Bill Oliver grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, graduated from Princeton University and received an M.F.A. in Directing from the American Film Institute. His short films have played in festivals worldwide, including the Rotterdam International Film Festival, and won several awards. He has also directed plays in Los Angeles and New York, including The Alice Complex and A History of Cobbling, for which he received the award for Best Direction at the 2008 and 2009 New York International Fringe Festival. Jonathan, starring Ansel Elgort, Patricia Clarkson and Suki Waterhouse, is his first feature.