Duncan Tucker

For most of his life, director Duncan Tucker could not decide on a career path. Even during his high school and college years, Tucker had few ambitions and little direction. After bouncing around from school to school, then performing odd jobs across the globe, he finally hit his stride when he met a woman who helped give the shiftless Tucker purpose. While listening to her stories - comic, tragic; sometimes both - Tucker suddenly found inspiration to make a feature film. The result was "Transamerica" (2005), an amusing road drama about a pre-operative transgender woman who, on her therapist's orders, must confront her 17-year-old son so she can complete her transformation. Though Tucker had to beg, borrow and steal to get his film made - a hair-raising experience that nearly derailed at times - the risks taken paid off in the end, when the film was released to great critical acclaim and his lead actress was nominated for an Academy Award. Tucker had finally found his life's direction.