A great director will make themselves inevitable.
Breaking out of the pack as a director in the 21st century is no easy task. The ’90s are widely recognized as both the blockbuster era of cinema and the independent cinema boom. While major studios had been perfecting the art of the blockbuster, an unprecedented number of independent filmmakers were seizing the day and breaking through. That 90s peak cinema opened the floodgates to a wealth of content in 2000 and beyond.
Before digital media was the norm, many entertainment centers in American living rooms were stacked with similar movie collections. Directors like Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Nora Ephron, and Tim Burton were common staples. With the addition of streaming companies, cinematic media has expanded exponentially. Thanks to modern phones, budding directors can create right from their homes. The explosion of options has become insurmountable for many. All these choices make it even more impressive when a director can rise above the noise and prove that they, too, belong in that collection. This is achieved by having a stylized vision coupled with a tight, smartly written original script. As James Gunn said, “Storytelling is King! That’s all that matters to us.”
10 Ava DuVernay
‘Selma’ (2014)
Ava DuVernay has broken a lot of records. She is only the second Black woman to be invited to both the directors’ and writers’ branches of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the first to win the best director prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and the first to be nominated for a Golden Globe. That Golden Globe nomination was for Selma, a film following Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) on his march to Montgomery.
DuVernay directs her movies with a delicate yet profound gravitas. Starting as a rapper, she found herself compelled to tell the story This Is The Life about the “Good Life” rappers who chose to offer an alternative to gangster rap. The importance of the representation she brings to the table cannot be overestimated. She recently struggled at the box office with A Wrinkle in Time and Origin, but given her experience and style, she’s not to be counted out. DuVernay has a strong track record with TV shows, so she can always pivot to that medium to stay productive while she plots her next feature film.
Selma
- Release Date
- December 25, 2014
- Director
- Ava DuVernay
- Cast
- David Oyelowo , Cuba Gooding Jr. , Tim Roth , Giovanni Ribisi , Carmen Ejogo , Alessandro Nivola
- Runtime
- 127
9 Yorgos Lanthimos
‘The Lobster’ (2015)
Darkly hilarious and surprisingly romantic, The Lobster showed us that Yorgos Lanthimos has an incredibly unique perspective on the world. He had no fear of ending the movie with something unexpected. In his films, there is a consistent theme of a society that is too peculiar to be understood, with vibrant characters that jump off the screen and more than a dash of darkness.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer held you captivated and terrified for Steven Murphy’s (Colin Farrell) family. He then pivoted into a period dramedy with The Favourite, this time combining the talents of Weisz with Emma Stone and Olivia Colman. As distinct as his style is, he has impressive versatility in his visions. In Poor Things, Bella Baxter (Stone) brought us a character free from society’s expectations. Recognizing the absurdity of certain societal constructs, she has the ability to be indifferent in the face of judgment. Living vicariously through her is cathartic.
The Lobster (2015)
- Release Date
- October 15, 2015
- Director
- Yorgos Lanthimos
- Cast
- Colin Farrell , Olivia Colman , Rachel Weisz , Jessica Barden
- Runtime
- 119 minutes
8 Gina Prince-Bythewood
‘The Secret Life of Bees’ (2008)
Starring a young Dakota Fanning alongside Alicia Keys and Jennifer Hudson, The Secret Life of Bees is a portrait of women finding solace and support in each other. Prince-Bythewood handles the film with honesty and grace, never shying away from raw emotion. Fanning’s Lily is a child desperate to protect her found family from the jinx she believes she carries. Prince-Bythewood will soon tell the story of another youth in Children of Blood and Bone.
However, don’t put her in a box style-wise, as she has also shown a talent for helming action flicks. She had Charlize Theron lead a team of super-powered mercenaries in The Old Guard, which earned itself a sequel on Netflix. The Woman King shone a spotlight on Viola Davis and Lyshana Lynch as it told the story of the infamous Agojie warriors. In both features, she showed skill in conducting fights and action sequences. Keep a close watch on the evolution of this director.
