Jeff Nichols (born December 7, 1978) is an American film director and screenwriter from Little Rock, Arkansas. He studied filmmaking at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Nichols has directed Shotgun Stories (2007), Take Shelter (2011), Mud (2012), Midnight Special (2016), and Loving (2016). Nichols studied filmmaking at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He wrote his first screenplay, Shotgun Stories, with actor Michael Shannon in mind to play the lead, and contacted the actor through a former teacher. The film was shot on a budget of only $250,000, and released in 2007. Later, Nichols moved into larger independent productions with 2011's Take Shelter, also starring Shannon, and 2012's Mud, starring Matthew McConaughey, which competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. In 2012, Nichols acted as President of the Jury of the 7th Rome Film Festival. His 2016 sci-fi drama film Midnight Special competed for the Golden Bear at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. The same year, he directed the drama Loving, a film about the landmark U.S. civil rights court case Loving v. Virginia, which was nominated for numerous awards, including a Golden Globe nomination for lead actor Joel Edgerton and Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for lead actress Ruth Negga. So far, all films directed by Nichols have featured Michael Shannon either in a leading (Shotgun Stories, Take Shelter, Midnight Special) or supporting capacity (Mud, Loving). In 2018 he directed the short film, “Long Way Back Home", inspired by a song of the same name that was written by his brother Ben and released by the country punk band, Lucero. It stars Michael Shannon, who searches the streets and backroads of Memphis for his two younger brothers, played by Garrett Hedlund and Scoot McNairy. Nichols was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He is the brother of Lucero guitarist and singer Ben Nichols. He is influenced by Mark Twain.

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