Alejandro González Iñárritu

Born: August 15 1963
Where: Mexico City, Mexico

The director attracted international attention when he was Oscar nominated for his first feature Amores Perros.

The movie, following the stories of three people connected by a terrible road accident, was also among the Grand Prix winners at the Cannes Film Festival.

A friend of fellow Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron (who helmed the third Harry Potter movie), Inarritu got his start as a producer and DJ the Mexicaon rock radio station WFM.

He went on to spend a decade making advertising commercials before making his celebrated first feature set in the slums of Mexico City.

In 2001, after Amores Perros, his short Powder Keg for the BMW series ranked second in Time Magazine's list of best advertising films and he also made a Cesar nominated segment for the 11'09'01 September 11 movie.

In 2003 Inarritu's English language debut about a man tracing the widow of his heart donor landed Oscar nominations for Benicio Del Toro and Naomi Watts.