Nick Broomfield

Highest Rated: 100% Ghosts (2006)

Lowest Rated: 32% Sarah Palin: You Betcha! (2011)

Birthday: Jan 30, 1948

Birthplace: London, England, UK

One of the most prolific and controversial documentary filmmakers of his day, Nick Broomfield explored such topics as urban blight, juvenile delinquency, prostitution, and sensational murder trials in a career that spanned well over 20 films. After graduating from Britain's National Film and Television School, he embarked on a professional journey marked by his effective use of the no frills cinema vérité style of filmmaking. Projects such as "Juvenile Liason" (1975), "Tattooed Tears" (1978), and "Chicken Ranch" delved into a variety of social issues often overlooked in more mainstream documentaries. Broomfield's approach began to shift with the film "Driving Me Crazy" (1988), in which he not only recorded his subject, but the often combative process of making the film, as well. Possibly his most affecting work, "Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer" (1994) attempted to glean a humane insight into the troubled mind of America's first female serial murderer. He made a splash with his timely exposé "Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam" (1995), and stirred the waters of conspiracy theory with "Kurt & Courtney" (1998). Nearly 40 years after beginning his career, Broomfield continued to explore controversial themes in films like "Battle of Haditha" (2008), reinforcing his reputation as one of cinema's most persistent provocateurs.