directors

1. Anton Corbijn

Director | Control

Anton Corbijn was born on May 20, 1955 in Strijen, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands. He is a director and actor, known for Control (2007), A Most Wanted Man (2014) and The American (2010).

"The American" (2009) with George Clooney - NL

Aki Kaurismäki did a wide variety of jobs including postman, dish-washer and film critic, before forming a production and distribution company, Villealfa (in homage to Jean-Luc Godard's Alphaville (1965)) with his older brother Mika Kaurismäki, also a film-maker. Both Aki and Mika are prolific ...

Lights in th Dusk ('06), Man without Past - FI

3. Luis Buñuel

Writer | Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie

The father of cinematic Surrealism and one of the most original directors in the history of the film medium, Luis Buñuel was given a strict Jesuit education (which sowed the seeds of his obsession with both religion and subversive behavior), and subsequently moved to Madrid to study at the ...

"Tristana" ('70), "Belle de Jour" ('67), "[link=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055601/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 ]Viridiana[/link]" ('61) - ES

4. Lars von Trier

Writer | Dancer in the Dark

Probably the most ambitious and visually distinctive filmmaker to emerge from Denmark since Carl Theodor Dreyer over 60 years earlier, Lars von Trier studied film at the Danish Film School and attracted international attention with his very first feature, The Element of Crime (1984). A highly ...

"Dancer in the Dark", "Breaking the Waves" ('96) - DK

5. Jaco Van Dormael

Director | Le tout nouveau testament

Jaco Van Dormael was born on February 9, 1957 in Ixelles, Brabant, Belgium. He is a director and writer, known for The Brand New Testament (2015), Mr. Nobody (2009) and Toto the Hero (1991).

Mr Nobody ('09) - Belgium

6. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Director | Das Leben der Anderen

As the son of a Lufthansa manager, Henckel von Donnersmarck spent his childhood and school years in New York, Berlin, Frankfurt am Main and Brussels, where he passed his international high school diploma in 1991. He then spent two years studying in Leningrad (Saint Petersburg) with the following ...

The Tourist, The Lives of Others ('06) - DE

7. David Lynch

Writer | Twin Peaks

Born in precisely the kind of small-town American setting so familiar from his films, David Lynch spent his childhood being shunted from one state to another as his research scientist father kept getting relocated. He attended various art schools, married Peggy Lynch and then fathered future ...

Blue Velvet ('86), Inland Empire ('06), Lost Highway '97, Mulholland Dr ('01) - US

8. Niels Arden Oplev

Director | Män som hatar kvinnor

Niels Arden Oplev was born on March 26, 1961 in Denmark. He is a director and producer, known for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009), Drømmen (2006) and Held for Ransom (2019).

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ('06) - DK

9. Krzysztof Kieslowski

Writer | Trois couleurs: Bleu

Krzysztof Kieslowski graduated from Lódz Film School in 1969, and became a documentary, TV and feature film director and scriptwriter. Before making his first film for TV, Przejscie podziemne (1974) (The Underground Passage), he made a number of short documentaries. His next TV title, Personnel (...

"Blue", "Red", "The Double life of Veronica" - Poland, 1941 - '96 (54)

10. Stanley Kubrick

Director | 2001: A Space Odyssey

Stanley Kubrick was born in Manhattan, New York City, to Sadie Gertrude (Perveler) and Jacob Leonard Kubrick, a physician. His family were Jewish immigrants (from Austria, Romania, and Russia). Stanley was considered intelligent, despite poor grades at school. Hoping that a change of scenery would ...

"Lolita" 1962, "The Shining" 1980, "Space Odyssey", "Clockwork Orange", (A Review) "Eyes Wide Shut 1999, 1928 - 1999 New York, US

11. Emir Kusturica

Director | Underground

A Serbian film director. Born in 1954 in Sarajevo. Graduated in film directing at the prestigious Academy of Performing Arts (FAMU) in Prague in 1978. During his studies, he was awarded several times for his short movies including Guernica (1978), which took first prize at the Student's Film ...

Known for "Arizona Dream" ('02), "Underground" ('02) - Sarajevo BA

12. Olivier Assayas

Writer | Personal Shopper

Olivier Assayas is a French film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is best know for his films Demonlover (2002), Something in the Air (2012), Clouds of Sils Maria (2014) and Personal Shopper (2016).

