Notable Filmmakers

This list is comprised of some of the most recognizable names from the world of film and television production. Included are directors, producers and screenwriters. Not included are the cast, who are instead listed with the famous actors and actresses.
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NameLifespanOther Names
Jim Abrahams1944-
Lenny Abrahamson1966-
J. J. Abrams1966-
Dejan Aćimović1963-
Ben Affleck1972-(Boldt)
Ömer Lütfi Akad1916-2011
Chantal Akerman1950-2015
Zeki Alasya1943-2015
Robert Aldrich1918-1983
Sherman Alexie1966-
Woody Allen1935-(Konigsberg)
Pedro Almodóvar1949-(Caballero)
Udi Aloni1959-
Robert Altman1925-2006
Dev Anand1923-2011
Paul Thomas Anderson1970-
Paul W. S. Anderson1965-
Wes Anderson1969-
Theo Angelopoulos1935-2012
Jean-Jacques Annaud1943-
Michelangelo Antonioni1912-2007
Judd Apatow1967-
Alfonso Arau1932-(Incháustegui)
Denys Arcand1941-
Asia Argento1975-
Dario Argento1940-
Darren Aronofsky1969-
Guillermo Arriaga1958-(Jordán)
Amma Asante1969-
Richard Attenborough1923-2014
Pupi Avati1938-
Tex Avery1908-1980
John G. Avildsen1935-2017
John Badham1939-
King Baggot1879-1948
Justin Baldoni1984-
John Banville1945-
Joseph Barbera1911-2006
Michal Bat-Adam1945-
Michael Bay1965-
Warren Beatty1937-
David Benioff1970-
Robert Benton1932-
Bruce Beresford1940-
Ingmar Bergman1918-2007
Bernardo Bertolucci1940-2018
Luc Besson1959-
Susanne Bier1960-
Kathryn Bigelow1951-
Brad Bird1957-
William Peter Blatty1928-2017
Jason Blum1969-
Stuart Blumberg1969-
Don Bluth1937-
Mark Boal1973-
Peter Bogdanovich1939-2022
Bong Joon-ho1969-
Linwood Boomer1955-
John Boorman1933-
Frank Borzage1894-1962
Férid Boughedir1944-
Danny Boyle1956-
Tinto Brass1933-
Vinko Brešan1964-
Robert Bresson1901-1999
Peter Brook1925-2022
James L. Brooks1940-
Mel Brooks1926-(Kaminsky)
Jerry Bruckheimer1943-
Veljko Bulajić1928-
Luis Buñuel1900-1983(Portolés)
Edward Burns1968-
Tim Burton1958-
Jez Butterworth1969-
James Cameron1954-
Alessandro Camon1963-
Jane Campion1954-
Frank Capra1897-1991
John Carpenter1948-
John Cassavetes1929-1989
Nick Cassavetes1959-
Nuri Bilge Ceylan1959-
Claude Chabrol1930-2010
Charlie Chaplin1889-1977
Damien Chazelle1985-
Goderdzi Chokheli1954-2007
Lisa Cholodenko1964-
Věra Chytilová1929-2014
Michael Cimino1939-2016
René Clair1898-1981
Diablo Cody1978-(Busey, Maurio)
Ethan Coen1957-
Joel Coen1954-
Jaume Collet-Serra1974-
Monte Collins1898-1951
Chris Columbus1958-
Stijn Coninx1957-
Francis Ford Coppola1939-
Roman Coppola1965-
Sofia Coppola1971-
Kevin Costner1955-
Wes Craven1939-2015
David Cronenberg1943-
Lee Cronin19xx-
Cameron Crowe1957-
Alfonso Cuarón1961-(Orozco)
George Cukor1899-1983
Michael Curtiz1886-1962
Bora Dağtekin1978-
Frank Darabont1959-
Assi Dayan1945-2014
Jan de Bont1943-
Dino De Laurentiis1919-2010
Guillermo del Toro1964-(Gómez)
Maria de Medeiros1965-
Cecil B. DeMille1881-1959
