Biography
Derek M. Cianfrance (/ˈsiːənfræns/; born January 23, 1974) is an American film director, cinematographer, screenwriter, and editor. He is best known for writing and directing the films Blue Valentine, The Place Beyond the Pines, and The Light Between Oceans, as well as the HBO miniseries I Know This Much Is True. For his contributions to the story of Sound of Metal, he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay with its director Darius Marder, and Abraham Marder. D...
Known For
Complete Filmography
Roofman
2025
Director, Screenplay, Executive Producer
A former Army Ranger and struggling father turns to robbing McDonald’s restaurants by cutting holes in their roofs, earning him the nickname: Roofman....
Exhibiting Forgiveness
2024
Producer
A Black artist on the path to success is derailed by an unexpected visit from his estranged father, a recovering addict desperate to reconcile. Togeth...
Bonnie
2022
as Self
A portrait of casting director Bonnie Timmermann.
If I Was His Mother
2022
Producer
Two women discuss soccer.
Sound of Metal
2020
Story, Executive Producer
Metal drummer Ruben begins to lose his hearing. When a doctor tells him his condition will worsen, he thinks his career and life is over. His girlfrie...
The Light Between Oceans
2016
Director, Screenplay, Writer
A lighthouse keeper and his wife living off the coast of Western Australia raise a baby they rescue from an adrift rowboat.
Towheads
2013
A Brooklyn mother finds comic relief from domestic drudgery by inhabiting the world in guises—drag king, pole dancer, Santa Claus—managing to find mom...
The Place Beyond the Pines
2013
Director, Story, Screenplay
A motorcycle stunt rider considers committing a crime in order to provide for his wife and child, an act that puts him on a collision course with a co...
Blue Valentine
2010
Director, Writer
Dean and Cindy live a quiet life in a modest neighborhood. They appear to have the world at their feet at the outset of the relationship. However, his...
Lately There Have Been Many Misunderstandings in the Zimmerman Home
2006
Director
A comedy in which the Zimmerman family stop feuding, briefly.
Quattro Noza
2005
Cinematography
A romance blooms between Quattro and Noza, two kids caught up in the illegal street car racing scene of Southern California.
Shots in the Dark
2001
Director, Editor, Cinematography
Exploitation of death? An history lesson on the challenges of crime photographers, taking us into the lives of a crime scene photographer with the New...
Brother Tied
1998
Director, Editor, Cinematography
When Cal's brother Aaron forms a disliking towards Cal's new friend, suddenly they find their fraternal connection fading away which poses a big probl...