Assayas is the son of French director/screenwriter Raymond Assayas, alias Jacques Rémy.

His ...

Paris je t' aime 2006 FR

13. Wim Wenders

Director | Der Himmel über Berlin

Wim Wenders is an Oscar-nominated German filmmaker who was born Ernst Wilhelm Wenders on August 14, 1945 in Düsseldorf, which then was located in the British Occupation Zone of what became the Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Federal Republic of Germany, known colloquially as West Germany until ...

All w'll be fine ('15), Land of Plenty ('04), Paris, Texas ('84) - DE

14. Pedro Almodóvar

Writer | Hable con ella

The most internationally acclaimed Spanish filmmaker since Luis Buñuel was born in a small town (Calzada de Calatrava) in the impoverished Spanish region of La Mancha. He arrived in Madrid in 1968, and survived by selling used items in the flea-market called El Rastro. Almodóvar couldn't study ...

Volver ('06), Los abrazos rotos ('10) - ES

15. Michael Winterbottom

Director | A Mighty Heart

Michael took an English degree at Oxford then trained in film at Bristol and London breaking into television via the cutting room at Thames Television. He made his directorial debut with two documentaries on Ingmar Bergman His production of Love Lies Bleeding won the Silver Award at the 1993 New ...

The Trip ('11), Genoa ('08) - UK

16. Joel Coen

Producer | The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Joel Daniel Coen is an American filmmaker who regularly collaborates with his younger brother Ethan. They made Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, True Grit, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Burn After Reading, A Serious Man, Inside Llewyn Davis, Hail Caesar and other projects. Joel ...

US

17. Ethan Coen

Producer | The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

The younger brother of Joel, Ethan Coen is an Academy Award and Golden Globe winning writer, producer and director coming from small independent films to big profile Hollywood films. He was born on September 21, 1957 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In some films of the brothers- Ethan & Joel wrote, Joel...

US

18. Michael Haneke

Writer | Caché

A true master of his craft, Michael Haneke is one of the greatest film artists working today and one who challenges his viewers each year and work goes by, with films that reflect real portions of life in realistic, disturbing and unforgettable ways. One of the most genuine filmmakers of the world ...

"Amour" (2012), "The White Ribbon" (2009), "Caché" 2005, "La Pianiste" 2001 - DE

19. Bennett Miller

Director | Foxcatcher

Bennett Miller is an American film director, best known for Capote (2005), Moneyball (2011), and Foxcatcher (2014). He began his film career directing the 1998 documentary The Cruise.

In 2006 Miller directed the Bob Dylan music video "When the Deal Goes Down" starring Scarlett Johansson.

Miller has ...

Money Ball 2011, Truman Capote 2005 US

20. Brian De Palma

Director | Body Double

Brian De Palma is one of the well-known directors who spear-headed the new movement in Hollywood during the 1970s. He is known for his many films that go from violent pictures, to Hitchcock-like thrillers. Born on September 11, 1940, De Palma was born in Newark, New Jersey in an Italian-American ...

Carlito's Way with Al Pacino 1993 The Black Dhalia 2006 US

21. Quentin Tarantino

Writer | Reservoir Dogs

Quentin Jerome Tarantino was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. His father, Tony Tarantino, is an Italian-American actor and musician from New York, and his mother, Connie (McHugh), is a nurse from Tennessee. Quentin moved with his mother to Torrance, California, when he was four years old.

In January of...

Inglourious Basterds Tennessee, US

22. Abdellatif Kechiche

Writer | La vie d'Adèle

Abdellatif Kechiche was born on December 7, 1960 in Tunis, Tunisia. He is a writer and director, known for Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2013), Games of Love and Chance (2003) and Poetical Refugee (2000).

TN

23. Milos Forman

Director | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Milos Forman was born Jan Tomas Forman in Caslav, Czechoslovakia, to Anna (Svabova), who ran a summer hotel, and Rudolf Forman, a professor. During World War II, his parents were taken away by the Nazis, after being accused of participating in the underground resistance. His father died in ...