Jonathan Demme1944-2017
Brian De Palma1940-
John Derek1926-1998(Harris)
Vittorio De Sica1901-1974
Walt Disney1901-1966
Xavier Dolan1989-(Tadros)
Richard Donner1930-2021
Ziad Doueiri1963-
Carl Theodor Dreyer1889-1968
Clint Eastwood1930-
Blake Edwards1922-2010
Atom Egoyan1960-
Sergei Eisenstein1898-1948
Roland Emmerich1955-
Ildikó Enyedi1955-
Mitra Farahani1975-
Asghar Farhadi1972-
Vera Farmiga1973-
Bobby Farrelly1958-
Peter Farrelly1956-
Rainer Werner Fassbinder1945-1982
Jon Favreau1966-
Kevin Feige1973-
Federico Fellini1920-1993
Todd Field1964-
David Fincher1962-
Filopimin Finos1908-1977
Victor Fleming1889-1949
Bryan Forbes1926-2013(Clarke)
John Ford1894-1973
Miloš Forman1932-2018
Bob Fosse1927-1987
Stephen Frears1941-
William Friedkin1935-2023
Lucio Fulci1927-1996
Sidney J. Furie1933-
Costa-Gavras1933-
David Geffen1943-
George A. Romero1940-2017
Greta Gerwig1983-
Mel Gibson1956-
Lewis Gilbert1920-2018
Terry Gilliam1940-
Obrad Gluščević1913-1980
Jean-Luc Godard1930-2022
Samuel Goldwyn1882-1974(Gelbfisz)
Krešo Golik1922-1996
Alejandro González Iñárritu1963-
Şerif Gören1944-
Peter Greenaway1942-
D. W. Griffith1875-1948
Rajko Grlić1947-
Matt Groening1954-
Luca Guadagnino1971-
Val Guest1911-2006(Grossmann)
James Gunn1966-
Taylor Hackford1944-
Fadil Hadžić1922-2011
Lasse Hallström1946-
Michael Haneke1942-
William Hanna1910-2001
Howard Hawks1896-1977
Michel Hazanavicius1967-
Amy Heckerling1954-
Monte Hellman1929-2021(Himmelbaum)
Paul Henreid1908-1992(von Hernreid)
Buck Henry1930-2020(Zuckerman)
Jim Henson1936-1990
Werner Herzog1942-
Grant Heslov1963-
David Heyman1961-
George Roy Hill1921-2002
Jack Hill1933-
Walter Hill1942-
Stephen Hillenburg1961-2018
James Hilton1900-1954
Alfred Hitchcock1899-1980
Agnieszka Holland1948-
Marius Holst1965-
Med Hondo1936-2019
Tom Hooper1972-
Ron Howard1954-
John Hughes1950-2009
Rupert Hughes1872-1956
Sophie Hunter1978-
Tahir Hussainc. 1938-2010
John Huston1906-1987
Armando Iannucci1963-
Rex Ingram1893-1950(Hitchcock)
Issa Rae1985-(Diop)
Moshe Ivgy1953-
Peter Jackson1961-
Jim Jarmusch1953-
Tamara Jenkins1962-
Norman Jewison1926-2024
Alejandro Jodorowsky1929-
Rian Johnson1973-
Chuck Jones1912-2002
Terry Jones1942-2020(Parry)
Spike Jonze1969-
Neil Jordan1950-
Mike Judge1962-
Rupert Julian1879-1943(Hayes)
John Kani1942-
Ekta Kapoor1975-
Lawrence Kasdan1949-
Jeffrey Katzenberg1950-
Satish Kaushik1956-2023
Elia Kazan1909-2003
Veronica Kedar1984-
Kathleen Kennedy1953-
Abbas Kiarostami1940-2016
Krzysztof Kieślowski1941-1996
Henry King1886-1982
Hardee Kirkland1868-1929
Takeshi Kitano1947-
Elmar Klos1910-1993
Brian Klugman1975-
Martin Koolhoven1969-
Ted Kotcheff1931-
Jeroen Krabbé1944-
Stanley Kubrick1928-1999
Zacharias Kunuk1957-
Akira Kurosawa1910-1998
Emir Kusturica1954-
Jon Landau1960-2024
John Landis1950-
Fritz Lang1890-1976
Yorgos Lanthimos1973-
John Lasseter1957-
Michelle Latimer1976-