The Secret Life of Bees
- Release Date
- September 17, 2008
- Director
- Gina Prince-Bythewood
- Cast
- Dakota Fanning , Queen Latifah , Jennifer Hudson , Alicia Keys , Sophie Okonedo , Paul Bettany
- Runtime
- 110
7 Bong Joon-ho
‘The Host’ (2006)
Bong Joon-ho‘s breakout film, The Host, held an omen for audiences with its foreshadowing of quarantine, disease, and apathy. Joon-ho has a knack for reflecting social themes in the plights of his characters. By adding a touch of otherworldly elements, like a post-apocalyptic train traveling around a snowball earth in Snowpiercer or a giant-eared hippo-looking beast named Okja, the context becomes organic.
Classicism is the most common thread, with his two biggest films to date, Snowpiercer, and Parasite, tackling the concept head-on. Both are rather on-the-nose allegories, with the citizens literally separated by class, either on different departments of a train or levels of a house. But Joon-ho keeps the audience too entertained to mind a little spoon-feeding. He now has three Academy Awards as a testament to his talents, with Parasite being the first international film to win Best Picture. Joon-ho has recently been working on Mickey 17 with Robert Pattinson, a space piece based on a sci-fi novel by Ashton Edward.
The Host (2006)
- Release Date
- July 27, 2006
- Director
- Bong Joon-ho
- Cast
- Song Kang-ho , Byun Hee-bong , Park Hae-il , Bae Doona , Go Ah-sung
- Runtime
- 119 Minutes
6 Taika Waititi
‘Hunt for the Wilderpeople’ (2016)
Taika Waititi‘s breakout film, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, is also his most tame. It holds wit and charm and tugs at the heartstrings by highlighting the connection between a child and his foster dad. The fact that it’s sandwiched between a raunchy vampiric sitcom, What We Do in the Shadows, and an MCU showstopper, Thor: Ragnarok, seems a bit tongue-in-cheek. It clearly demonstrates his directorial range. Waititi’s style exudes distinctive eccentric humor, but he wields it across various genres, shifting as needed for tone.
Jojo Rabbit was a film about the horrors of bigotry that faced death head-on but still held joy. Thor: Love and Thunder was the goofiest MCU movie yet, complete with two goats repeatedly screaming their heads off. Next up, Waititi’s working on a sci-fi film about a robot girl (Jenna Ortega) trying to save a human family. His movies are imaginative experiments that lend themselves to dissection and discussion.
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
- Release Date
- July 1, 2016
- Director
- Taika Waititi
- Cast
- Sam Neill , Julian Dennison , Rachel House
- Runtime
- 1 hr 41 min
5 Jordan Peele
‘Get Out’ (2017)
Jordan Peele released Get Out in 2017 to a tide of rave reviews and accolades. Get Out is a film taut with anxiety and injustice. Peele weaves a mystery in and around the ideas of racial inequity, classism, and our battle with mortality. Similar to episodes of The Twilight Zone, which Peele is a fan of and produced a revival of in 2019, it walks a tightrope of intrigue and philosophy.
Peele has continued to broaden that vision in his other thrillers, Us and Nope. A pattern he’ll repeat for his upcoming work with Hideo Kojima, who created the 2019 video game Death Stranding. The game’s premise is both dystopian and abstract by nature, and Kojima is likely to have chosen well by picking Peele to partner with. The pair are working on a “new form of media” they are calling OD that promises to be the horror gaming experience to top them all.
Get Out
- Release Date
- February 24, 2017
- Director
- Jordan Peele
- Cast
- Daniel Kaluuya , Allison Williams , Catherine Keener , Bradley Whitford , Caleb Landry Jones , Marcus Henderson
- Runtime
- 103 minutes
4 James Gunn
‘Super’ (2010)
While Slither was his directorial debut, James Gunn found a much wider audience with Super, starring Rainn Wilson and Elliot Page. The decision to shift from horror to superheroes paved the way for his most renowned work, Guardians of the Galaxy. Now considered the best and most successful trilogy in the MCU, Gunn took a team with no established fanbase and made them absolutely beloved by fans.
