Top 100 African Directors

1. Togo Mizrahi

Togo Mizrahi was born on June 2, 1901 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was a director and writer, known for Doctor Epaminondas (1937), Nureddine wa bahhara el talata (1944) and El sa'a saba (1937). He died on June 5, 1986 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

2. Henry Cornelius

Producer | It Always Rains on Sunday

Born in South Africa, Henry Cornelius traveled to Europe, where he worked as an actor and director in stage productions in Germany, France and England. In 1933, with the Nazi takeover of Germany, Cornelius left Germany for France, and studied at the Sorbonne. He hooked up with director René Clair ...

3. Youssef Chahine

Director | Iskanderija... lih?

Youssef Chahine (born in Alexandria, Egypt, 1926) started studying in a friars' school, and then turned to Victoria College until the High School Certificate. After one year in the University of Alexandria, he moved to the U.S. and spent two years at the Pasadena Play House, taking courses on film ...

4. Henry Barakat

Director | El bab el maftuh

Henry Barakat was born on June 11, 1914 in Cairo, Egypt. He was a director and writer, known for El bab el maftuh (1963), Hasan wa Naimah (1959) and Leilet al quabd al Fatma (1984). He died on May 27, 1997 in Cairo, Egypt.

5. Fatin Abdulwahhab

Director | Al zouga talattashar

Fatin Abdulwahhab was born in 1913 in Dumyat, Egypt. He was a director and actor, known for The 13th Wife (1962), Tarid el firdaos (1965) and Son of Hamido (1957). He was married to Laila Mourad, Hagar Hamdi, Tahiyyah Karyuka and Munira Fathi. He died in 1972 in Beirut, Lebanon.

6. Kamal El-Shaikh

Director | El shaitane el saghir

Kamal El-Shaikh was born on February 2, 1919 in Egypt. He was a director and editor, known for El shaitane el saghir (1963), Chased by the Dogs (1962) and El-Lailah el-Akhirah (1963). He died on January 2, 2004 in Cairo, Egypt.

7. Atef Salem

Director | Khan el khalili

Atef Salem was born on July 23, 1927 in Sudan. He was a director and assistant director, known for Khan el khalili (1967), Nahna el talamiza (1959) and El hermane (1953). He was married to Nabila Ebeid. He died on July 30, 2002 in Cairo, Egypt.

8. Mohamed Abderrahman Tazi

Director | À la recherche du mari de ma femme

Mohamed Abderrahman Tazi is known for À la recherche du mari de ma femme (1995), Badis (1989) and Fatema, La Sultane Inoubliable (2022).

Director of Sitta Wa Thaniat'Ashar (1968)

9. Abdelmajid R'Chich

Cinematographer | Les trésors de l'Atlas

Abdelmajid R'Chich is known for Les trésors de l'Atlas (1997).

Director of Sitta Wa Thaniat'Ashar (1968)

10. Chadi Abdel Salam

Writer | Al-mummia

Chadi Abdel Salam was born on March 9, 1930 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was an art director and writer, known for The Mummy (1969), El Fetewa (1957) and Zaman el ajab (1952). He died on October 9, 1986 in Cairo, Egypt.

11. Mohamed Zinet

Actor | Tahia ya didou!

Mohamed Zinet was born on January 16, 1932 in Algiers, Algeria. He was an actor and director, known for Tahia ya didou! (1971), Madame Rosa (1977) and Le bougnoul (1975). He was married to Anne Papillault. He died on April 10, 1995 in Bondy, Seine-Saint-Denis, France.

12. Tewfik Saleh

Director | Al-makhdu'un

The director of seven shorts and seven full-length feature films, Saleh graduated in 1949 in English literature and was trained in cinema in Paris until 1951. Tewfik Saleh's oeuvre is the only one in Egyptian cinema which may be considered purely "Third Worldist". All his films deal with social ...

