David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, painter, musician, actor, and photographer. He has been described by The Guardian as "the most important director of this era", while AllMovie called him "the Renaissance man of modern American filmmaking". His films Blue Velvet (1986) and Mulholland Drive (2001) are widely regarded by critics to be among the greatest films of their respective decades, while the success of his 1990–91 television series Twin Peaks led to his being labeled "the first popular Surrealist" by film critic Pauline Kael. He has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and has won France's César Award for Best Foreign Film twice, as well as the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and a Golden Lion award for lifetime achievement at the Venice Film Festival.
