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.
| Name | Lifespan | Other Names | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Abrahams | 1944- |  | |
| Lenny Abrahamson | 1966- | | |
| J. J. Abrams | 1966- | | |
| Dejan Aćimović | 1963- | | |
| Ben Affleck | 1972- | (Boldt) | |
| Ömer Lütfi Akad | 1916-2011 | | |
| Chantal Akerman | 1950-2015 | | |
| Zeki Alasya | 1943-2015 | | |
| Robert Aldrich | 1918-1983 | | |
| Sherman Alexie | 1966- | | |
| Woody Allen | 1935- | (Konigsberg) | |
| Pedro Almodóvar | 1949- | (Caballero) | |
| Udi Aloni | 1959- | | |
| Robert Altman | 1925-2006 | | |
| Dev Anand | 1923-2011 | | |
| Paul Thomas Anderson | 1970- | | |
| Paul W. S. Anderson | 1965- | | |
| Wes Anderson | 1969- | | |
| Theo Angelopoulos | 1935-2012 | | |
| Jean-Jacques Annaud | 1943- | | |
| Michelangelo Antonioni | 1912-2007 | | |
| Judd Apatow | 1967- | | |
| Alfonso Arau | 1932- | (Incháustegui) | |
| Denys Arcand | 1941- | | |
| Asia Argento | 1975- | | |
| Dario Argento | 1940- | | |
| Darren Aronofsky | 1969- | | |
| Guillermo Arriaga | 1958- | (Jordán) | |
| Amma Asante | 1969- | | |
| Richard Attenborough | 1923-2014 | | |
| Pupi Avati | 1938- | | |
| Tex Avery | 1908-1980 | | |
| John G. Avildsen | 1935-2017 | | |
| John Badham | 1939- | | |
| King Baggot | 1879-1948 | | |
| Ralph Bakshi | 1938- | | |
| Justin Baldoni | 1984- | | |
| John Banville | 1945- | | |
| Joseph Barbera | 1911-2006 | | |
| Michal Bat-Adam | 1945- | | |
| Michael Bay | 1965- | | |
| Warren Beatty | 1937- | | |
| David Benioff | 1970- | | |
| Robert Benton | 1932- | | |
| Bruce Beresford | 1940- | | |
| Ingmar Bergman | 1918-2007 | | |
| Bernardo Bertolucci | 1940-2018 | | |
| Luc Besson | 1959- | | |
| Susanne Bier | 1960- | | |
| Kathryn Bigelow | 1951- | | |
| Brad Bird | 1957- | | |
| William Peter Blatty | 1928-2017 | | |
| Jason Blum | 1969- | | |
| Stuart Blumberg | 1969- | | |
| Don Bluth | 1937- | | |
| Mark Boal | 1973- | | |
| Peter Bogdanovich | 1939-2022 | | |
| Bong Joon-ho | 1969- | | |
| Linwood Boomer | 1955- | | |
| John Boorman | 1933- | | |
| Frank Borzage | 1894-1962 | | |
| Férid Boughedir | 1944- | | |
| Danny Boyle | 1956- | | |
| Tinto Brass | 1933- | | |
| Vinko Brešan | 1964- | | |
| Robert Bresson | 1901-1999 | | |
| Peter Brook | 1925-2022 | | |
| James L. Brooks | 1940- | | |
| Mel Brooks | 1926- | (Kaminsky) | |
| Jerry Bruckheimer | 1943- | | |
| Veljko Bulajić | 1928- | | |
| Luis Buñuel | 1900-1983 | (Portolés) | |
| Edward Burns | 1968- | | |
| Tim Burton | 1958- | | |
| Jez Butterworth | 1969- | | |
| Leonid Bykov | 1928-1979 | | |
| James Cameron | 1954- | | |
| Alessandro Camon | 1963- | | |
| Jane Campion | 1954- | | |
| Frank Capra | 1897-1991 | | |
| John Carpenter | 1948- | | |
| John Cassavetes | 1929-1989 | | |
| Nick Cassavetes | 1959- | | |
| Nuri Bilge Ceylan | 1959- | | |
| Claude Chabrol | 1930-2010 | | |
| Charlie Chaplin | 1889-1977 | | |
| Damien Chazelle | 1985- | | |
| Goderdzi Chokheli | 1954-2007 | | |
| Lisa Cholodenko | 1964- | | |
| Věra Chytilová | 1929-2014 | | |