13. Djibril Diop Mambéty

Director | Touki bouki

Born the son of a Muslim cleric in Colobane, near Dakar, Senegal, Djibril Diop Mambéty received no formal training in filmmaking. He experimented with theater, but in 1968, he was asked to leave an avant-garde theater group. Shortly thereafter, he made his first film short called Badou Boy (1970), ...

14. Ola Balogun

Director | A Deusa Negra

Ola Balogun was born in 1945 in Aba, Nigeria. He is a director and writer, known for A Deusa Negra (1979), Ija Ominira (1979) and Cry Freedom! (1981).

15. Mostafa Derkaoui

Director | Ramâd al-zariba

Mostafa Derkaoui is known for Cinders of the Vineyard (1976), Titre provisoire (1984) and Les amours de Haj El Mokhtar Soldi (2001).

16. Ousmane Sembene

Writer | Moolaadé

The first film director from an African country to achieve international recognition, Ousmane Sembene remains the major figure in the rise of an independent post-colonial African cinema. Sembene's roots were not, as might be expected, in the educated élite. After working as a mechanic and ...

17. Jean-Pierre Dikongue-Pipa

Director | Muna Moto

Jean-Pierre Dikongue-Pipa was born in 1940 in Cameroon. He is a director and actor, known for The Child of Another (1975), Le prix de la liberté (1978) and Badiaga (1987).

18. Djouhra Abouda

Director | Ali au pays des merveilles

Djouhra Abouda is known for Ali au pays des merveilles (1975), La montagne de Baya (1997) and Cinéma 16 (1975).

19. Ali Badr Khan

Director | Chafika et Metwal

Ali Badr Khan was born in 1946 in Cairo, Egypt. He is a director and writer, known for Shafika and Metwali (1981), Al-raii wa al nesaa (1991) and Al-gough (1986). He was previously married to Suad Husni.

20. Safi Faye

Director | Mossane

Safi Faye was born on November 22, 1943 in Dakar, Senegal. She was a director and writer, known for Mossane (1996), Fad'jal (1979) and Letter from My Village (1976). She died on February 22, 2023 in Paris, France.

21. Salah Abouseif

Director | El Fetewa

Salah Abouseif was born on May 10, 1915 in Cairo, Egypt. He was a director and writer, known for El Fetewa (1957), The Monster (1954) and Mughamarat Antar wa Abla (1948). He died on June 23, 1996 in Cairo, Egypt.

22. Med Hondo

Director | Sarraounia

Med Hondo was born on May 4, 1935 in Aïn-Béni-Mathar, Morocco. He was an actor and director, known for Sarraounia (1986), Oh, Sun (1970) and Arabs and Niggers, Your Neighbours (1974). He died on March 2, 2019 in Paris, France.

23. Ahmed Bouanani

Editor | Assarab

Ahmed Bouanani was born on November 16, 1938 in Casablanca, Morocco. He was an editor and writer, known for Assarab (1979), Bye-Bye Souirty (1998) and Aoud rih (2001). He died on February 6, 2011 in Demnate, Morocco.

24. Farouk Beloufa

Director | Nahla

Farouk Beloufa was born on April 9, 1947 in Oued Fodda, Algeria. He was a director and writer, known for Nahla (1979), Return of the Prodigal Son (1978) and Le Silence Du Sphinx (2010). He died on April 9, 2018 in Paris, France.

25. Hussein Kamal

Director | Imberaturiyyat Mim

Hussein Kamal was born on August 17, 1934 in Egypt. He was a director and actor, known for Imberaturiyyat Mim (1972), Al-boustaguy (1968) and Away from Land (1976). He died on March 24, 2003 in Cairo, Egypt.

26. Jamie Uys

Director | The Gods Must Be Crazy

Jamie Uys was an internationally acclaimed film director who completed 24 films. Prizes for his work included the 1981 Grand Prix at the Festival International du Film de Comedy Vevey for 'The Gods Must be Crazy' and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association award for best documentary in 1974 for '...