Amadeus 1984 - CZ

24. David Fincher

Director | Se7en

David Fincher was born in 1962 in Denver, Colorado, and was raised in Marin County, California. When he was 18 years old he went to work for John Korty at Korty Films in Mill Valley. He subsequently worked at ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) from 1981-1983. Fincher left ILM to direct TV commercials...

"Seven" (98), Panic Room (08)

25. Roman Polanski

Director | Chinatown

Roman Polanski is a Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few truly international filmmakers. Roman Polanski was born in Paris in 1933.

His parents returned to Poland from France in 1936, three years ...

"Repulse", "Rosemary's baby", "Chinatown" - a perfect film-noir, "The Pianist" 2002 - a perfect anti-nazi film Paris, FR

26. Bigas Luna

Writer | Jamón Jamón

Bigas Luna was born on March 19, 1946 in Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. He was a writer and director, known for Jamón, Jamón (1992), Caniche (1979) and Anguish (1987). He was married to Celia Orós. He died on April 6, 2013 in La Riera de Gaià, Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain.

Jamon Jamon (1992) - (1946 - 2013), (67) ES Barcelona (Catalonia)

27. Pier Paolo Pasolini

Writer | Il Decameron

Pier Paolo Pasolini achieved fame and notoriety long before he entered the film industry. A published poet at 19, he had already written numerous novels and essays before his first screenplay in 1954. His first film Accattone (1961) was based on his own novel and its violent depiction of the life ...

"Salo" (120 days in Sodoma) ('75) - Watch Video, Teorema ('68), Mamma Roma ('62), Accatone - In Rome's pour suburbs, an under-world man (a beggar), looses ground under his feet, after his girl-friend is prisoned ('61) - IT

28. Peter Greenaway

Director | The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover

Peter Greenaway trained as a painter and began working as a film editor for the Central Office of Information in 1965. Shortly afterwards he started to make his own films. He has produced a wealth of short and feature-length films, but also paintings, novels and other books. He has held several ...

The belly of an Architect (87) - UK (Wales)

29. Nikita Mikhalkov

Actor | 12

Nikita Mikhalkov is the son of the famous communist poet Sergey Mikhalkov, who wrote the lyrics of the Soviet national anthem and had strong connections to the Communist Party. Nikita Mikhalkov's mother, Natalya Petrovna Konchalovskaya, was also a poet and daughter of famous painter Pyotr Petrovich...

"Burnt by the Sun" 1994 RU

30. Tony Gatlif

Director | Vengo

Tony Gatlif was born on September 10, 1948 in Algiers, Alger, France [now Algeria]. He is a director and writer, known for Vengo (2000), Freedom (2009) and The Crazy Stranger (1997).

"Korkoro" (2009) The temporary stay of gypsies (Roma), in France during WWII, their pursuit from both Germans and their French collaborators. - DZ (has roma roots), living in FR

31. Jeff Nichols

Writer | Take Shelter

Jeff Nichols was born on December 7, 1978 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He is a writer and director, known for Take Shelter (2011), Mud (2012) and Midnight Special (2016).

"Take Shelter" (2012) US (Indiana)

32. Ang Lee

Director | Wo hu cang long

Born in 1954 in Pingtung, Taiwan, Ang Lee has become one of today's greatest contemporary filmmakers. Ang graduated from the National Taiwan College of Arts in 1975 and then came to the U.S. to receive a B.F.A. Degree in Theatre/Theater Direction at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, ...

Lust (Se jie) - A love and intrigue affair between a beautiful Chinese girl and a powerful political man during WWII in Japan occupated Shanghai (2007), Brokeback Mountain 2005, Tiger & Dragon 2000 - Pingtung, TW

33. Carlos Saura

Writer | Carmen

Spanish director, writer, producer (2 films) and actor (2 films). His interest in cinema started when he was very young. His mother, who was a pianist, instilled in him the liking for music, and his brother, Antonio, who was a painter, the passion for art. When he was an teenager he started to ...

Cria Cuervas (Θρέψε Κοράκια) 1976 ES

34. Henri-Georges Clouzot

Writer | Le salaire de la peur

Beginning his film career as a screenwriter, Henri-Georges Clouzot switched over to directing and in 1943 had the distinction of having his film The Raven (1943) banned by both the German forces occupying France and the Free French forces fighting them, but for different reasons. He shot to ...

