David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, painter, visual artist, musician, and writer.[1][2] A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019,[3] Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director,[4] and the César Award for Best Foreign Film twice, as well as the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival[5] and a Golden Lion award for lifetime achievement at the Venice Film Festival. In 2007, a panel of critics convened by The Guardian announced that 'after all the discussion, no one could fault the conclusion that David Lynch is the most important film-maker of the current era',[6] while AllMovie called him "the Renaissance man of modern American filmmaking".[7] His work led to him being labeled "the first popular surrealist" by film critic Pauline Kael.[8]