27. Ibrahim Shaddad

Director | Insan

Ibrahim Shaddad is a writer, theater and film director. He studied film production in Germany at the Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf (at that time Academy for Film and Television of the GDR), worked in Germany, Egypt and predominantly in Sudan. Most of his theatrical and cinematic work has ...

28. Gaston Kaboré

Director | Zan Boko

Kabore started out as a history student at the Centre d'Etudes Superieures d'Histoire d'Ouagadougou and continued his studies in Paris where he received an MA. During his studies he became interested in how Africa was portrayed abroad, which then led him, in 1974, to study cinematography at the ...

29. Atef El-Tayeb

Director | Leila Sakhina

Atef El-Tayeb was born on December 26, 1947. He was a director and assistant director, known for Leila Sakhina (1995), Gallipoli (1981) and El-Zammar (1985). He died on June 23, 1995.

30. Ababacar Samb-Makharam

Director | Kodou

Ababacar Samb-Makharam was born on October 21, 1934 in Dakar, Senegal. He was a director and writer, known for Kodou (1971), Et la neige n'était plus... (1966) and Jom (1982). He died on October 7, 1987 in Dakar, Senegal.

31. Mohammad Fadel

Director | Hubb fi el-Zinzanah

Mohammad Fadel is known for Hubb fi el-Zinzanah (1983), El-Share'a El-Gedid (1997) and Nasser 56 (1996).

32. Ahmed Yehia

Director | Lailah Baka fiha el-Qamar

Ahmed Yehia was born in 1944 in Egypt. He was a director and actor, known for Lailah Baka fiha el-Qamar (1980), Hubb la Yara el-Shams (1980) and As Not to Fly the Smoke (1984). He died on February 7, 2022 in Cairo, Egypt.

33. Désiré Ecaré

Director | Visages de femmes

Désiré Ecaré was born on April 15, 1939 in Treicheville, Ivory Coast. She is a director and writer, known for Visages de femmes (1985), À nous deux, France! (1970) and Concerto pour un exil (1968).

34. Ali Abdel-Khalek

Director | Shader al-samak

Ali Abdel-Khalek was born on June 9, 1944 in Cairo , Egypt. He was a director and actor, known for Shader al-samak (1986), Idam Mayyet (1985) and Gary el-Wuhoosh (1987). He died on September 2, 2022 in Cairo, Egypt.

35. John Akomfrah

Director | The Nine Muses

Ghana born John Akomfrah is known for his experimental documentaries and video installations on the subjects of race, migration, and slavery in the encounters between European colonisers and African subjects.In the 1980s working in London, he helped found the Black Audio Film Collective and later ...

36. Cheick Oumar Sissoko

Director | Guimba: un tyran, une époque

Born in 1945 in San (in Ségou, the 4th region of Mali). Has studied filmmaking at the Ecole Nationale Louis Lumière (National School Louis Lumière), Paris. Worked as filmaker at the Centre National de Production Cinématographique (CNPC) in Mali, when he returned. Has created, with other young ...

37. Souleymane Cissé

Director | Yeelen

Souleymane Cissé was born on April 21, 1940 in Bamako, Mali. He is a director and writer, known for Yeelen (1987), Baara (1978) and The Wind (1982).

38. Thierno Faty Sow

Director | Camp de Thiaroye

Thierno Faty Sow was born on December 23, 1941 in Thiès, Senegal. He was a director and actor, known for Camp de Thiaroye (1988), L'option (1974) and L'oeil (1981). He died on November 6, 2009 in Dakar, Senegal.

39. Mohamed Khan

Director | Fatat el masnaa

The director Mohamed Khan was born on October 26th 1942. He completed his high school in Egypt, then traveled to England where he earned his diploma in 1962. He directed several movies in 8mm. He went back to Egypt in 1963 & worked as script writer in a Cairo production company. Worked in Lebanon ...

