Biography
David Von Ancken (1964–2021) was an American film and television director and screenwriter.
He directed episodes of numerous series including The Shield (2002), Oz (1997), Californication (2007), Gossip Girl (2007), The Vampire Diaries (2009), Person of Interest (2011) and The Mentalist (2008). He served as executive producer and director on Hell on Wheels (2011), Salem (2014) and the miniseries Tut (2015), and directed The Purge (2018) and The Order (2019).
Von Ancken co-wrote and directed the feature film Seraphim Falls (2006), for which he received a Gotham Independent Film Award nomination for Breakthrough Director. His debut short film Bullet in the Brain (2001) won several festival awards.
