BY DIRECTOR: K

Born in 1972 in Hackney, London, Asif Kapadia studied filmmaking at the Royal College of Art, where he gained recognition by making the award-winning short 'The Sheep Thief' (1997), shot in Rajasthan. His visual style continued with his debut feature 'The Warrior' (2001), shot between the Indian desert and the Himalayas, won the BAFTA for Outstanding British Film of the Year.

Aki Kaurismäki, born in 1957, is a Finnish filmmaker known for his offbeat, deadpan style. One of cinema's great humanists, his films explore the misfortunes of Helsinki's misfits with great affection and humour. Although influenced by filmmakers such as Robert Bresson and Luis Buñuel, Kaurismäki has a distinctive style of his own, recognisable by his economical visuals and eclectic soundtracks of vintage pop/rock music.

One of the most important figures of European cinema, Krzysztof Kieslowski (1941-1996), spent much of his life behind Poland's post-war communist regime. He started his career as a documentarian but soon discarded many of his political ideas to explore metaphysical themes surrounding the paradoxes of the universe. His masterful 'Three Colours Triology' (1993-94) has had few parallels in the history of cinema.