40. Idrissa Ouedraogo

Director | Yaaba

Idrissa Ouedraogo was born on January 21, 1954 in Banfora, Upper Volta [now Burkina Faso]. He was a director and writer, known for Yaaba (1989), The Law (1990) and Samba Traoré (1992). He died on February 18, 2018 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

41. Férid Boughedir

Director | Asfour Stah

Férid Boughedir was born in 1944 in Hammam-Lif, French Protectorate of Tunisia [now Tunisia]. He is a director and writer, known for Halfaouine: Boy of the Terraces (1990), Sweet Smell of Spring (2016) and A Summer in La Goulette (1996).

42. Daoud Abdel Sayed

Director | Ardh el-Khof

Daoud Abdel Sayed was born on November 23, 1946 in Egypt. He is a director and writer, known for Land of Fear (1999), Messages from the Sea (2010) and Mowaten we mokhber we haramy (2001).

43. Yousry Nasrallah

Director | El Medina

Yousry Nasrallah was born on July 26, 1952 in Cairo, Egypt. He is a director and writer, known for El Medina (1999), Sarikat Sayfeya (1988) and Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story (2009).

44. Inaam Mohamed Ali

Director | Al-Tareek Ela Eilat

Inaam Mohamed Ali is known for Al-Tareek Ela Eilat (1993), Om Kulthum (1999) and Nona El Shanona (1994).

45. Regardt van den Bergh

Director | Tornado and the Kalahari Horse Whisperer

Regardt van den Bergh is known for Tornado and the Kalahari Horse Whisperer (2009), Uitvlucht (2015) and Faith Like Potatoes (2006).

46. Moufida Tlatli

Editor | Samt El Qusur

Was raised in Tunisia in a tradition-oriented family. It was in high school, thanks to her philosophy teacher, who ran a film club, that she developed a taste for the cinema. After graduating from the IDHEC film school in 1968, in the editing department, she went back to live in Tunisia in 1972. ...

47. Ahmed Badr Eddine

Director | Rehlat Al Million

Ahmed Badr Eddine is known for Rehlat Al Million (1984), Bakiza Wa Zaghloul (1986) and Wanees's Diaries (1994).

48. Katinka Heyns

Actress | Babbelkous

Katinka Heyns is known for Babbelkous (1974), Eendag op 'n Reëndag (1975) and Die Storie van Klara Viljee (1992).

49. Radwan El-Kashef

Director | Arak el-balah

Radwan El-Kashef was born on August 6, 1952 in Cairo, Egypt. He was a director and assistant director, known for Date Wine (1998), Lieah ya banafsieg (1993) and Al-saher (2001). He died on June 5, 2002 in Cairo, Egypt.

50. Moussa Touré

Director | TGV

Born in 1958 in Sénégal, Moussa Touré starts working early for the cinema. Debuting as a technician he soon turns to direction, with a first short in 1987 and a first feature in 1991, the multi-awarded Toubab Bi (1991). As of 1987 he creates his own production firm "Les Films du Crocodile" through ...

51. Osama Fawzy

Director | Afarit el-asphalt

Osama Fawzy is an Egyptian film director; he has been working in the film industry for 40 years. Fawzy was graduated from the Higher Institute of Cinema in 1984. He worked as an assistant director since 1978, when he worked with a large number of prominent Egyptian directors including Hussein Kamal...

52. Nabil Ayouch

Producer | Le bleu du caftan

Nabil Ayouch works and lives in Casablanca and is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures, the Académie des Césars and the Arab Film Academy. Nabil Ayouch is a director, writer, producer and is the founder of Ali n' Production, the main film and TV shows production company in Morocco.

In 1997, ...

A French-Moroccan director.

53. Gavin Hood

Director | Official Secrets

Gavin Hood was born on May 12, 1963 in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is an actor and director, known for Official Secrets (2019), Tsotsi (2005) and Eye in the Sky (2015). He was previously married to Janine Eser.

