The year 1996 involved many significant films. The major releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The Rock, The English Patient, Twister, Space Jam, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a film version of the musical Evita.
Karel Reisz was a Czech-born British filmmaker, one of the pioneers of the new realist strain in British cinema during the 1950s and 1960s. Two of the best-known films he directed are Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960), a classic of kitchen sink realism, and the romantic period drama The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981).
Paul Thomas Anderson, also known by his initials PTA, is an American filmmaker. His films have consistently garnered critical acclaim. Anderson's films are often psychological dramas and characterized by depictions of flawed and desperate characters, explorations of themes such as dysfunctional families, alienation, loneliness and redemption, and a bold visual style that uses moving camera and long takes. Anderson has been nominated for eleven Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and eight BAFTA Awards, and has won a Silver Lion at Venice, a Best Director Award at Cannes, and both a Golden and a Silver Bear at Berlin.
Alfred Molina is an English actor known for his work on the stage and screen. He first rose to prominence in the West End, earning a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Play for his performance in the production of Oklahoma! in 1980. He made his film debut as Satipo in Raiders of the Lost Ark and his Broadway debut as Yvan in a production of Art from 1998 to 1999. His other Broadway roles include Tevye in the musical Fiddler on the Roof from 2004 to 2005 and Mark Rothko in the play Red from 2009 to 2010.
Karen Lancaume was a French pornographic film actress. She appeared in over 83 pornographic films between 1996 and 2000. She starred as Nadine in the 2000 film, Baise-moi, a mainstream film in which she performed unsimulated penetration and fellatio.
Haskell Wexler, ASC was an American cinematographer, film producer, and director. Wexler was judged to be one of film history's ten most influential cinematographers in a survey of the members of the International Cinematographers Guild. He won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography twice, in 1966 and 1976, out of five nominations. In his obituary in The New York Times, Wexler is described as being "renowned as one of the most inventive cinematographers in Hollywood."
Coline Serreau is a French actress, film director and writer.
Raffaëla Anderson is a French former adult film performer. During her porn career, she was often credited as Raphaëlla.
Simcha Jacobovici is an Israeli-Canadian journalist and documentary film maker.
L'Apocalypse des animaux is a soundtrack album by Greek composer Vangelis. The album's music accompanied a documentary series about the animal kingdom directed by Frédéric Rossif that was first broadcast on French TV in 1970.
Emmanuelle Schick Garcia was born in the south of France to a Spanish mother and a Canadian father. At the age of three her family moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada where she grew up. Her father, Doug Schick, was a professional rugby player who represented Canada in international competitions.
Parajanov: The Last Spring is a 1992 award-winning documentary by the Russian-Armenian filmmaker Mikhail Vartanov, that also includes the complete surviving footage of Sergei Parajanov's unfinished last film The Confession, Vartanov's behind-the-scenes sequences of Parajanov at work on the shooting of the Color of Pomegranates and other material. Featured in 7th Annual Russian Academy of Cinema Arts Awards (1993).
In My Sleep is a 2010 suspense thriller film written, directed and produced by film director Allen Wolf. It stars Philip Winchester, Lacey Chabert, Tim Draxl, Abigail Spencer and Kelly Overton. It also features Kirsten Vangsness from Criminal Minds in a cameo role and Tony Hale from Veep in a cameo as well. The story is about a massage therapist with chronic insomnia who fears he may have murdered a good friend while sleepwalking.
Dzi Croquettes is a 2009 Brazilian documentary film directed by Tatiana Issa and Raphael Alvarez about the dance and theater group of the same name.
Steve Anderson is an American film director, writer, and producer. After graduating with an undergraduate degree from Nazareth College in Rochester, New York, he gained experience as a television cameraman. He made documentary films for PBS, and won a Peabody Award for Safe Haven in 1987. He moved to Los Angeles, California in 1989 and worked for CNN.
Kevin B. Thomas is an American film critic who has written reviews for the Los Angeles Times since 1962. His long tenure makes him the longest-running film critic among major United States newspapers.
Alex Prager is an American photographer and filmmaker, based in Los Angeles. She makes staged color photographs.
John Carlos Frey is a six time Emmy Award winning Mexican-American freelance investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker and published author based in Los Angeles, California. His investigative work has been featured on programs and networks such as 60 Minutes, PBS, NBC News, CBS News, the Weather Channel, Dan Rather Reports, Fusion TV, Current TV, Univision, and Telemundo. John Carlos Frey has also written articles for the Los Angeles Times, the Huffington Post, Salon, Need to Know online, the Washington Monthly, and El Diario.
Maria Ripoll Julià is a Spanish film director from Barcelona, with an international background and eight feature films to her credit. The success of her film It's Now or Never has placed her as the highest-grossing female film director in Spanish history.
Donner Pass: The Road to Survival is a 1978 American historical drama television film about the Donner Party, directed by James L. Conway, written by S. S. Schweitzer, and produced by Schick Sunn Classic Pictures as a part of their Classics Illustrated series. It aired on NBC on October 24, 1978.
