--- name: "Damien Chazelle" canonical: "https://film.one/person/damien-chazelle" fi1m_id: "damien-chazelle" imdb_id: "nm3227090" tmdb_id: 136495 wikidata_id: "Q18350026" roles: ["Director","Writer","Producer"] born: "19 January 1985" reviewed_on_fi1m: 4 average_fi1m_score: 82 average_as: "director" average_over: 3 updated: "2026-10-22T02:07:26.666328+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Damien Chazelle ## Identity Damien Chazelle - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/damien-chazelle - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** damien-chazelle - **IMDb ID:** nm3227090 - **TMDB ID:** 136495 - **Wikidata ID:** Q18350026 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damien_Chazelle, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18350026, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3227090/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/136495 Director and writer. Born 19 January 1985 in Providence, Rhode Island, USA. ## Details - **Work:** Director, Writer, Producer - **Born:** 19 January 1985, Providence, Rhode Island, USA - **Active:** 2014–present - **Also known as:** Damien Sayre Chazelle - **Titles on Fi1m:** 4: 3 directing, 1 producing - **Frequently works with:** [Marc Platt](https://film.one/person/marc-platt.md), [Ryan Gosling](https://film.one/person/ryan-gosling.md) - **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won · 2 nominated) - **Average Fi1m score:** 82, as director, over 3 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 2010s 82 (3), 2020s 66 (1) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 82 to 81 across 3 titles - **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 0 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Genres:** Drama 3, Comedy 1, History 1, Music 1, Romance 1, Thriller 1 - **Screen time:** 6 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $665m across 3 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damien_Chazelle, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18350026, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3227090/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/136495 ## Streaming the US now - **Amazon Prime Video:** [*La La Land*](https://film.one/film/la-la-land.md) (81) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Damien Chazelle > Damien Chazelle makes performance feel perilous, and we recommend him for the pressure he can put into a musical sequence. His weakness is how readily he treats the willingness to suffer as evidence of artistic seriousness. In *Whiplash* (2014), a stretch of drumming carries the threat of another judgement from Fletcher, the teacher who uses high standards to excuse his cruelty. Chazelle makes practice frightening by keeping our attention on the work and the man waiting to find fault with it. We were tense at the prospect of Andrew playing again, because another attempt meant another opportunity for Fletcher to punish him. The musical sequences justify our enthusiasm for Chazelle, even when his view of musicianship seems too narrow. Editor Tom Cross keeps the playing under pressure, making each performance feel liable to go wrong. Cinematographer Sharone Meir gives the physical effort enough weight that Andrew's determination becomes uncomfortable to watch. J.K. Simmons gives Fletcher enough force and complication to keep him from becoming a simple warning about bad teaching. Chazelle directs the struggle so persuasively that we nearly overlook how little life he has given the people outside it. Music was central from his debut, *Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench* (2009), a black-and-white jazz musical. It also began his collaboration with composer Justin Hurwitz. That partnership matters because Hurwitz's scores help determine the rhythm and feeling of Chazelle's films, rather than merely accompanying the action. In the musical romance *La La Land* (2016), the score helps shape the film. *First Man* (2018), his film about Neil Armstrong, took a more contained, anxious approach. *Babylon* (2022) returned to performers, this time in Hollywood during the transition to sound, with Hurwitz again supplying the score. Its detailed period staging gives Chazelle plenty of scope to demonstrate his technical skill. But the excess becomes exhausting, and it grows harder to tell what he wants us to think about the industry he is showing. The question is already there, more usefully contained, in *Whiplash*: what does all this punishment produce? Andrew's desire to excel is convincing; what he might want to express is less clear. We wanted the lives beyond teacher and student to matter more, so that abandoning them would feel like a loss. Start with *Whiplash*, and be wary of taking Fletcher's account of greatness at face value. ## Biography Damien Sayre Chazelle is an American director and screenwriter. Born on 19 January 1985 in Providence, Rhode Island, he studied filmmaking at Harvard University, graduating in 2007. His early feature Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench (2009) was followed by the short film Whiplash (2013), which he expanded into the 2014 feature of the same name that he wrote and directed. Chazelle is known for the musical La La Land (2016), which he wrote and directed, the biographical drama First Man (2018), and the period film Babylon (2022), which he also wrote and directed. For La La Land he won the Academy Award for Best Director, becoming the youngest recipient of the award at age 32. He has also directed episodes of the series The Eddy (2020). *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, britannica.com.