54. Mehdi Charef

Writer | Le thé au harem d'Archimède

Mehdi Charef was born on October 21, 1952 in Marnia, Oran, France [now Algeria]. He is a writer and director, known for Tea in the Harem (1985), Au pays des Juliets (1992) and Daughter of Keltoum (2001).

55. Farida Benlyazid

Director | Keïd Ensa

Farida Benlyazid was born in 1948 in Tanger, Morocco. She is a director and writer, known for Keïd Ensa (1999), The Wretched Life of Juanita Narboni (2005) and Frontieras (2013).

56. Wayne Kramer

Writer | The Cooler

Wayne Kramer was born in South Africa, where he graduated from the Johannesburg School for Art, Drama and Music. His feature film debut came in 2003 with "The Cooler," a romantic drama set in Las Vegas and starring William H. Macy as a professional casino jinx and Maria Bello as the cocktail ...

57. Oliver Schmitz

Director | Paris, je t'aime

Oliver Schmitz is an award-winning South African director. He has, with his film Life Above All, been shortlisted for "Best Foreign Film" at the academy awards and received accolades from the likes of Roger Ebert. His 1980s gangster drama Mapantsula has become a classic and is taught in film ...

58. 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).

59. Sherif Arafa

Director | Tamantashar Yom

Sherif is an Egyptian director, screenwriter and producer. He graduated from the Higher Institute for Cinema in 1982 and he is the son of director Sa'ad 'Arafa in addition to being an elder brother to director 'Amr 'Arafa. Sherif began his cinema career in 1987 when he directed the film "al-Aqzam ...

60. Tariq Teguia

Director | Gabbla

Tariq Teguia was born in 1966 in Algiers, Algeria. He is a director and writer, known for Gabbla (2008), Roma wa la n'touma (2006) and Zanj Revolution (2013).

61. Haile Gerima

Director | Teza

Halie Gerima arrived in the United States from his native Gondar, Ethiopia, to study acting and directing at the Goodman Theater in Chicago, Illinois. He later transferred to the Theater Department at UCLA where he completed the Master's Program in Film. Afterward, he relocated to Washington, DC, ...

62. Francois Verster

Producer | Scenes from a Dry City

Francois Verster was born on February 12, 1969 in Bloemfontein, South Africa. He is a producer and director, known for Scenes from a Dry City (2018), Girl, Taken (2022) and Sea Point Days (2008).

63. Khaled Marei

Director | Asef ala el-Izag

Khaled Marei is known for Sorry to Disturb (2008), Tito (2004) and Bittersweet (2010). He is married to Kawthar Younis.

64. Neill Blomkamp

Director | District 9

Neill Blomkamp is a South African-Canadian film director and screenwriter who is known for the science fiction films District 9, Elysium and Chappie. He also directed the supernatural horror film Demonic and the 2007 short film Halo: Landfall, based on the Microsoft science fiction video game ...

65. Rachid Bouchareb

Director | Indigènes

Rachid Bouchareb was born on September 1, 1959 in Paris, France. He is a director and writer, known for Days of Glory (2006), Little Senegal (2000) and Cheb (1991).

A French-Algerian director

66. Ahmad Nader Galal

Director | Fasel wa Na'ood

Ahmad Nader Galal is known for Fasel wa Na'ood (2011), The Spider (2022) and Can't Complain (2007).

67. Steven Silver

Producer | The Bang Bang Club

A writer, director and producer, Steven began his career in the South African film industry, before writing and co-producing Gerrie & Louise, an International Emmy award-winning, feature-length documentary for the CBC in 1997. As a director, his documentaries include several projects for the ...

68. Mahamat-Saleh Haroun

Director | Daratt

Mahamat-Saleh Haroun was born in 1961 in Abéché, Chad. He is a director and writer, known for Dry Season (2006), A Screaming Man (2010) and Our Father (2002).

69. Djo Munga

Producer | Viva Riva!

