year-Old Drug Mule” by Sam Dolnick, which recounts the story of Leo Sharp, a World War II veteran who became a drug courier for the Sinaloa Cartel in his 80s. Along with Eastwood, the film stars Bradley Cooper, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Peña, Dianne Wiest, and Andy García.
THE NAKED CIVIL SERVANT – Quentin Crisp (John Hurt) makes the bold choice of exhibiting his homosexuality in the highly conservative environment of England in the 1930s and 1940s. What’s more, he adopts a self-consciously flamboyant and theatrical persona destined to attract negative attention, although he navigates the streets of London with caution as he comes of age against a backdrop of homophobia. But when he is confronted with criminal charges, he must decide how willing he is to defend his lifestyle. 1975 biographical film based on Quentin Crisp’s 1968 book of the same name, starring John Hurt and directed by Jack Gold, adapted by Philip Mackie, and produced by Verity Lambert. Originally broadcast on 17 December, the 77-minute television film was produced by Thames Television for the British channel ITV. Crisp is depicted from youth to middle age.
ONLY THE BRAVE – The film tells the story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, an elite crew of firefighters from Prescott, Arizona who lost 19 of 20 members while fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire in June 2013, and is dedicated to their memory. 2017 American biographical drama film directed by Joseph Kosinski, and written by Ken Nolan and Eric Warren Singer, based on the GQ article “No Exit” by Sean Flynn. It features an ensemble cast, including Josh Brolin, James Badge Dale, Jeff Bridges, Miles Teller, Alex Russell, Taylor Kitsch, Ben Hardy, Thad Luckinbill, Geoff Stults, Scott Haze, Andie MacDowell, and Jennifer Connelly.
PAPILLON – 2017 biographical drama directed by Michael Noer. It tells the story of French convict Henri Charrière (Charlie Hunnam), nicknamed Papillon (“butterfly”), who was imprisoned in 1933 in the notorious Devil’s Island penal colony and escaped in 1941 with the help of another convict, counterfeiter Louis Dega (Rami Malek). The film’s screenplay is based on Charrière’s autobiographies Papillon and Banco, as well as the former’s 1973 film adaptation, which was written by Dalton Trumbo and Lorenzo Semple Jr
THE PIANIST – In this adaptation of the autobiography “The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man’s Survival in Warsaw, 1939-1945,” Wladyslaw Szpilman (Adrien Brody), a Polish Jewish radio station pianist, sees Warsaw change gradually as World War II begins. Szpilman is forced into the Warsaw Ghetto, but is later separated from his family during Operation Reinhard. From this time until the concentration camp prisoners are released, Szpilman hides in various locations among the ruins of Warsaw. 2002 biographical war drama produced and directed by Roman Polanski, with a script by Ronald Harwood, and starring Adrien Brody It is based on the autobiographical book The Pianist (1946), a Holocaust memoir by the Polish-Jewish pianist and composer Władysław Szpilman, a Holocaust survivor. At the 75th Academy Awards, the film won for Best Director (Polanski), Best Adapted Screenplay (Harwood), and Best Actor (Brody)
PEDRO – 2008 drama about Pedro Zamora, an openly gay, Cuban-American AIDS educator and television personality, who became famous as a castmember on The Real World: San Francisco, MTV’s reality television series. Pedro Zamora (Alex Loynaz), AIDS educator and cast member of the reality television show “The Real World,” joins the San Francisco edition of the show, refusing to hide his sexuality or his AIDS diagnosis. When Pedro is cast, he runs into difficulty with certain roommates, especially “Puck” Rainey (Matt Barr), while becoming close friends with Judd Winick (Hale Appleman). After Pedro gets married to Sean Sasser (DaJuan Johnson), his disease accelerates. The film is based on a true story.
THE POST – Set in 1971, The Post depicts the true story of attempts by journalists at The Washington Post to publish the infamous Pentagon Papers, a set of classified documents regarding the 20-year involvement of the United States government in the Vietnam War and earlier in French Indochina back to the 1940s. A 2017 historical political thriller directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, and written by Liz Hannah and Josh Singer. It stars Meryl Streep as Katharine Graham, the first female publisher of a major American newspaper, and Tom Hanks as Ben Bradlee, the longtime executive editor of The Washington Post, with Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk, Tracy Letts, Bradley Whitford, David Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Carrie Coon, Alison Brie, and Matthew Rhys in supporting roles.
