Neil Burger

After graduating from Yale University with a degree in fine arts, Burger became involved with experimental film in the 1980s and went on to direct music videos for such alternative artists as the Meat Puppets. Burger approached MTV in 1991 with the idea to create and direct a series of promotional spots for what would be the MTV Books: Feed Your Head campaign against aliteracy. In association with Ridley Scott Associates, Burger directed commercials for companies such as Mastercard, IBM and ESPN, and created a series of television spots for Amnesty International and their campaign for prisoners of conscience.\n', ' Burger made his directorial feature debut with Interview with the Assassin in 2002, which he also wrote. The film won the Best Feature Film category at the Woodstock Film Festival and Avignon Film Festival, while receiving nominations for three Independent Spirit Awards including Best First Film and Best First Screenplay.\n', ' Burger’s follow up feature was The Illusionist starring Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti. Burger’s screenplay for the film was based on the short story "Eisenheim the Illusionist" by Steven Millhauser. The film premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and opened the 2006 Seattle International Film Festival and the 2007 Deauville Film Festival. The Illusionist was nominated for Best Screenplay at the 2007 Independent Spirit Awards and Best Cinematography at the 2007 Academy Awards.\n', '