Djo Tunda wa Munga was born in 1972 in Kinshasa, DR Congo where he spent his childhood. At the age of 10 he left for Belgium. He studied art school. Later he joined the National Film School of Belgium, INSAS. After completing his studies he returned to Kinshasa where he worked as producer and ...

70. Faouzi Bensaïdi

Actor | Mille mois

Faouzi Bensaïdi was born on March 14, 1967 in Meknes, Morocco. He is an actor and director, known for Mille mois (2003), Baya Al Maut (2011) and Volubilis (2017).

71. Hala Lotfy

Producer | Al-khoroug lel-nahar

Hala Lotfy was born in 1973 in Cairo, Egypt. She is a producer and director, known for Coming Forth by Day (2012), Leil Khargi (2018) and The Bridge.

72. Andrew Dosunmu

Director | Mother of George

Andrew Dosunmu is known for Mother of George (2013), Hot Irons (1999) and Restless City (2011).

73. Narimane Mari

Producer | Loubia hamra

Narimane Mari is known for Bloody Beans (2013), On a eu la journée bonsoir (2022) and Holy Days (2019).

74. Abderrahmane Sissako

Director | Timbuktu

Abderrahmane Sissako was born on October 13, 1961 in Kiffa, Mauritania. He is a director and writer, known for Timbuktu (2014), Life on Earth (1998) and Waiting for Happiness (2002).

75. Mohamed Diab

Writer | Eshtebak

Mohamed Diab is an Egyptian filmmaker and the lead director on Marvel Studio's MOON KNIGHT starring Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke and May Calamawy.

He began his career as a screenwriter, achieving commercial success in the Middle East. In 2010 he made his directorial debut CAIRO 678, about a trio of ...

76. Rayhana Obermeyer

Director | À mon âge je me cache encore pour fumer

Rayhana Obermeyer is known for I Still Hide to Smoke (2016), Let Them Come (2015) and Paris Prestige (2016).

77. Tamer El Said

Director | Akher Ayyam el-Madinah

Tamer El Said is an independent Egyptian filmmaker, writer and producer.

El Said studied journalism at Cairo University and Film Directing at the High Institute of Cinema graduating in 1998 with honorable mention, and received his diploma in 2002. El Said worked as first assistant director on some ...

78. Mohamed Ben Attia

Director | Inhebek Hedi

Mohamed Ben Attia was born on January 5, 1976 in Tunis, Tunisia. He is an actor and director, known for Hedi (2016), Dear Son (2018) and Behind the Mountains (2023).

79. Alain Gomis

Director | Félicité

Alain Gomis was born in 1972 in Paris, France. He is a director and writer, known for Félicité (2017), As a Man (2001) and Tey (2012).

A French-Senegalese Director

80. Rungano Nyoni

Writer | Mwansa the Great

Directors born in Zambia and willing to bear witness on this country are something of a rarity. This is nonetheless the case of Rungano Nyoni, a young woman whose native town is Lusaka although she did not stay there long. She was indeed still a little girl when she emigrated to Great Britain with ...

81. Jenna Cato Bass

Writer | Love the One You Love

Jenna Cato Bass is known for Love the One You Love (2014), High Fantasy (2017) and Good Madam (2021).

82. Abu Bakr Shawky

Director | Yom el-Din

Abu Bakr Shawky is known for Yomeddine (2018), Things I Heard on Wednesdays (2012) and The Looming Tower (2018).

83. Wanuri Kahiu

Director | Rafiki

Wanuri's first feature film From A Whisper, based on the real events surrounding the 1998 twin bombings of US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania won Best Narrative Feature in 2010 at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles, as well as five awards at the African Movie Academy Award, including Best...

84. Rosine Mfetgo Mbakam

Director | Les prières de Delphine

Rosine Mfetgo Mbakam is known for Delphine's Prayers (2021), Mambar Pierrette (2023) and Two Faces of a Bamiléké Woman, The (2018) (2018).