David Lean1908-1991
Norman Lear1922-2023
Ang Lee1954-
Spike Lee1957-
Mike Leigh1943-
Sebastián Lelio1974-(Watt)
Sergio Leone1929-1989
Jalil Lespert1976-
Barry Levinson1942-
Shawn Levy1968-
Damon Lindelof1973-
Max Linder1883-1925(Leuvielle)
Richard Linklater1960-
Zoe Lister-Jones1982-
Carlo Lizzani1922-2013
Frank Lloyd1886-1960
Norman Lloyd1914-2021(Perlmutter)
Ken Loach1936-
Ulli Lommel1944-2017
Ernst Lubitsch1892-1947
George Lucas1944-
Sidney Lumet1924-2011
Ida Lupino1918-1995
Branko Lustig1932-2019
David Lynch1946-
Dick Maas1951-
Terrence Malick1943-
James Mangold1963-
Joseph L. Mankiewicz1909-1993
Delbert Mann1920-2007
Michael Mann1943-
Ernst Marischka1893-1963
Hannah Marks1993-
Garry Marshall1934-2016
Penny Marshall1943-2018
Dalibor Matanić1975-
Elaine May1932-(Berlin)
Louis B. Mayer1884-1957(Meir)
Leo McCarey1898-1969
Adam McKay1968-
Steve McQueen1969-
John McTiernan1951-
Fernando Meirelles1955-(Ferreira)
Georges Méliès1861-1938
Jean-Pierre Melville1917-1973
Sam Mendes1965-
Vladimir Menshov1939-2021
Ismail Merchant1936-2005(Rahman)
Arnon Milchan1944-
Lewis Milestone1895-1980
Bennett Miller1966-
George Miller1945-
Vatroslav Mimica1923-2020
Anthony Minghella1954-2008
Vincente Minnelli1903-1986
Hayao Miyazaki1941-
Kenji Mizoguchi1898-1956
Moshé Mizrahi1931-2018
Mehran Modiri1967-
Michael Moore1954-
Oren Moverman1966-
F. W. Murnau1888-1931
Bob Nelson1956-
Gene Nelson1920-1996(Berg)
Mike Newell1942-
Fred Niblo1874-1948(Liedtke)
Mike Nichols1931-2014(Peschkowsky)
Christopher Nolan1970-
Jonathan Nolan1976-
Max Nosseck1902-1972
Nancy Oliver1955-
Ruben Östlund1974-
Idrissa Ouédraogo1954-2018
Veiko Õunpuu1972-
Frank Oz1944-
Yasujirō Ozu1903-1963
Krsto Papić1933-2013
Sergei Parajanov1924-1990
Alan Parker1944-2020
Trey Parker1969-
Pier Paolo Pasolini1922-1975
Ivan Passer1933-2020
Paweł Pawlikowski1957-
Alexander Payne1961-
Keir Pearson1966-
Jordan Peele1979-
Tyler Perry1969-
Wolfgang Petersen1941-2022
Daniel Petrie1920-2004
Jennifer Podemski1983-
Roman Polanski1933-
Stephen Poliakoff1952-
Sydney Pollack1934-2008
Carlo Ponti1912-2007
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala1927-2013
Otto Preminger1905-1986
Carrie Preston1967-
Richard Quine1920-1989
Sam Raimi1959-
Harold Ramis1944-2014
Brett Ratner1969-
Satyajit Ray1921-1992
Robert Redford1936-
Carol Reed1906-1976
Roger Rees1944-2015
Carl Reiner1922-2020
Ivan Reitman1946-2022
Jean Renoir1894-1979
Alain Resnais1922-2014
Florián Rey1894-1962(Martínez, del Castillo)
Gene Reynolds1923-2020(Blumenthal)
Shonda Rhimes1970-
Gavin Richards1946-
Tony Richardson1928-1991
Leni Riefenstahl1902-2003
Eran Riklis1954-
Guy Ritchie1968-
Hal Roach1892-1992
Jerome Robbins1918-1998
Gene Roddenberry1921-1991
Robert Rodriguez1968-
Nicolas Roeg1928-2018
Éric Rohmer1920-2010
Rakesh Roshan1949-(Nagrath)
Roberto Rossellini1906-1977
Scott Rudin1958-
David O. Russell1958-
