(born 1950) As a film-maker, John Sayles has often been drawn to historical subjects, which he uses to illustrate injustice (racial, ethnic, gender and class), as well as the sheer complexity of social interaction in modern America. Matewan (1987) chronicles the 1920 coal miners’ strike in West Virginia, while Eight Men Out (1988) investigates baseball’s Black Sox scandal of 1919. More recently Lone Star (1996) confronted the weight of history itself, delving into the past and present life of a small town in southern Texas.

Though rarely commercial successes, Sayles’ films display a rare willingness to address difficult issues of identity and social justice.