Noah Baumbach

Often described as witty, insightful and unapologetically New York, it was no surprise that writer-director Noah Baumbach drew comparisons to Woody Allen and Whit Stillman - compliments the filmmaker has relished throughout his career. A childhood spent in art house theaters, soaking in Howard Hawks, François Truffaut and Jean Renoir, helped inform his lifelong ambition to become a filmmaker. Baumbach's passionate, almost obsessive love for film was finally realized when he helmed his debut feature, "Kicking and Screaming" (1995), on through his seminal film, "The Squid and the Whale" (2005) - the quasi-autobiographical drama that positioned him firmly inside the pantheon of meaningful filmmakers. Baumbach continued that streak with the Ben Stiller-starring comedy-drama "Greenberg" (2010), Greta Gerwig-starring "Frances Ha" (2012), middle-age comedy "While We're Young" (2014), "Mistress America" (2015) and family saga "The Meyerowitz Stories" (2017).