Mike Leigh

Mike Leigh was born in Salford, Manchester, in 1943, and developed a unique method of creating films through controlled improvisations. After his debut feature film, Bleak Moments (1971), he made a succession of admired TV plays, then returned to feature films. Secrets and Lies won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1996. Topsy-Turvy (1999) won two Oscars, and Vera Drake (2004), won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. He also wrote and directed the play Two Thousand Years for the National Theatre in 2005.