PROFESSOR MARSTON AND THE WONDER WOMEN – William Moulton Marston, a psychologist, creates the comic character Wonder Woman after being inspired by his wife and lover’s feministic side. A 2017 biographical drama film about American psychologist William Moulton Marston, who created the fictional character Wonder Woman. The film, directed and written by Angela Robinson, stars Luke Evans as Marston, Rebecca Hall as his legal wife Elizabeth and Bella Heathcote as the Marstons’ polyamorous life partner, Olive Byrne. JJ Feild, Oliver Platt and Connie Britton also feature.
PUBLIC ENEMIES – Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger’s (Johnny Depp) charm and audacity endear him to much of America’s downtrodden public, but he’s also a thorn in the side of J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) and the fledgling FBI. Desperate to capture the elusive outlaw, Hoover makes Dillinger his first Public Enemy Number One and assigns his top agent, Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale), the task of bringing him in dead or alive. 2009 biographical crime drama directed by Michael Mann, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ronan Bennett and Ann Biderman. It is an adaptation of Bryan Burrough’s non-fiction book Public Enemies: America’s Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933–34.
PUNCTURE – A lawyer who is a drug addict fights a medical-supplies corporation in court while battling his personal demons. Starring Chris Evans, directed by Adam Kassen and Mark Kassen. The 2011 film is based on the true story of Michael David “Mike” Weiss and Paul Danziger.
QUEEN OF KATWE – A 2016 American biographical sports drama film directed by Mira Nair and written by William Wheeler. Starring David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong’o, and Madina Nalwanga, the film depicts the life of Phiona Mutesi, a girl living in Katwe, a slum of Kampala, the capital of Uganda. She learns to play chess and becomes a Woman Candidate Master after her victories at World Chess Olympiads.
RACE – Young Jesse Owens (Stephan James) becomes a track and field sensation while attending the Ohio State University in the early 1930s. With guidance from coach Larry Snyder (Jason Sudeikis), Owens gains national recognition for breaking numerous records. After heated debates, the United States decides not to boycott the Olympics in Nazi Germany. Overcoming racism at home and abroad, Owens seizes the opportunity to show Berlin and the the world that he’s the fastest man alive. 2016 biographical sports drama about African-American athlete Jesse Owens, who won a record-breaking four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. Directed by Stephen Hopkins and written by Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse.
REBEL IN THE RYE – 2017 American biographical drama film directed and written by Danny Strong. It is based on the book J. D. Salinger: A Life by Kenneth Slawenski, about the life of writer J. D. Salinger during and after World War II. The film stars Nicholas Hoult, Zoey Deutch, Kevin Spacey, Sarah Paulson, Brian d’Arcy James, Victor Garber, Hope Davis, and Lucy Boynton.
ROCKETMAN – 2019 biographical musical film based on the life of British musician Elton John. Directed by Dexter Fletcher and written by Lee Hall, it stars Taron Egerton as Elton John, with Jamie Bell as Bernie Taupin, Richard Madden as John Reid, and Bryce Dallas Howard as Sheila Eileen, John’s mother. The film follows John in his early days in England as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music through his musical partnership with Taupin, and is titled after John’s 1972 song “Rocket Man”.
ROMA, also known as Fellini’s Roma or Federico Fellini’s Roma1972 semi-autobiographical comedy-drama epicting director Federico Fellini’s move from his native Rimini to Rome as a youth. It is a homage to the city, shown in a series of loosely connected episodes set during both Rome’s past and present. The plot is minimal, and the only “character” to develop significantly is Rome herself. Peter Gonzales plays the young Fellini, and the film features mainly newcomers in the cast.
RUSH – James Hunt and Niki Lauda, two extremely skilled Formula One racers, have an intense rivalry with each other. However, it is their enmity that pushes them to their limits. 2013 biographical sports film centred on the Hunt–Lauda rivalry between two Formula One drivers, the British James Hunt and the Austrian Niki Lauda during the 1976 Formula 1 motor-racing season. It was written by Peter Morgan, directed by Ron Howard and starred Chris Hemsworth as Hunt and Daniel Brühl as Lauda.
