Timothy Sean Durkin (born December 9, 1981) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter and producer. He won the Dramatic Directing Award at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival for ''

Martha Marcy May Marlene ''Martha Marcy May Marlene'' is a 2011 American psychological thriller- drama film written and directed by Sean Durkin, and starring Elizabeth Olsen (in her film debut), John Hawkes, Sarah Paulson, and Hugh Dancy. The plot focuses on a you ...

''. His short film, ''Mary Last Seen'', on the same theme as ''Martha'', won the award for best short film at the 2010

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

Directors' Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (french: Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) is an independent selection of the Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and kn ...

. In 2013, Durkin directed the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

drama series '' Southcliffe'', starring Sean Harris and Rory Kinnear. His second film, '' The Nest'', premiered in 2020. He has begun production on his next film titled '' The Iron Claw'', a biography based on the

Von Erich family The Von Erich family is an American professional wrestling family. Originally from Texas, their actual surname is Adkisson, but every member who has been in the wrestling business has used the ring name "Von Erich," after the family patriarch, Fri ...

Life and career

Durkin was born in Canada and moved to England soon thereafter; he was raised in North

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and in Surrey until his family moved to

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

when he was 12.Frank Lovece
"Who is Martha Marcy May Marlene? Sean Durkin debuts with acclaimed drama of young cult refugee."
'' Film Journal, September 21, 2011. Durkin graduated from

Kent School Kent School is a private, co-educational, college preparatory boarding school in Kent, Connecticut, United States. Frederick Herbert Sill established the school in 1906. It is affiliated with the Episcopal Church of the United States. Acade ...

Kent, Connecticut Kent is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. Located alongside the border with New York, the town's population was 3,019 according to the 2020 census. Kent is home to three boarding schools: Kent School, the Marvelwood Sch ...

in 2000, then attended the film school at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, ...

, where he graduated in 2005 and delivered his thesis film in 2006. He moved to

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. As of the 2020 Unit ...

in 2008. In an interview with Robert K. Elder for the book '' The Best Film You've Never Seen'', Durkin said, “When I make a film, I think about things that scare me. My exploration of those things is to try and wrap my head around them and confront them.” Durkin participated in the 2012 ''Sight & Sound'' critics' poll, where he listed his ten favorite films as follows: ''

3 Women ''3 Women'' is a 1977 American psychological drama film written, produced, and directed by Robert Altman and starring Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek and Janice Rule. It depicts the increasingly bizarre, mysterious relationship between a woman (D ...

'', '' The Birds'', '' The Conformist'', ''

The Goonies ''The Goonies'' is a 1985 American adventure comedy film co-produced and directed by Richard Donner from a screenplay by Chris Columbus, based on a story by Steven Spielberg. In the film, kids who live in the "Goon Docks" neighborhood of Astoria ...

'', '' Jaws'', '' The Panic in Needle Park'', ''

Persona A persona (plural personae or personas), depending on the context, is the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional character. The word derives from Latin, where it originally referred to a theatri ...

'', '' The Piano Teacher'', '' Rosemary's Baby'', and '' The Shining''. Durkin is a founding member of Borderline Films with fellow directors Antonio Campos and Josh Mond.

Music videos

*"Air Traffic Control" by

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ve ...

(2008) *"Your Love Is Killing Me" by

Sharon Van Etten Sharon Katharine Van Etten (born February 26, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter. She has released six studio albums, the latest of which is '' We've Been Going About This All Wrong'' (2022). Early life Van Etten was born in Belleville, N ...

(2014)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Durkin, Sean 1981 births Film producers from New York (state) Kent School alumni Living people People from Williamsburg, Brooklyn Film directors from New York City Canadian film directors 21st-century Canadian screenwriters