The American film director Timothy Walter Burton was born on 25 August 1958 in Burbank, California. From his early teens, he developed a passion for drawing, painting and fantasy films and joined the Disney animation team in 1979 after graduating from the California Institute of the Arts. Although his already highly distinctive universe did not quite correspond to the Disney style of animation, the studio recognised his talent and participated in the production of his first short films: Vincent (1982), Hansel and Gretel (1983) and Frankenweenie (1984).
In 1985, following his departure from the Disney studios, he created his first feature film: Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. This was followed by Beetlejuice (1988), Batman (1989), Edward Scissorhands (1990) and The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). The international success of these last two films confirmed his reputation as a director with a unique visual universe and unbridled imagination.
The fourteen feature films that currently make up his oeuvre explore a wide variety of genres, including biography (Ed Wood, 1994), science fiction (Mars Attacks!, 1997 or Planet of the Apes, 2001), horror (Sleepy Hollow, 1999), fantasy (Big Fish, 2003), animation (Corpse Bride, 2005), children’s stories (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, 2005) and musicals (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, 2007).
Primarily known as a film director, Tim Burton is also an accomplished illustrator, painter and photographer. In 1998, he published an illustrated book of poems entitled The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories, and went on to develop the animated series The World of Stainboy for television and the Internet.
His next feature film is a 3D adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, starring Mia Wasikowska and Johnny Depp. It will be released in March.
Jury attendance
- President Feature films, 2010
- Member Cinéfondation & Short Films, 2006
- Member Feature films, 1997
