Gus Van Sant has enjoyed a movie that has spanned almost thirty years and he is back this week with his new film Restless.
He kicked off his career as a production assistant to Ken Shapiro before making his first film Alice In Hollywood - however it was never released.
It was 1985 when he made his directorial debut with Mala Noche, a script that he also penned.
The movie was a huge hit on the festival circuit and it marked Van Sant's arrival. Four years later the was back with Drugstore Cowboy, which starred Matt Dillon.
The movie was based on a novel by James Fogle and Van Sant was, once again, on script writing duties.
Awards started to come the way of the filmmaker as the screenplay was recognised by the L.A. Film Critics Association and New York Film Critics Circle while it won Best Film and Best Director at the National Society of Film Critics.
He followed this up with My Own Private Idaho and Even Cowgirls Get The Blues.
In 1997 he teamed up with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to bring their script Good Will Hunting to the big screen.
The movie followed Will Hunting, a janitor at MIT, has a gift for mathematics but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life.
Good Will Hunting brought together an impressive cast that included Damon, Affleck, Robin Williams, Stellan Skarsgård and Minnie Driver.
The movie was beautifully shot and Van Sant got some great performances out of his cast, especially Damon.
The movie went on to be nominated for nine Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director - Affleck & Damon won Best Original Screenplay while Williams picked up Best Supporting Actor.
In 1998 Van Sant remade the Alfred Hitchcock classic Psycho before working with Sean Connery in Finding Forrester in 2000.
The early noughties saw Van Sant work on his 'Death Trilogy' which comprised of Gerry, Elephant and Last Days.
Gerry saw him reunite with Damon, while Elephant was met by critical acclaim when it was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2003 - going on to win the Palme d'Or.
We last saw Van Sant in the director's chair in 2009 with Milk, a biographical film about political Harvey Milk.
The movie followed Milk's struggles as an American gay activist who fought for gay rights and became California's first openly gay elected official.
The movie brought Van Sant more critical acclaim and actor Sean Penn was the toast of the awards circuit that year.
Milk was nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars while Van Sant also picked up another nod - Penn went on to win Best Actor for the second time in his career.
But this week he teams up with Mia Wasikowska and Henry Hopper for Restless, a script that he penned with Jason Lew.
The movie follows a terminally ill teenage girl who falls for a boy who likes to attend funerals and their encounters with the ghost of a Japanese kamikaze pilot from WWII.
Restless is released 21st October
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
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