Anthony Russo1970-
Joseph Russo1971-
Rupert Sanders1971-
Carlos Saura1932-2023
Franklin J. Schaffner1920-1989
John Schlesinger1926-2003
Branko Schmidt1957-
Julian Schnabel1951-
Tessa Schram1988-
Joel Schumacher1939-2020
Til Schweiger1963-
Martin Scorsese1942-
Ridley Scott1937-
Tony Scott1944-2012
Jakov Sedlar1952-
David Seidler1937-
David O. Selznick1902-1965
Mack Sennett1880-1960(Sinnott)
Larisa Shepitko1938-1979
Taylor Sheridan1970-(Gibler)
M. Night Shyamalan1970-
Don Siegel1912-1991
Neil Simon1927-2018
Bryan Singer1965-
Douglas Sirk1897-1987(Sierck)
Kevin Smith1970-
Zack Snyder1966-
Steven Soderbergh1963-
Ben Sombogaart1947-
Stephen Sommers1962-
Celine Song1988-
Barry Sonnenfeld1953-
Aaron Sorkin1961-
Steven Spielberg1946-
Morgan Spurlock1970-2024
John M. Stahl1886-1950(Strelitsky)
Konstantin Stanislavski1863-1938
Andrew Stanton1965-
Fisher Stevens1963-
George Stevens1904-1975
Matt Stone1971-
Oliver Stone1946-
Preston Sturges1898-1959(Biden)
Piotr Szulkin1950-2018
Isao Takahata1935-2018
Quentin Tarantino1963-
Andrei Tarkovsky1932-1986
Jacques Tati1907-1982
Norman Taurog1899-1981
Don Taylor1920-1998
Sam Taylor-Johnson1967-(Wood)
William Desmond Taylor1872-1922(Deane, Tanner)
Lewis Teague1938-
Irving Thalberg1899-1936
Tanel Toom1982-
Robert Towne1934-2024(Schwartz)
François Truffaut1932-1984
Dalton Trumbo1905-1976
Guinevere Turner1968-
Jon Turteltaub1963-
Roger Vadim1928-2000
Willem van de Sande Bakhuyzen1957-2005
Jean van de Velde1957-
Jaco Van Dormael1957-
Theo van Gogh1957-2004
Chiem van Houweninge1940-
Kim van Kooten1974-
Gus Van Sant1952-
Alex van Warmerdam1952-
Agnès Varda1928-2019
Nia Vardalos1962-
Matthew Vaughn1971-
Jelena Veljača1981-
Gore Verbinski1964-
Paul Verhoeven1938-
Dziga Vertov1896-1954(Kaufman)
King Vidor1894-1982
Denis Villeneuve1967-
Luchino Visconti1906-1976
František Vláčil1924-1999
Erich von Stroheim1885-1957(Stroheim)
Lars von Trier1956-
Gustav von Wangenheim1895-1975
Antun Vrdoljak1931-
Lana Wachowski1965-
Lilly Wachowski1967-
Fatin Abdel Wahab1913-1972
Taika Waititi1975-
Andrzej Wajda1926-2016
James Wan1977-
Warwick Ward1891-1967
Keenen Ivory Wayans1958-
Harvey Weinstein1952-
Jerry Weintraub1937-2015
Peter Weir1944-
Orson Welles1915-1985
Wim Wenders1945-
Joss Whedon1964-
Kristen Wiig1973-
Billy Wilder1906-2002
Hugh Wilson1943-2018
Adolf Winkelmann1946-
Robert Wise1914-2005
Digby Wolfe1929-2012
John Woo1946-
Ed Wood1924-1978
William Wyler1902-1981
Nedrick Young1914-1968(Douglas)
James Young Deer1876-1946(Johnson)
Lordan Zafranović1944-
Derviş Zaim1964-
Darryl F. Zanuck1902-1979
Krzysztof Zanussi1939-
Franco Zeffirelli1923-2019
Benh Zeitlin1982-
Robert Zemeckis1951-
Mai Zetterling1925-1994
Zhang Yimou1951-
Chloé Zhao1982-
Fred Zinnemann1907-1997
Rob Zombie1965-(Cummings)
David Zucker1947-
Jerry Zucker1950-
Adolph Zukor1873-1976(Zuckery)
Andrzej Żuławski1940-2016
Andrey Zvyagintsev1964-