TOP 25 DIRECTORS OF THE FURTURE
by ben-katzenberg | created - 14 Sep 2014 | updated - 14 Sep 2014 | Public
1. Lena Dunham
Writer | Tiny Furniture
New Yorker Lena Dunham is the daughter of a painter, Carroll Dunham and Laurie Simmons, a designer and photographer. Dunham was educated at Oberlin College, Ohio, graduating with a creative writing degree. It was while at Oberlin that she began writing shorts and feature films. In 2009, Dunham ...
2. James Watkins
Director | Eden Lake
James Watkins was born in 1978 in the UK. He is a director and writer, known for Eden Lake (2008), Bastille Day (2016) and McMafia (2018).
3. Bryan Bertino
Writer | The Strangers
Bryan Bertino was born on October 17, 1977 in Crowley, Texas, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for The Strangers (2008), The Blackcoat's Daughter (2015) and The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018).
4. Karyn Kusama
Director | The Invitation
Karyn Kusama was born on March 21, 1968 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She is a director and producer, known for The Invitation (2015), Destroyer (2018) and Girlfight (2000). She has been married to Phil Hay since October 2006. They have one child.
5. Andy Muschietti
Director | Mama
Andy Muschietti was born on August 26, 1973 in Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina. He is a producer and director, known for Mama (2013), It (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019).
6. J.A. Bayona
Director | La sociedad de la nieve
Juan Antonio García Bayona is a Spanish film director. He directed the 2007 horror film The Orphanage, the 2012 drama film The Impossible, and the 2016 fantasy drama film A Monster Calls. Bayona's latest film is the 2018 science fiction adventure film Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, the fifth ...
7. Duncan Jones
Director | Moon
Duncan Jones was born on May 30, 1971 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK. He is a director and writer, known for Moon (2009), Source Code (2011) and Mute (2018). He has been married to Rodene Ronquillo since November 6, 2012. They have two children.
8. Rian Johnson
Producer | Knives Out
Rian Johnson was born in Maryland and at a young age his family moved to San Clemente, California, where he was raised. After graduating from high school, he went on to attend the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. His first feature film, Brick (2005), was released in 2005 ...
9. Misko Massanyi
Writer | Brunnen
Misko Massanyi is known for The Well, Iridescence and Grand Electric.
10. Gareth Edwards
Visual_effects | Monsters
Gareth James Edwards was born on June 1, 1975 in the English town of Nuneaton, Warwickshire. Growing up, he admired movies such as the 1977 classic "Star Wars", and went on to pursue a film career. He even cites George Lucas and Steven Spielberg as his biggest influences. Edwards studied BA (Hons) ...
11. Jonathan Levine
Director | 50/50
Jonathan Levine was born on June 18, 1976. He is a producer and director, known for 50/50 (2011), The Wackness (2008) and Warm Bodies (2013).
12. Josh Trank
Writer | Fantastic Four
Joshua Trank is an American filmmaker and screenwriter. He got his big break by directing the found footage superhero film Chronicle for 20th Century Fox in 2012. He was later hired to direct Fant4stic, an ill-fated reboot to the Tim Story Fantastic Four film series of the 2000s starring Miles ...
13. Benh Zeitlin
Director | Beasts of the Southern Wild
Born in New York City and raised in Sunnyside, Queens and then Westchester County, Benh Zeitlin began his career as a film-maker at the tender age of 6 years when he and a friend made a Batman movie. He continued making films as a child before attending Wesleyan University, where he majored in film...
14. Rodrigo Cortés
Director | Buried
Rodrigo Cortés was born in 1973 in Pazos Hermos, Ourense, Galicia, Spain. He is a director and editor, known for Buried (2010), Love Gets a Room (2021) and Red Lights (2012).
15. Rupert Sanders
Director | Snow White and the Huntsman
Rupert Sanders is a British filmmaker from Westminster, London who is known for directing Snow White and the Huntsman and the live-action film based on Ghost in the Shell. He also directed The Life, an advertising campaign for Halo 3: ODST and the pilot of the Apple TV science fiction show ...
16. Jaume Collet-Serra
Producer | The Shallows
Jaume Collet-Serra was born on March 23, 1974 in Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. At the age of 18, he moved to Los Angeles and attended Columbia College Hollywood, working as an editor on the side. Upon graduation, he began shooting music videos and caught the eye of several production ...
17. Colin Trevorrow
Producer | Safety Not Guaranteed
Born in San Francisco and raised in Oakland, Colin Trevorrow started making short films when he was 12 years old. He studied film and dramatic writing at New York University. After graduation, he wrote and directed "Home Base" a digital short that became one of the early viral successes on the ...
18. Tom Harper
Director | The Aeronauts
Tom Harper is a BAFTA nominated British film and television director, writer and producer. He was born and brought up in London.
Harper began his career making short films. He wrote and directed his break out short film, Cubs, in 2006 about urban fox hunting. He then moved on to direct a range of ...
19. Martin McDonagh
Writer | In Bruges
Martin McDonagh was born on March 26, 1970 in Camberwell, London, England, UK. He is a writer and director, known for In Bruges (2008), Seven Psychopaths (2012) and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017).
20. Tommy Wirkola
Writer | Død snø 2
Tommy Wirkola was born on December 6, 1979 in Alta, Norway. He is a writer and director, known for Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead (2014), What Happened to Monday (2017) and Dead Snow (2009).
21. John Pogue
Writer | The Skulls
A native of Washington D.C., John Pogue became interested in movies when he was in high school. While attending Yale University, he helped create a student production company, and by his senior year he decided to concentrate his talents on screenwriting.
After moving to Los Angeles in 1987, Pogue ...
22. Roberto Orci
Producer | Star Trek
Roberto Orci was born on July 20, 1973 in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico. He is a producer and writer, known for Star Trek (2009), Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) and Fringe (2008). He has been married to Adele Heather Taylor since June 6, 2020. He was previously married to ...
23. Mike Flanagan
Writer | The Fall of the House of Usher
Mike Flanagan is a prolific writer, director, and editor. He entered into an exclusive overall deal with Amazon Studios in 2023 for television projects (after a similar exclusive deal with Netflix from 2018-2022), and has made feature films for Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Netflix and more. ...
24. André Øvredal
Director | Trolljegeren
André Øvredal was born on May 6, 1973. He is a director and writer, known for Troll Hunter (2010), The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016) and Tunnelen (2016).
25. Thor Freudenthal
Director | Motel
Thor Freudenthal was born on October 20, 1972 in West Berlin, West Germany. He is a director and producer, known for Motel (2005), Starman (2016) and Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010).
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