Luhrmann, Baz(mark) Anthony (1962– )

Australian film director, writer, and producer. With his first two films – Strictly Ballroom (1992) and William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (1996) – Luhrmann established himself as one of cinema's leading visual and aural stylists, combining kitsch colours and frenetic camera movement and editing with stylized soundtracks and popular music. By such means he injected fresh life into timeless narratives. In 2000 Luhrmann further developed this style in Moulin Rouge, exploring the Paris of Henri Toulouse-Lautrec through music and song.

In addition to his cinematic work, Luhrmann has enjoyed success in the theatre, opera, and popular music. His album Something for Everybody and the single ‘Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)’ were international bestsellers in 1999. He received acclaim for his staging of Puccini's opera La Bohème on Broadway in 2003.

He was born in a suburb of Sydney and grew up in the small town of Herron's Creek in rural New South Wales. He returned to Sydney where he attended the National Institute of Dramatic Arts. He appeared in the Australian film Winter of Our Dreams in 1983. Four years later he formed the Six Years Old Company.