Tarsem Singh

Indian-born director Tarsem worked extensively in commercials and music videos before making his feature debut with the psycho-thriller "The Cell" (2000), a largely dreamlike film bringing life to the fantastical subconscious thoughts of a serial killer. Educated at a boarding school nestled in the Himalayas, Tarsem moved to the United States to study business at Harvard. After deciding to pursue film studies instead, the would-be director enrolled at Pasadena's renowned Art Center College of Design where he developed his unique, visually dynamic style. Early work included a stint directing the 1990 Suzanne Vega video "Tired of Sleeping," but he would become best known for his handling of R.E.M.'s 1991 smash single "Losing My Religion." Drawing on rarely used references like Soviet filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky and Baroque painter Caravaggio, Tarsem turned out a video that enchanted and confounded the audience, not unlike the effect the often misinterpreted song had. The video's muted golden color palette and strange sexual imagery separated "Losing My Religion" from countless other videos and was certainly instrumental in the band's big breakthrough. In addition to being nominated for a Grammy, the video was up for eight MTV Video Music Awards and walked away with six of them, including honors for Video of the Year, Breakthrough Video and an honor specifically for Tarsem, Best Direction in a Video.