Roland Emmerich (born November 10, 1955) is a German film director, screenwriter, and producer.

Emmerich began his career in his native Germany. As a youth he pursued painting and sculpting. While enrolled in the director's program at film school in Munich, his student film, "The Ark Principle", went on to open the 1984 Berlin Film Festival. The feature became a huge success and was sold to more than 20 countries.