Ari Handel is a Swiss-born American neuroscientist, film producer and writer. He is known for co-writing the films Noah and The Fountain with his Harvard Dunster House suitemate Darren Aronofsky and for producing these films along with four other films: The Wrestler, Black Swan, Mother!, and The Whale. He started co-writing the film Noah around 2003. Handel grew up in a Jewish family in Newton, Massachusetts. He was born in Zürich, Switzerland, while his father was studying abroad, but he only lived there for about a year. Handel had an internship for Nova at WGBH, the Boston PBS station. He has a PhD in neurobiology from New York University. Torn between science writing and science education, he eventually became a film writer in an attempt to become a better communicator of science. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ari Handel, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- September 3, 1957 (69)
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Producer, also writer and actor
- 25 on MovieCove · 32 credits in all
Known for
What are Ari Handel's films like?
Across their 23 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Self.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 18
Light 2 · Serious 2 · Dark 14
Grounded 7 · Stylized 8 · Heightened 3
Gentle 2 · Charged 6 · Intense 10
A split, not a type: Steady 8 · Shifting 6 · Whiplash 4
Straight-faced 16 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0
Slow burn 8 · Even-paced 8 · Relentless 2
Casual 4 · Engaged 8 · Full focus 6
Easy watch 3 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 14
Resolved 7 · Open-ended 7 · Ambiguous 4
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet13
- Ambiguous8
- Cyclical1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Ari Handel's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 18 of their 25 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Disney+ (7).
Subscription and free streaming for Ari Handel's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
32 credits, 25 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
Pendulum (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2027)
Goodnight Lamby (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)
Underland(2025)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all shows
Lowland Kids(2025)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
Holding Liat (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
Caught Stealing(2025)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films
Limitless: Live Better Now (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Viktor(2024)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
Little Death (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Little Death(2024)
Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films
Kindred(2022)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all shows
The Whale(2022)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Limitless(2022)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all shows
The Good Nurse(2022)
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films
The Territory(2022)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
Catch the Fair One(2021)
Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films
Welcome to Earth(2021)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all shows
Some Kind of Heaven(2020)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
One Strange Rock(2018)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all shows
Mother!(2017)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
Aftermath(2017)
Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films
Jackie(2016)
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
Zipper(2015)
Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films
Noah(2014)
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films
Black Swan(2010)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
The Wrestler(2008)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
The Fountain(2006)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
Pi(1998)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
Solidarity (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
The Tiger (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 29 titles, 26 of them dated from 1998 to 2026.
Film career
- 1998Screen debut· Pi
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
Awards
2 major nominations and no wins, 2017–2023.
- Producers Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures
- Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best Feature
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Ari Handel's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 76th percentile, the median of all 20; across their 18 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 74th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up14
- 50th to 74th7
- 25th to 49th4
Shape of the crowd
10 of their 25 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved4
- Divisive1
- Crowd Pleaser10
- Broadly Agreed2
- Mixed8
Reviewers score the dialogue 47/100 and the plot and story 46/100 in their films, across 15 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Ari Handel's work okay for kids?
Across up to 10 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Ari Handel work with?
People who share at least 2 of Ari Handel's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Darren Aronofsky shares the most, 23.
Directors
- Darren AronofskyShared titles: Pole to Pole with Will Smith (2026), Caught Stealing (2025), Chris Hemsworth: A Road Trip to Remember (2025), Lowland Kids (2025), Underland (2025), Little Death (2024), Viktor (2024), Kindred (2022), Limitless (2022), The Good Nurse (2022), The Territory (2022), The Whale (2022) and 11 moreSee newest 12 of 23 shared titles with Darren Aronofsky
- Tom Barbor-MightShared titles: Pole to Pole with Will Smith (2026), Chris Hemsworth: A Road Trip to Remember (2025), Limitless (2022)See all 3 shared titles with Tom Barbor-Might
- Alice JonesShared titles: Welcome to Earth (2021), One Strange Rock (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Alice Jones
- Nat SharmanShared titles: Welcome to Earth (2021), One Strange Rock (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Nat Sharman
Actors
- Mark MargolisShared titles: Noah (2014), Inside 'the Fountain': Death and Rebirth (2007), The Fountain (2006)See all 3 shared titles with Mark Margolis
- Ray WinstoneShared titles: Zipper (2015), Noah (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Ray Winstone
- Cliff CurtisShared titles: Inside 'the Fountain': Death and Rebirth (2007), The Fountain (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Cliff Curtis
- Hugh JackmanShared titles: Inside 'the Fountain': Death and Rebirth (2007), The Fountain (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Hugh Jackman
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Matthew LibatiqueShared titles: Caught Stealing (2025), The Whale (2022), Mother! (2017), Noah (2014), Black Swan (2010), Inside 'the Fountain': Death and Rebirth (2007), The Fountain (2006)See all 7 shared titles with Matthew Libatique
- Andrew WeisblumShared titles: Caught Stealing (2025), The Whale (2022), Mother! (2017), Noah (2014), Black Swan (2010)See all 5 shared titles with Andrew Weisblum
- Clint MansellShared titles: Noah (2014), Black Swan (2010), The Fountain (2006)See all 3 shared titles with Clint Mansell
- Felix BlackShared titles: Pole to Pole with Will Smith (2026), Welcome to Earth (2021)See all 2 shared titles with Felix Black
Producers
- Scott FranklinShared titles: The Good Nurse (2022), The Whale (2022), One Strange Rock (2018), Aftermath (2017), Mother! (2017), Zipper (2015), Noah (2014), Black Swan (2010)See all 8 shared titles with Scott Franklin
- Brendan NaylorShared titles: Lowland Kids (2025), Little Death (2024), Viktor (2024), The Territory (2022), The Whale (2022), Some Kind of Heaven (2020)See all 6 shared titles with Brendan Naylor
- Dylan GoldenShared titles: Caught Stealing (2025), Little Death (2024), Viktor (2024), The Territory (2022), The Whale (2022), Mother! (2017)See all 6 shared titles with Dylan Golden
- Jane RootShared titles: Pole to Pole with Will Smith (2026), Chris Hemsworth: A Road Trip to Remember (2025), Limitless (2022), Welcome to Earth (2021), One Strange Rock (2018)See all 5 shared titles with Jane Root
Mixed roles
- Lance OppenheimShared titles: The Whale (2022), Some Kind of Heaven (2020)See all 2 shared titles with Lance Oppenheim
