Damián Szifron

Damián Szifron is an Argentine film and television director, screenwriter, and producer renowned for his darkly comedic and socially incisive works, most notably the internationally acclaimed anthology film Wild Tales (2014).

Born on July 9, 1975, in Ramos Mejía, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, to a Jewish family of Polish descent, Szifron developed an early passion for cinema and studied film under screenwriter Ángel Faretta. His career began in television with the creation of the cult series Los Simuladores (2002), a satirical drama about a group staging elaborate deceptions that became Argentina's most successful original series, earning multiple awards and inspiring remakes in countries including Mexico, Spain, Chile, and Russia.

Szifron transitioned to feature films with his directorial debut El fondo del mar (The Bottom of the Sea, 2003), a psychological thriller that premiered at international festivals, followed by Tiempo de valientes (On Probation, 2005), a crime comedy that further established his reputation for blending humor with tension. His breakthrough came with Wild Tales (Relatos salvajes), which he wrote, directed, and edited; the film competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, received an Academy Award nomination for Best International Feature Film, and won the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language, the Goya Award for Best Ibero-American Film, and over 40 other international prizes, including production by Pedro Almodóvar. More recently, Szifron directed the thriller To Catch a Killer (also known as Misanthrope, 2023), starring Shailene Woodley and Ben Mendelsohn, which explored themes of mass violence and premiered worldwide in spring 2023. In 2023, he served as a jury member for feature films at Cannes, underscoring his influence in global cinema. As of 2025, a planned feature film adaptation of Los Simuladores was announced but postponed amid changes in Argentina's cultural policies.