| Michael Cimino | 1939-2016 | | |
| René Clair | 1898-1981 | | |
| Diablo Cody | 1978- | (Busey, Maurio) | |
| Ethan Coen | 1957- | | |
| Joel Coen | 1954- | | |
| Jaume Collet-Serra | 1974- | | |
| Monte Collins | 1898-1951 | | |
| Chris Columbus | 1958- | | |
| Stijn Coninx | 1957- | | |
| Ryan Coogler | 1986- | | |
| Francis Ford Coppola | 1939- | | |
| Roman Coppola | 1965- | | |
| Sofia Coppola | 1971- | | |
| Kevin Costner | 1955- | | |
| Wes Craven | 1939-2015 | | |
| David Cronenberg | 1943- | | |
| Lee Cronin | 19xx- | | |
| Cameron Crowe | 1957- | | |
| Alfonso Cuarón | 1961- | (Orozco) | |
| George Cukor | 1899-1983 | | |
| Michael Curtiz | 1886-1962 | | |
| Bora Dağtekin | 1978- | | |
| Frank Darabont | 1959- | | |
| Assi Dayan | 1945-2014 | | |
| Jan de Bont | 1943- | | |
| Dino De Laurentiis | 1919-2010 | | |
| Guillermo del Toro | 1964- | (Gómez) | |
| Maria de Medeiros | 1965- | | |
| Cecil B. DeMille | 1881-1959 | | |
| Jonathan Demme | 1944-2017 | | |
| Brian De Palma | 1940- | | |
| John Derek | 1926-1998 | (Harris) | |
| Vittorio De Sica | 1901-1974 | | |
| Walt Disney | 1901-1966 | | |
| Xavier Dolan | 1989- | (Tadros) | |
| Richard Donner | 1930-2021 | | |
| Ziad Doueiri | 1963- | | |
| Carl Theodor Dreyer | 1889-1968 | | |
| Clint Eastwood | 1930- | | |
| Blake Edwards | 1922-2010 | | |
| Robert Eggers | 1983- | | |
| Atom Egoyan | 1960- | | |
| Sergei Eisenstein | 1898-1948 | | |
| Roland Emmerich | 1955- | | |
| Ildikó Enyedi | 1955- | | |
| Mitra Farahani | 1975- | | |
| Asghar Farhadi | 1972- | | |
| Vera Farmiga | 1973- | | |
| Bobby Farrelly | 1958- | | |
| Peter Farrelly | 1956- | | |
| Rainer Werner Fassbinder | 1945-1982 | | |
| Jon Favreau | 1966- | | |
| Kevin Feige | 1973- | | |
| Federico Fellini | 1920-1993 | | |
| Todd Field | 1964- | | |
| David Fincher | 1962- | | |
| Filopimin Finos | 1908-1977 | | |
| Victor Fleming | 1889-1949 | | |
| Bryan Forbes | 1926-2013 | (Clarke) | |
| John Ford | 1894-1973 | | |
| Miloš Forman | 1932-2018 | | |
| Bob Fosse | 1927-1987 | | |
| Stephen Frears | 1941- | | |
| William Friedkin | 1935-2023 | | |
| Lucio Fulci | 1927-1996 | | |
| Sidney J. Furie | 1933- | | |
| Costa-Gavras | 1933- | | |
| David Geffen | 1943- | | |
| George A. Romero | 1940-2017 | | |
| Greta Gerwig | 1983- | | |
| Mel Gibson | 1956- | | |
| Lewis Gilbert | 1920-2018 | | |
| Terry Gilliam | 1940- | | |
| Obrad Gluščević | 1913-1980 | | |
| Jean-Luc Godard | 1930-2022 | | |
| Samuel Goldwyn | 1882-1974 | (Gelbfisz) | |
| Krešo Golik | 1922-1996 | | |
| Alejandro González Iñárritu | 1963- | | |
| Şerif Gören | 1944- | | |
| Peter Greenaway | 1942- | | |
| D. W. Griffith | 1875-1948 | | |
| Rajko Grlić | 1947- | | |
| Matt Groening | 1954- | | |
| Luca Guadagnino | 1971- | | |
| Val Guest | 1911-2006 | (Grossmann) | |
| James Gunn | 1966- | | |
| Taylor Hackford | 1944- | | |
| Fadil Hadžić | 1922-2011 | | |
| Lasse Hallström | 1946- | | |
| Michael Haneke | 1942- | | |
| William Hanna | 1910-2001 | | |
| Howard Hawks | 1896-1977 | | |
| Michel Hazanavicius | 1967- | | |
| Amy Heckerling | 1954- | | |
