“Going back to my film education, I always have that voice in my head that's always screaming, 'Sell out!' And that's good: you want that, because it keeps you on your toes, and it's important to remember what's actually important.”

French-American filmmaker

Damien Chazelle is a French-American filmmaker known for directing films that move between music, ambition, and pressure. His work includes Whiplash (2014), La La Land (2016), First Man (2018), and Babylon (2022). He is best known for Whiplash and La La Land, which brought him wide attention, and for later films that extend his interest in drive, performance, and the costs of success. Across these projects, his storytelling often centers on ambition and the intensity of artistic life.