Roland Joffé

Roland Joffé was born on 17 November 1945 in London. He was educated in Manchester. Oh, and he's a film director.

He began directing in the theatre industry, doing his stuff at such theatres as the Young Vic, the National Theatre, and the Old Vic. In 1978, he began directing documentaries and drama series for television. This background in documentaries would come in great use when he directed his first feature film.

The Killing Fields (1984) is a powerful, spine-chilling, realistic film about Cambodia in 1975: the fall of Phnom Penh, the rise of the Khmer Rouge, and the subsequent murder of an estimated 2.4 million Cambodians. The film, Roland himself, and the screenwriter were each nominated for Academy Awards. The film also won Oscars for best editing, best cinematography, and best supporting actor (Dr. Haing S. Ngor, who saw firsthand the chaos of Cambodia in 1975).

After the critical success of his first film, Roland Joffé went on to direct more films, including The Mission (1986), which won the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as an Academy Award for its lovely cinematography of the South American jungle scene.

Films directed include:

_{Main source: The Film Encyclopedia. Ephraim Katz. Fourth ed. 2001. New York: HarperCollins}