“The first thing I did as a child was draw. I wanted to make animated movies. I think Disney's 'Cinderella' was the first movie I ever saw. 'Peter Pan' was the first movie I ever saw in the movie theater. I grew up with 'Dumbo' and 'Pinocchio' and 'Sword in the Stone.' Those were the movies I wanted to make.”

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.