Gunn’s beginnings may have been rocky, but certain talents were always evident. His proficiency in writing black comedy, fantastic tone-setting soundtracks, and eye for a well-composed shot has earned him a seat as the co-CEO of DC Studios. This is a logical move by the powers that be, given the reception of his first two DC projects. The Suicide Squad currently holds a solid 90% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, while Peacemaker holds steady at 94%. DC fans can look forward to seeing his next feature on July 11, 2025, with Superman: Legacy.
Super
- Release Date
- April 16, 2010
- Director
- James Gunn
- Cast
- Rainn Wilson , elliot page , Liv Tyler , Kevin Bacon , Michael Rooker , Andre Royo
- Runtime
- 96 minutes
3 Greta Gerwig
‘Lady Bird’ (2017)
Standing out with a familiar trope, like a coming-of-age story, can be challenging. Still, Greta Gerwig‘s masterful use of it immediately seized everyone’s attention, earning numerous nominations and wins with Lady Bird. Subsequently, Little Women and Barbie added dozens more to her collection. From choosing to keep Saoirse Ronan‘s acne visible in Lady Bird to incorporating Amy’s (Florence Pugh) speech in Little Women on the economic tactics of marriage, Gerwig has demonstrated adeptness with context and a sharp eye for visual details.
Gerwig infuses poetry into each of her films by fearlessly portraying humanity’s colorful and chaotic nature. Barbie, a film that dissected gender constructs in a massively entertaining way, made over a billion dollars at the box office. A feat many of the best directors (men or women) have yet to accomplish, and the first film directed solely by a woman to do so. She’s now set to direct two films for Netflix based on The Chronicles of Narnia, a plan she had in place before making Barbie.
Lady Bird
- Release Date
- September 8, 2017
- Director
- Greta Gerwig
- Cast
- Saoirse Ronan , Laurie Metcalf , Tracy Letts , Lucas Hedges , Timothee Chalamet , Elizabeth ‘Beanie’ Feldstein
- Runtime
- 93
2 Christopher Nolan
‘Memento’ (2000)
Christopher Nolan impressed audiences with Memento, starring Guy Pearce. In a case study of a character with malfunctioning memory, Nolan chose to tell the story in two timelines, one moving forward and one moving backward. His playfulness with time is a theme masterfully interwoven through most of his work. In Inception, Leonardo DiCaprio‘s character Cobb must navigate different layers of time while in the dream world. In Interstellar, Matthew McConaughey‘s Cooper has to enter a black hole in one of the most iconic space scenes ever.
While the science may not have been 100% accurate—this is theoretical physics after all—Nolan did spur Dr. Kip Thorne, a leading astrophysicist, to make real scientific breakthroughs in the pursuit of accuracy in the physics of Interstellar. That meticulous ambition for detail and nuance stands out in each of Nolan’s films, finally earning him the Academy Award for Best Director with Oppenheimer. Even if he retires today, his legacy in filmmaking is secured.
Memento
- Release Date
- May 25, 2001
- Director
- Christopher Nolan
- Cast
- Guy Pearce , Carrie-Anne Moss , Joe Pantoliano
- Runtime
- 113 minutes
1 Denis Villeneuve
‘Incendies’ (2010)
Denis Villeneuve broke out strong with Incendies. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, Incendies follows a set of twins in the Middle East trying to fulfill their mother’s final wish. Not as widely known is Incendies’ predecessor, Polytechnique. Centered around a shooting in Montreal, all in black and white, and with minimal dialogue, Polytechnique is a nail-biter from start to finish.
Villeneuve established a style and pace all his own right from the start. Prisoners, Sicario, and Arrival all have a quiet tension to them that pulls you in and keeps you engaged straight to the end. He delivered a sequel to an iconic sci-fi epic with Bladerunner 2049. Now, he’s delivered Dune Part 2, portraying the themes and messaging of Frank Herbert’s novel perhaps better than the author himself could accomplish. Fans of Denis and Dune can rejoice now that he’s confirmed Dune: Messiah is on its way.
Incendies (2010)
- Release Date
- January 12, 2011
- Director
- Denis Villeneuve
- Cast
- Lubna Azabal , Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin , Maxim Gaudette , Rémy Girard , Abdelghafour Elaaziz , Allen Altman
- Runtime
- 131 Minutes
This article was originally published on collider.com