85. Blitz Bazawule

Director | The Color Purple

Blitz Bazawule is a Filmmaker and Musician born in Ghana and based in New York. Blitz's feature directorial debut 'The Burial Of Kojo' premiered on Netflix in 2019 via array. He co-directed Beyoncé's Black Is King which earned him a Grammy nomination in 2020. Blitz is directing 'The Color Purple ...

Mostly known as Blitz the Ambassador

86. Jerome Pikwane

Director | The Tokoloshe

Jerome Pikwane is known for The Tokoloshe (2018), iThemba (2019) and Bar Barons (2003).

87. Mati Diop

Director | Atlantique

Mati Diop was born on June 22, 1982 in Paris, France. She is an actress and director, known for Atlantics (2019), Dahomey (2024) and A Thousand Suns (2013).

A French-Senegalese Director

88. Kivu Ruhorahoza

Producer | Matière Grise

Kivu Ruhorahoza is known for Grey Matter (2011), Europa: Based on a True Story (2019) and Father's Day (2022).

89. Mehdi Barsaoui

Director | Bik Eneich: Un fils

Mehdi Barsaoui was born on May 23, 1984 in Tunis, Tunisia. He is an editor and director, known for A Son (2019), Sideways (2010) and Bobby (2014).

90. Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese

Director | This Is Not a Burial, It's a Resurrection

Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese was born in 1980 in Lesotho. He is a cinematographer and director, known for This Is Not a Burial, It's a Resurrection (2019), Mother, I Am Suffocating. This Is My Last Film About You. (2019) and Behemoth: Or the Game of God (2016).

91. Mounia Meddour

Director | Papicha

Mounia Meddour was born on May 15, 1978 in Moscow, Russian SFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She is a director and writer, known for Papicha (2019), Hitman (2007) and Edwige (2012). She has been married to Xavier Gens since 2005.

92. Alaa Eddine Aljem

Director | Le Miracle du Saint Inconnu

Alaa Eddine Aljem is known for The Unknown Saint (2019), The Desert Fish (2015) and The Road Bread (2015).

93. Pippa Ehrlich

Director | My Octopus Teacher

Pippa Ehrlich is known for My Octopus Teacher (2020), My Mercury (2024) and Pangolin.

94. Philippe Lacôte

Director | La nuit des rois

Philippe Lacôte grew up in Abidjan near a movie theater called "Le Magic". In 1989 he was a reporter for the radio with a series of sound portraits on the fall of the Berlin Wall. Later he made his first short films (The Messenger, Affaire Libinski) shown in several international festivals. ...

95. Uyaiedu Ikpe-Etim

Writer | Ìfé

Uyaiedu Ikpe-Etim is known for Ìfé (2020), No Fury (2024) and Nkoyo (2021).

96. Omar El Zohairy

Director | Feathers

Omar El Zohairy an Egyptian director studied Cinema at the Cairo Cinema Institute and worked as an assistant director alongside some of Egypt's most prominent directors, including Youssef Chahine, Yousry Nasrallah and Sherif Arafa. His first short film Breathe Out (2011) won the Jury Special ...

97. Jessica Beshir

Director | Faya Dayi

Jessica Beshir was born in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico. She is known for Faya Dayi (2021), Hairat (2017) and Heroin (2017).

98. Ayten Amin

Director | Souad

Ayten Amin was born in 1978 in Alexandria, Egypt. She is a director and writer, known for Souad (2021), Villa 69 (2013) and The Shanabs (2023).

99. Oliver Hermanus

Director | Moffie

Oliver Hermanus was born on May 26, 1983 in Cape Town, South Africa. He is a director and writer, known for Moffie (2019), Beauty (2011) and Shirley Adams (2009).

100. Maryam Touzani

Writer | Le bleu du caftan

Born in Tangier in 1980, Maryam Touzani spent her childhood in her hometown before pursuing university studies in journalism in London. Passionate about writing, she returned to Morocco after her studies and worked there as a journalist, specializing in Maghreb cinema. Quickly, she felt the need to...