Directors on the Rise

by tbagho | created - 07 Dec 2010 | updated - 20 Jun 2011 | Public

1. Matthew Vaughn

Producer | Kick-Ass

Matthew Vaughn is an English film producer and director. He is known for producing such films as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Snatch (2000) and for directing the crime thriller, Layer Cake (2004), the fantasy epic, Stardust (2007), the superhero comedy, Kick-Ass (2010), and the ...

Kick-Ass & Stardust & Layer Cake

2. 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 ...

District 9

3. 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 ...

Brick & The Brothers Bloom

4. 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.

Moon & Source Code

5. Derek Cianfrance

Writer | Blue Valentine

Derek Cianfrance began making movies at age 13. He later attended The University of Colorado where he studied under avant-garde film legends Stan Brakhage and Phil Solomon. His first three films, 'Five O'clock Shadow', 'Raw Footage', and Brother Tied (1998), won consecutive Goldfarb Awards for best...

Blue Valentine

6. Edgar Wright

Director | Shaun of the Dead

Edgar Howard Wright (born 18 April 1974) is an English director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. He is best known for his comedic Three Flavours Cornetto film trilogy consisting of Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007), and The World's End (2013), made with recurrent collaborators Simon Pegg...

Shaun of the Dead & Hot Fuzz & Scott Pilgram vs. the World

7. 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

8. 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).

In Bruges

9. Tom McCarthy

Writer | The Station Agent

Tom McCarthy is an American film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is best known for direct and write The Station Agent (2003), The Visitor (2007), Win Win (2011), and Spotlight (2015), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and was nominated for Best Director.

McCarthy...

The Station Agent & The Visitor

10. Scott Frank

Writer | Logan

Scott Frank was born on March 10, 1960 in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Logan (2017), Out of Sight (1998) and The Lookout (2007).

The Lookout

11. Tom Ford

Director | A Single Man

Tom Ford is an American fashion designer, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He gained fame as the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. In 2006, Ford launched his own "Tom Ford" label.

Ford directed the films A Single Man (2009) and Nocturnal Animals (2016), both films were...

A Single Man

12. Rupert Wyatt

Director | The Escapist

Writer, Director and Producer Rupert Wyatt was born and raised in the South of England.

He is the founding member of the film collective Picture Farm that along with its prolific Commercial output has produced numerous Documentaries and Feature Films including the multi-award winning DARK DAYS (2001...

The Escapist & Rise of the Apes

13. Debra Granik

Director | Leave No Trace

Debra Granik (born February 6, 1963) is an American New York City-based independent film and documentary film director and screenwriter. She is most known for 2004's Down to the Bone, which starred Vera Farmiga, 2010's Winter's Bone, which starred Jennifer Lawrence in her breakout performance and ...

Winter's Bone & Down to the Bone

14. Chris D'Arienzo

Writer | Rock of Ages

Chris D'Arienzo was born on April 14, 1972 in Hastings, Michigan, USA. He is a writer and actor, known for Rock of Ages (2012), Barry Munday (2010) and Jingle All the Way (1996).

Barry Munday

15. Marcos Efron

Director | And Soon the Darkness

Marcos Efron was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and raised in Houston, Texas. After earning a business degree from the University of Texas at Austin, Marcos worked as an investment banker in New York but eventually chose to tackle more creative endeavors and moved to Los Angeles. While working as ...

And Soon the Darkness

16. Troy Nixey

Director | Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

Born in Lethbridge Alberta, Canada, he spent most of his childhood there until he moved to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He started out as a comic book artist and made the transition to film with his short film Latchkey Lament in 2007. A CGI and live action film, it was self financed and took him nearly...

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

17. Daniel Barnz

Director | Cake

Daniel Barnz was born on May 7, 1970 in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Cake (2014), Phoebe in Wonderland (2008) and Beastly (2011).

Phoebe in Wonderland & Beastly



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