Todd Haynes

Directing·Jan 2, 1961·Los Angeles, California, USA

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Todd Haynes (/heɪnz/; born January 2, 1961; Los Angeles) is an American filmmaker. His films span four decades with themes examining the personalities of well-known musicians, dysfunctional and dystopian societies, and blurred gender roles. Haynes first gained public attention with his controversial short film Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1987), which chronicles singer Karen Carpenter's life and death, using Barbie dolls as actors. Superstar became a cult classic. Haynes's feature directorial debut, Poison (1991), a provocative exploration of AIDS-era queer perceptions and subversions, established him as a figure of a new transgressive cinema. Poison won the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize and is regarded as a seminal work of New Queer Cinema. Haynes received further acclaim for his second feature film, Safe (1995), a symbolic portrait of a housewife who develops multiple chemical sensitivity. Safe was later voted the best film of the 1990s by The Village Voice Film Poll. His next feature, Velvet Goldmine (1998), is a tribute to the 1970s glam rock era. The film received the Special Jury Prize for Best Artistic Contribution at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. Haynes gained acclaim and a measure of mainstream success with Far from Heaven (2002) earning his first Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. He continued to direct critically lauded films such as I'm Not There (2007), Carol (2015), Wonderstruck (2017) and Dark Waters (2019). He directed his first feature-length documentary, The Velvet Underground (2021). Haynes directed and co-wrote the HBO mini-series Mildred Pierce (2011) for which he was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards.

Film	Credit
Barbara Forever2026 · Self (archive footage)	Self (archive footage)
All We Do Is Watch Movies2026 · Self	Self
May December2023 · Director	Director
Art-House America: Austin Film Society2023 · Self	Self
Image Book2023 · Director	Director
Douglas Sirk – Hope as in Despair2022 · Self	Self
The Velvet Underground2021 · Writer, Director, Producer	Writer, Director, Producer
DDark Waters: The Cost of Being a Hero2019 · Self	Self
Dark Waters2019 · Director	Director
At the Video Store2019 · Self	Self
Wonderstruck2017 · Director	Director
Xavier Dolan: Bound to Impossible2016 · Self	Self
Carol2015 · Director	Director
Six by Sondheim2013 · Director	Director
Great Directors2009 · Self	Self
I'm Not There2007 · Director, Screenplay	Director, Screenplay
NNotes on the Death of Kodachrome2007 · Self	Self
Infinite Pleasure: Todd Haynes on Max Ophuls' Le Plaisir2006 · Interviewee	Interviewee
MMaternal Overdrive2006 · Self	Self
Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema2006 · Self	Self
Eine Zärtlichkeit wie bei Sirk - Todd Haynes über Fassbinder und das Melodram2006 · Self	Self
Sonic Youth: Corporate Ghost (The Videos: 1990-2002)2004 · Director	Director
Far from Heaven2002 · Director, Writer	Director, Writer
Velvet Goldmine1998 · Director, Screenplay	Director, Screenplay
Safe1995 · Writer, Director	Writer, Director
At Sundance1995 · Self	Self
Dottie Gets Spanked1993 · Writer, Director	Writer, Director
Swoon1992 · Phrenology Head	Phrenology Head
Goo1991 · Director	Director
Poison1991 · Director, Writer	Director, Writer
Anemone Me1990 · Producer	Producer
HHe Was Once1989 · Randy, Producer	Randy, Producer
Natural History1989 · Child, Producer	Child, Producer
Muddy Hands1988 · Producer	Producer
Cause and Effect1988 · Producer	Producer
American Lunch1988 · Producer	Producer
Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story1987 · Todd Donovan, Director, Screenplay, Producer	Todd Donovan, Director, Screenplay, Producer
Tommy's1985 · Producer	Producer
Assassins: A Film Concerning Rimbaud1985 · Actor, Director	Actor, Director
A Man in Your Room1984 · Producer	Producer
The Suicide1978 · Director, Screenplay, Producer	Director, Screenplay, Producer
DDe NocheDirector, Writer	Director, Writer