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Darren Aronofsky built a career on films that refuse to look away — Requiem for a Dream's unflinching portrait of addiction, The Wrestler's study of a body destroyed by its own profession, Black Swan's psychological unraveling — largely outside the Hollywood studio system, after training in anthropology at Harvard and directing at the AFI Conservatory. His debut feature, Pi, won him the directing award at Sundance; The Wrestler later took the Golden Lion at Venice. He has been nominated for the Academy Award, BAFTA, and Golden Globe for his directing, and founded the production company Protozoa Pictures in 1997.