John Curran Biography

Date of Birth: c. 1963

Born and raised in New York State, John Curran went to Syracuse University, then lived in New York City for a couple of years before moving to Sydney, Australia. While there, he made the award-winning short film Down Rusty Down (1996) before writing and directing his first full length film, Praise (1998). An unconventional love story about a libido-deprived slacker and a nymphomaniac with a weight problem and a bad case of eczema, the film won the International Critics' Award at the 1998 Toronto International Film Festival. It was also nominated for 10 Australian Film Institute awards and six Film Critics Circle of Australia awards, with Curran winning for Best Director.

Although the film was given a limited release in the U.S., American audiences didn't warm to the off-beat story. However, Australian actress Naomi Watts was so impressed with Curran's talent that she expressed interest in acting in his next film, We Don't Live Here Anymore, to be filmed in North America. American actor Mark Ruffalo also signed on after his In the Cut director, Australian Jane Campion, recommended Curran to him.

Filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, We Don't Live Here Anymore (2004) won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.