SAME KIND OF DIFFERENT AS ME – International art dealer Ron Hall must befriend a dangerous homeless man in order to save his struggling marriage to his wife, a woman whose dreams will lead all three of them on the journey of their lives. 2017 American Christian drama film directed by Michael Carney, in his feature directorial debut, and written by Ron Hall, Alexander Foard and Michael Carney. It is based on the 2006 book of the same name by Hall, Denver Moore and Lynn Vincent. The film stars Greg Kinnear, Renée Zellweger, Djimon Hounsou, Olivia Holt, Jon Voight, and Stephanie Leigh
SHEPHERDS AND BUTCHERS – A 2016 South African drama film directed by Oliver Schmitz. It is an adaptation of the debut novel of the same name by Chris Marnewick, a New Zealand-based author and former South African High Court barrister and judge. Nearing the end of apartheid in South Africa, a young white prison guard (Garion Dowds) embarks on a seemingly motiveless shooting that sees to the death of seven unarmed black men. A British-born lawyer assigned to his case (Steve Coogan) sets out to prove his actions were a direct result of psychological trauma from his volatile work environment. The defense attorney is an ardent opponent of the death penalty.
THE SOCIAL NETWORK – 2010 American biographical drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin. Adapted from Ben Mezrich’s 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires, it portrays the founding of social networking website Facebook and the resulting lawsuits. It stars Jesse Eisenberg as founder Mark Zuckerberg, along with Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin, Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker, Armie Hammer as Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and Max Minghella as Divya Narendra.
SPOTLIGHT – Martin Baron joins the Boston Globe as an editor and pushes four journalists named Michael, Walter, Sacha and Matt to pursue a story about the child molestation charges against the local church. A 2015 American biographical drama film directed by Tom McCarthy and written by McCarthy and Josh Singer. The film follows The Boston Globe’s “Spotlight” team, the oldest continuously operating newspaper investigative journalist unit in the United States, and its investigation into cases of widespread and systemic child sex abuse in the Boston area by numerous Roman Catholic priests. It is based on a series of stories by the Spotlight team that earned The Globe the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. The film features an ensemble cast including Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, John Slattery, and Stanley Tucci, with Brian d’Arcy James, Liev Schreiber, and Billy Crudup in supporting roles.
STRONGER – A 2017 American biographical drama film directed by David Gordon Green and written by John Pollono, based on the memoir of the same name by Jeff Bauman and Bret Witter. It follows Bauman, who loses his legs in the Boston Marathon bombings and must adjust to his new life. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Bauman, with Tatiana Maslany, Miranda Richardson, Carlos Sanz and Clancy Brown in supporting roles.
STUART: A LIFE BACKWARDS – Based on biography by Alexander Masters of his friend Stuart Clive Shorter, formerly, at various times, a prisoner and a career criminal. It explores how a young boy, somewhat disabled from birth, became mentally unstable, criminal and violent, living homeless on the streets of Cambridge. A writer (Benedict Cumberbatch) documents the life of a homeless alcoholic (Tom Hardy) who has a violent past. Directed by David Atwood. 2007
SULLY (also known as Sully: Miracle on the Hudson ) – The film follows Sullenberger’s January 2009 emergency landing of US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River, in which all 155 passengers and crew survived—most suffering only minor injuries—and the subsequent publicity and investigation. Tom Hanks stars as Sullenberger, with Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney, Anna Gunn, Autumn Reeser, Holt McCallany, Jamey Sheridan, and Jerry Ferrara in supporting roles. A 2016 American biographical drama film directed by Clint Eastwood and written by Todd Komarnicki, based on the 2009 autobiography Highest Duty by Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger and Jeffrey Zaslow.
SWIMMING UPSTREAM – One of many siblings in a large Australian family, Tony Fingleton (Jesse Spencer) struggles to make his own mark and, most importantly, garner the respect of his stern father, Harold (Geoffrey Rush). Deciding to pursue competitive swimming, Tony embarks on a quest to become the best athlete possible. Along the way, he discovers both confidence and his talent. Although Tony has the support of his beleaguered mom, Dora (Judy Davis), winning over his dad proves to be far more difficult. 2003 Australian biographical drama written by Tony Fingleton and directed by Russell Mulcahy. It shows the life of Fingleton (Spencer) from childhood to adulthood, and dealing with a topsy-turvy family. It is based on Fingleton’s autobiography of the same name.