| Monte Hellman | 1929-2021 | (Himmelbaum) | |
| Paul Henreid | 1908-1992 | (von Hernreid) | |
| Buck Henry | 1930-2020 | (Zuckerman) | |
| Jim Henson | 1936-1990 | | |
| Werner Herzog | 1942- | | |
| Grant Heslov | 1963- | | |
| David Heyman | 1961- | | |
| George Roy Hill | 1921-2002 | | |
| Jack Hill | 1933- | | |
| Walter Hill | 1942- | | |
| Stephen Hillenburg | 1961-2018 | | |
| James Hilton | 1900-1954 | | |
| Alfred Hitchcock | 1899-1980 | | |
| Agnieszka Holland | 1948- | | |
| Marius Holst | 1965- | | |
| Med Hondo | 1936-2019 | | |
| Tom Hooper | 1972- | | |
| Ron Howard | 1954- | | |
| John Hughes | 1950-2009 | | |
| Rupert Hughes | 1872-1956 | | |
| Sophie Hunter | 1978- | | |
| Tahir Hussain | c. 1938-2010 | | |
| John Huston | 1906-1987 | | |
| Armando Iannucci | 1963- | | |
| Rex Ingram | 1893-1950 | (Hitchcock) | |
| Issa Rae | 1985- | (Diop) | |
| Moshe Ivgy | 1953- | | |
| Peter Jackson | 1961- | | |
| Jim Jarmusch | 1953- | | |
| Tamara Jenkins | 1962- | | |
| Norman Jewison | 1926-2024 | | |
| Alejandro Jodorowsky | 1929- | | |
| Rian Johnson | 1973- | | |
| Chuck Jones | 1912-2002 | | |
| Terry Jones | 1942-2020 | (Parry) | |
| Spike Jonze | 1969- | | |
| Neil Jordan | 1950- | | |
| Mike Judge | 1962- | | |
| Rupert Julian | 1879-1943 | (Hayes) | |
| John Kani | 1942- | | |
| Ekta Kapoor | 1975- | | |
| Lawrence Kasdan | 1949- | | |
| Jeffrey Katzenberg | 1950- | | |
| Satish Kaushik | 1956-2023 | | |
| Elia Kazan | 1909-2003 | | |
| Veronica Kedar | 1984- | | |
| Kathleen Kennedy | 1953- | | |
| Abbas Kiarostami | 1940-2016 | | |
| Krzysztof Kieślowski | 1941-1996 | | |
| Henry King | 1886-1982 | | |
| Hardee Kirkland | 1868-1929 | | |
| Takeshi Kitano | 1947- | | |
| Elmar Klos | 1910-1993 | | |
| Brian Klugman | 1975- | | |
| Martin Koolhoven | 1969- | | |
| Ted Kotcheff | 1931- | | |
| Jeroen Krabbé | 1944- | | |
| Stanley Kubrick | 1928-1999 | | |
| Zacharias Kunuk | 1957- | | |
| Akira Kurosawa | 1910-1998 | | |
| Emir Kusturica | 1954- | | |
| Jon Landau | 1960-2024 | | |
| John Landis | 1950- | | |
| Fritz Lang | 1890-1976 | | |
| Yorgos Lanthimos | 1973- | | |
| John Lasseter | 1957- | | |
| Michelle Latimer | 1976- | | |
| David Lean | 1908-1991 | | |
| Norman Lear | 1922-2023 | | |
| Ang Lee | 1954- | | |
| Spike Lee | 1957- | | |
| Mike Leigh | 1943- | | |
| Sebastián Lelio | 1974- | (Watt) | |
| Sergio Leone | 1929-1989 | | |
| Jalil Lespert | 1976- | | |
| Barry Levinson | 1942- | | |
| Shawn Levy | 1968- | | |
| Damon Lindelof | 1973- | | |
| Max Linder | 1883-1925 | (Leuvielle) | |
| Richard Linklater | 1960- | | |
| Zoe Lister-Jones | 1982- | | |
| Carlo Lizzani | 1922-2013 | | |
| Frank Lloyd | 1886-1960 | | |
| Norman Lloyd | 1914-2021 | (Perlmutter) | |
| Ken Loach | 1936- | | |
| Ulli Lommel | 1944-2017 | | |
| Ernst Lubitsch | 1892-1947 | | |
| George Lucas | 1944- | | |
| Sidney Lumet | 1924-2011 | | |
| Ida Lupino | 1918-1995 | | |
| Branko Lustig | 1932-2019 | | |
| David Lynch | 1946-2025 | | |
| Dick Maas | 1951- | | |
| Terrence Malick | 1943- | | |
| James Mangold | 1963- | | |
