Known for Writing
Charles Stuart Kaufman (born November 19, 1958) is an American filmmaker and novelist. He wrote the films Being John Malkovich (1999), Adaptation (2002), and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). He both wrote and directed the films Synecdoche, New York (2008), Anomalisa (2015), and I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020). In 2020, Kaufman made his literary debut with the release of his first novel, Antkind. One of the most celebrated screenwriters of his era, Kaufman has received an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Independent Spirit Awards, and a Writers Guild of America Award. Film critic Roger Ebert called Synecdoche, New York "the best movie of the decade" in 2009. Three of Kaufman's scripts appear in the Writers Guild of America's list of the 101 greatest movie screenplays ever written.
Born
November 19, 1958 (age 67)
Birthplace
New York City, New York, USA
Filmography
34 films, 9 shows


How to Shoot a Ghost
2025 · 27m
country: United States
Two newly dead young people meet in the streets of Athens, amid the pulsing cityscape and the ghosts of history. One a translator, the other a photographer, they were outsiders in life; in death they struggle with the residue of their longings and mistakes. They wander the city together, finding consolation in the difficult beauty of existence and its aftermath.


Jackals & Fireflies
2023 · 21m
country: United States
A woman wanders the streets of New York City, takes buses and trains, sits in bars and coffee shops, experiencing the city's diverse neighborhoods, while thinking about her life, her loneliness, unrequited love. She finds moments of communion with various people she meets along the way and with the city itself.


I'm Thinking of Ending Things
2020 · 2h 15m
country: United States
Nothing is as it seems when a woman experiencing misgivings about her new boyfriend joins him on a road trip to meet his parents at their remote farm.


Anomalisa
2015 · 1h 31m
country: United States
An inspirational speaker becomes reinvigorated after meeting a lively woman who shakes up his mundane existence.


Synecdoche, New York
2008 · 2h 4m
country: United States
A theater director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he attempts to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse as part of his new play.