TAKING WOODSTOCK – In the summer of 1969, Elliot Tiber (Demetri Martin) divides his time between Greenwich Village and the upstate ramshackle motel, El Monaco, of his Old World parents. When the proposed venue for the upcoming Woodstock concert falls through, Elliot steps in and plays a pivotal role in the generation-defining event by helping organizers secure Max Yasgur’s nearby farm for the festival and offering the El Monaco as the home base. 2009 comedy-drama film about the Woodstock Festival of 1969, directed by Ang Lee. The screenplay by James Schamus is based on the memoir Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life by Elliot Tiber and Tom Monte.
TRUMBO – 2015 biographical drama directed by Jay Roach and written by John McNamara. The film stars Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, Louis C.K., Elle Fanning, John Goodman, and Michael Stuhlbarg. The film follows the life of Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, and is based on the 1977 biography Dalton Trumbo by Bruce Alexander Cook.
UNBROKEN – The film stars Jack O’Connell as American Olympian and Army officer Louis “Louie” Zamperini and Miyavi as Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) corporal Mutsuhiro Watanabe. Zamperini survived in a raft for 47 days after his bomber ditched in the ocean during the Second World War, before being captured by the Japanese and being sent to a series of prisoner of war camps. A 2014 American war film produced and directed by Angelina Jolie and written by the Coen brothers, Richard LaGravenese, and William Nicholson. It is based on the 2010 non-fiction book by Laura Hillenbrand, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption.
VICTORIA & ABDUL – Abdul Karim, a young prison clerk from India, travels to present Queen Victoria with a mohur on her Golden Jubilee and strikes an unlikely friendship with her.is a 2017 British biographical comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears and written by Lee Hall. The film is based on the book of same name by Shrabani Basu, about the real-life relationship between Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her Indian Muslim servant Abdul Karim. It stars Judi Dench, Ali Fazal, Michael Gambon, Eddie Izzard, Tim Pigott-Smith, and Adeel Akhtar.
THE WALK – 2015 biographical drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Christopher Browne and Zemeckis. It is based on the story of 24-year-old French high-wire artist Philippe Petit’s walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on August 7, 1974. The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Petit, alongside Ben Kingsley, Charlotte Le Bon, James Badge Dale, Ben Schwartz, and Steve Valentine.
WELCOME TO MARWEN – 2018 American drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis, who co-wrote the script with Caroline Thompson. It is inspired by Jeff Malmberg’s 2010 documentary Marwencol. The film stars Steve Carell, Leslie Mann, Diane Kruger, Merritt Wever, Janelle Monáe, Eiza González, Gwendoline Christie, Leslie Zemeckis, Siobhan Williams and Neil Jackson, and follows the true story of Mark Hogancamp, a man struggling with PTSD who, after being physically assaulted, creates a fictional village to ease his trauma.
WOMAN IN GOLD – 2015 biographical drama film directed by Simon Curtis and written by Alexi Kaye Campbell. The film stars Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds, Daniel Brühl, Katie Holmes, Tatiana Maslany, Max Irons, Charles Dance, Elizabeth McGovern, and Jonathan Pryce. The film is based on the true story of Maria Altmann, an elderly Jewish refugee living in Cheviot Hills, Los Angeles, who, together with her young lawyer, Randy Schoenberg, fought the government of Austria for almost a decade to reclaim Gustav Klimt’s iconic painting of her aunt, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, which was stolen from her relatives by the Nazis in Vienna just prior to World War II. Altmann took her legal battle all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States, which ruled on the case Republic of Austria v. Altmann (2004).
WOODLAWN – A gifted high school football player must learn to embrace his talent and his faith as he battles racial tensions on and off the field. 2015 American Christian sports drama film directed by the Erwin Brothers. Based on the true story of Tandy Gerelds and Tony Nathan, it stars Sean Astin, Nic Bishop, Caleb Castille, Sherri Shepherd, Jon Voight, and C. Thomas Howell.
THE ZOOKEEPER’S WIFE is a 2017 war drama directed by Niki Caro, written by Angela Workman and based on Diane Ackerman’s non-fiction book of the same name. The film tells the true story of how Jan and Antonina Żabiński rescued hundreds of Polish Jews from the Germans by hiding them in their Warsaw zoo during World War II. It stars Jessica Chastain, Johan Heldenbergh, Daniel Brühl and Michael McElhatton.