La Verité 1960 (A pretty girl kills without apparent reason her friend, young, ambitious music conductor) FR

35. Axel Petersén

Director | Avalon

Axel Petersén was born on October 31, 1979 in Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden. He is a director and writer, known for Avalon (2011), Shame on Dry Land (2023) and The Real Estate (2018).

"Avalon" ('11) - SE

36. Steve McQueen

Director | 12 Years a Slave

Steve McQueen was born on October 9, 1969 in London, England, UK. He is a director and producer, known for 12 Years a Slave (2013), Shame (2011) and Hunger (2008). He is married to Bianca Stigter. They have two children.

Shame 2011 - (A Review), 12 Years a Slave 2013 - (Anatomy of a Scene) - London, UK

37. Lawrence Kasdan

Writer | The Big Chill

Lawrence Kasdan is an American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. He directed Body Heat, Grand Canyon, The Big Chill, Silverado and Dreamcatcher. He wrote Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Bodyguard, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens and Solo: A Star Wars Story. He is ...

The Accidental Tourist 1988, Body Heat 1981 Miami, Florida US

38. David Koepp

Writer | Jurassic Park

David Koepp is an American film director and screenwriter. He is known for writing Jurassic Park directed by Steven Spielberg, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Spider-Man directed by Sam Raimi and Panic Room directed by David ...

Secret Window - US

39. David Cronenberg

Actor | The Fly

David Cronenberg, also known as the King of Venereal Horror or the Baron of Blood, was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1943. His father, Milton Cronenberg, was a journalist and editor, and his mother, Esther (Sumberg), was a piano player. After showing an inclination for literature at an early...

Dead Ringers - Toronto CA

40. Jim Jarmusch

Director | Paterson

Moved to New York City at the age of seventeen from Akron, Ohio. Graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in English, class of '75. Without any prior film experience, he was accepted into the Tisch School of the Arts, New York.

Only Lovers Left Alive 2014 US

41. Darren Aronofsky

Writer | Pi

Darren Aronofsky was born February 12, 1969, in Brooklyn, New York. Growing up, Darren was always artistic: he loved classic movies and, as a teenager, he even spent time doing graffiti art. After high school, Darren went to Harvard University to study film (both live-action and animation). He won ...

Dark Swan 2010, The Wrestler 2008, The Fountain 2006, Requiem for a Dream - Four young people's life in Coney island (N.Y.), is destroying by drugs utopia, as geting stronger (2000) - US

42. John Cassavetes

Actor | Rosemary's Baby

John Cassavetes was a Greek-American actor, film director, and screenwriter. He is considered a pioneer of American independent film, as he often financed his own films.

Cassavetes was born in New York City in 1929 to Nicholas John Cassavetes (1893-1979) and his wife, Katherine Demetre (1906-1983). ...

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie 1976 starring Ben Gazzara, Mikey & Nicky 1976 (direction Elaine May, starring John Cassavetes, Peter Falk) US

43. Robert Altman

Director | Gosford Park

Robert Altman was born on February 20th, 1925 in Kansas City, Missouri, to B.C. (an insurance salesman) and Helen Altman. He entered St. Peters Catholic school at the age six, and spent a short time at a Catholic high school. From there, he went to Rockhurst High School. It was then that he started...

The Player 1992 US

44. Atom Egoyan

Director | The Sweet Hereafter

Born in Egypt to Armenian parents, he was raised in Western Canada. Both his parents were painters, and he planned to be a playwright, but after making a short film, he became hooked on telling stories visually. Returned to ethnic "homeland" when he filmed Calendar (1993) in Armenia. Won attention ...

Where the Truth Lies 2005 CA

45. Mark Jarrett

Location_management | 1883

Mark Jarrett is known for 1883 (2021), The Tree of Life (2011) and Yellowstone (2018).

The Taiwan Oyster 2012

46. Carl Thibault

Actor | The Garage

Carl Thibault is an award winning writer/director/producer who began his film career as an actor, first appearing as the "Wolfman" in the cult hit "The Monster Squad." He went on to act in such features as "Woman Undone" (with Mary McDonnell and Benjamin Bratt), "Perfect Assassins," (with Andrew ...

The Garage 2006