Alfonso Cuarón

Born: 28 November 1961
Where: Mexico City, Mexico

A Mexican director who has had a rapid rise in Hollywood, Cuaron became established in Mexican TV and made a film about AIDS, Solo Con Tu Pareja (Love in the Time of Hysteria).

Hollywood, in the form of Sydney Pollack, took notice and brought Cuaron to the US to direct an episode of the series Fallen Angels. The director earned a CableACE Award for his work and moved into features with The Little Princess.

After studying at Mexico's CUEC University, Cuaron gained experience working as an assistant director on many English-language films shot in Mexico and Latin America.

For his follow-up to A Little Princess, he directed Great Expectations, a modern update of the Dickens classic, starring Ethan Hawke, Robert De Niro and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Cuaron found his niche with the release of Y Tu Mama Tambien. The movie swept audiences away, and although it was met with some controversy over its graphic sex scenes, the overwhelming response was positive.

The director then went on to helm a very different film, the third instalment of the Harry Potter series, The Prisoner of Azkaban.