Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

A film lover since his early childhood, Timur Bekmambetov made his first film at the age of 10 while at summer camp. After graduating from the A.N. Ostrovsky Institute of Theatrical Arts in Uzbekistan in the 1980s, Bekmambetov worked as a set designer for a number of years. He wrote and co-directed his first film, Peshawar Waltz, in 1992. For the rest of the decade Bekhmambetov directed television commercials, music videos and the eight-part TV miniseries Our 90s. His break out horror movie, Night Watch, was released in 2004 and made with a budget of only $4 million. With the film, Bekmambetov set out to depict a traditional scary movie along with a realistic view of daily life in Russia. The film was a tremendous success in Russia, and in turn was distributed internationally. Bekmambetov recently made the sequel to Nightwatch, Daywatch, and is set to make the final chapter in the trilogy in 2007. —Seagull Films