A filmmaker who was heralded as one of the most exciting members of the 1990's independent film scene, cinematographer-turned-director Tom Di Cillo first made his name as the man behind Johnny Suede, the 1992 film that helped introduce the world to Brad Pitt. Di Cillo subsequently built his reputation with a series of darkly comic, resolutely quirky films, most notably Living in Oblivion (1995). An intensely funny and painfully accurate look at the world of low-budget independent filmmaking that was partially based on Di Cillo's own experiences, the film caused quite a sensation at the 1995 Sundance Festival, where its director was awarded with two screenwriting prizes.

Born in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1954, Di Cillo studied filmmaking at New York University's Film School. After earning his master's degree in 1976, he decided to pursue a career as an actor, but after struggling for eight years — during which he painted apartments and waited tables to support himself — he abandoned acting for work behind the camera. Di Cillo got his start as a cinematographer for NYU classmate Jim Jarmusch's Permanent Vacation (1982) and Stranger Than Paradise (1984), the latter of which became an international sensation after it came out of nowhere to win a Camera D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.…  » Read more