* ## On Fi1m (4) ### Directed (3) — the average rests on these - *First Man* (2018), Fi1m 80, Director, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/first-man.md) - *La La Land* (2016), Fi1m 81, Director, Writer, Lyricist — [page](https://film.one/film/la-la-land.md) - *Whiplash* (2014), Fi1m 84, Director, Writer, Original Film Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/whiplash.md) ### Produced (1) - *Heart of the Beast* (2026), Fi1m 66, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/heart-of-the-beast.md) ## Complete filmography (23) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Heart of the Beast* (2026), Executive Producer — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/film/heart-of-the-beast.md) - *DRUMMER* (2026), Thanks - *Hollywood Babylon* (2025), Actor - *Mr. Jimmy* (2023), Thanks - *Babylon* (2022), Writer, Director - *The Eddy* (2020), series, Executive Producer, Director - *First Man* (2018), Director, Producer — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/first-man.md) - *Cam* (2018), Thanks - *Dead Pigs* (2018), Thanks - *La La Land* (2016), Writer, Lyricist, Director — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/film/la-la-land.md) - *10 Cloverfield Lane* (2016), Screenplay - *Whiplash* (2014), Writer, Director, Original Film Writer — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/whiplash.md) - *Grand Piano* (2013), Writer - *Cold Comes the Night* (2013), Thanks - *He's Way More Famous Than You* (2013), Thanks - *The Last Exorcism Part II* (2013), Writer - *Whiplash* (2013), Director, Writer - *Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench* (2010), as Drumming Instructor (uncredited) · Director, Writer, Editor, Production Supervisor, Director of Photography, Songs, Producer - *Beeswax* (2009), Post Production Assistant - *Untitled Matthew Vaughn Musical*, Writer - *Evel Knievel on Tour*, Director - *Sacrifice*, Director, Writer, Producer - *The Claim*, Writer ## Gallery - ![NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, right, speaks with Director and Producer Damien Chazelle at the premiere of Universal's feature film "First Man” Thursday, Oct. 4](https://film.one/media/person/440/gallery-59817968a49c.jpg) NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, right, speaks with Director and Producer Damien Chazelle at the premiere of Universal's feature film "First Man” Thursday, Oct. 4 — Aubrey Gemignani, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/61/%22First_Man%22_Premiere_at_NASM_%28NHQ201810040111%29.jpg/1280px-%22First_Man%22_Premiere_at_NASM_%28NHQ201810040111%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![The cast of the film "First Man" pose for a photo after arriving on the red carpet for the premiere at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Thursday, O](https://film.one/media/person/440/gallery-a9e542da5f9b.jpg) The cast of the film "First Man" pose for a photo after arriving on the red carpet for the premiere at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Thursday, O — Aubrey Gemignani, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/%22First_Man%22_Premiere_at_NASM_%28NHQ201810040125%29.jpg/1280px-%22First_Man%22_Premiere_at_NASM_%28NHQ201810040125%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![The cast of the film "First Man" pose for a photo after arriving on the red carpet for the premiere at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Thursday, O](https://film.one/media/person/440/gallery-fe15f2543d31.jpg) The cast of the film "First Man" pose for a photo after arriving on the red carpet for the premiere at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Thursday, O — Aubrey Gemignani, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/%22First_Man%22_Premiere_at_NASM_%28NHQ201810040125%29_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![11 septembre 2014-deauville-9.jpg](https://film.one/media/person/440/gallery-b25a561f300f.jpg) 11 septembre 2014-deauville-9.jpg — isabelle VERONESE from ELBEUF, France, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Damien_Chazelle.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Damien Chazelle](https://film.one/media/person/440/gallery-bc048e7c2a5d.jpg) Damien Chazelle — Image via TMDB - ![Damien Chazelle](https://film.one/media/person/440/gallery-6edb119a5374.jpg) Damien Chazelle — Image via TMDB - !["Whiplash" at Sundance 2014](https://film.one/media/person/440/gallery-350442b80969.jpg) "Whiplash" at Sundance 2014 — PunkToad from oakland, us, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Damien_Chazelle_%2812026169474%29.jpg/1280px-Damien_Chazelle_%2812026169474%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Whiplash Wins Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic at Sundance 2014 Awards Ceremony](https://film.one/media/person/440/gallery-3a4a4550c356.jpg) Whiplash Wins Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic at Sundance 2014 Awards Ceremony — PunkToad from oakland, us, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Damien_Chazelle_%2812186671286%29.jpg/1280px-Damien_Chazelle_%2812186671286%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) ## Awards ### Academy Awards — 1 won, 2 nominated - 2017: Best Director (won) - 2017: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (nominated) - 2015: Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (nominated), for *Whiplash* ### BAFTA Film Awards — 1 won - 2017: Best Direction (won) ### Other awards — 1 won - Sundance Film Festival U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize Award 2014: Sundance Film Festival U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize Award (won), for *Whiplash* *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/damien-chazelle