Ari Aster
Personal details
  • Born:
    • Birthday: 1986-07-15
    • Born Place: New York City, New York, USA

Ari Aster

Ari Aster (born July 15, 1986) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer renowned for his meticulously crafted and deeply unsettling explorations of grief, hereditary trauma, and psychological disintegration. Born in New York City to a creative Jewish family—his mother a poet and his father a jazz musician—Aster spent his childhood in England and New Mexico, where he developed an early obsession with horror cinema. He formalized his craft at the AFI Conservatory, where his 2011 thesis short, The Strange Thing About the Johnsons, became a viral and controversial sensation for its bold, taboo-breaking narrative. He rose to international stardom with his debut feature, Hereditary (2018), which became a massive critical and commercial hit for A24, followed by the "folk-horror" masterpiece Midsommar (2019). Both films established him as a leading figure in the "elevated horror" movement, known for his signature use of lingering wide shots, hidden background details, and searing emotional performances. In 2019, Aster co-founded the production company Square Peg with Lars Knudsen, shifting his focus toward genre-blurring "nightmare comedies" and supporting other auteur voices. This era saw the release of the sprawling, surrealist odyssey Beau Is Afraid (2023) and his most recent directorial effort, the pandemic-era neo-Western satire Eddington (2025), which premiered in competition for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Beyond directing, Aster has become a prolific producer, overseeing projects such as Kristoffer Borgli’s Dream Scenario and the upcoming The Drama (2026), as well as Yorgos Lanthimos's Bugonia.

Person History