| Joseph L. Mankiewicz | 1909-1993 | | |
| Delbert Mann | 1920-2007 | | |
| Michael Mann | 1943- | | |
| Ernst Marischka | 1893-1963 | | |
| Hannah Marks | 1993- | | |
| Garry Marshall | 1934-2016 | | |
| Penny Marshall | 1943-2018 | | |
| Dalibor Matanić | 1975- | | |
| Elaine May | 1932- | (Berlin) | |
| Louis B. Mayer | 1884-1957 | (Meir) | |
| Leo McCarey | 1898-1969 | | |
| Adam McKay | 1968- | | |
| Steve McQueen | 1969- | | |
| John McTiernan | 1951- | | |
| Fernando Meirelles | 1955- | (Ferreira) | |
| Georges Méliès | 1861-1938 | | |
| Jean-Pierre Melville | 1917-1973 | | |
| Sam Mendes | 1965- | | |
| Vladimir Menshov | 1939-2021 | | |
| Ismail Merchant | 1936-2005 | (Rahman) | |
| Arnon Milchan | 1944- | | |
| Lewis Milestone | 1895-1980 | | |
| Bennett Miller | 1966- | | |
| George Miller | 1945- | | |
| Vatroslav Mimica | 1923-2020 | | |
| Anthony Minghella | 1954-2008 | | |
| Vincente Minnelli | 1903-1986 | | |
| Hayao Miyazaki | 1941- | | |
| Kenji Mizoguchi | 1898-1956 | | |
| Moshé Mizrahi | 1931-2018 | | |
| Mehran Modiri | 1967- | | |
| Michael Moore | 1954- | | |
| Oren Moverman | 1966- | | |
| F. W. Murnau | 1888-1931 | | |
| Bob Nelson | 1956- | | |
| Gene Nelson | 1920-1996 | (Berg) | |
| Mike Newell | 1942- | | |
| Fred Niblo | 1874-1948 | (Liedtke) | |
| Mike Nichols | 1931-2014 | (Peschkowsky) | |
| Christopher Nolan | 1970- | | |
| Jonathan Nolan | 1976- | | |
| Max Nosseck | 1902-1972 | | |
| Nancy Oliver | 1955- | | |
| Ruben Östlund | 1974- | | |
| Idrissa Ouédraogo | 1954-2018 | | |
| Veiko Õunpuu | 1972- | | |
| Frank Oz | 1944- | | |
| Yasujirō Ozu | 1903-1963 | | |
| Krsto Papić | 1933-2013 | | |
| Sergei Parajanov | 1924-1990 | | |
| Nick Park | 1958- | | |
| Alan Parker | 1944-2020 | | |
| Trey Parker | 1969- | | |
| Pier Paolo Pasolini | 1922-1975 | | |
| Ivan Passer | 1933-2020 | | |
| Paweł Pawlikowski | 1957- | | |
| Alexander Payne | 1961- | | |
| Keir Pearson | 1966- | | |
| Jordan Peele | 1979- | | |
| Tyler Perry | 1969- | | |
| Wolfgang Petersen | 1941-2022 | | |
| Daniel Petrie | 1920-2004 | | |
| Jennifer Podemski | 1983- | | |
| Roman Polanski | 1933- | | |
| Stephen Poliakoff | 1952- | | |
| Sydney Pollack | 1934-2008 | | |
| Carlo Ponti | 1912-2007 | | |
| Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | 1927-2013 | | |
| Otto Preminger | 1905-1986 | | |
| Carrie Preston | 1967- | | |
| Richard Quine | 1920-1989 | | |
| Sam Raimi | 1959- | | |
| Harold Ramis | 1944-2014 | | |
| Brett Ratner | 1969- | | |
| Satyajit Ray | 1921-1992 | | |
| Robert Redford | 1936- | | |
| Carol Reed | 1906-1976 | | |
| Roger Rees | 1944-2015 | | |
| Carl Reiner | 1922-2020 | | |
| Ivan Reitman | 1946-2022 | | |
| Jean Renoir | 1894-1979 | | |
| Alain Resnais | 1922-2014 | | |
| Florián Rey | 1894-1962 | (Martínez, del Castillo) | |
| Gene Reynolds | 1923-2020 | (Blumenthal) | |
| Shonda Rhimes | 1970- | | |
| Gavin Richards | 1946- | | |
| Tony Richardson | 1928-1991 | | |
| Leni Riefenstahl | 1902-2003 | | |
| Eran Riklis | 1954- | | |
| Guy Ritchie | 1968- | | |
| Hal Roach | 1892-1992 | | |
| Jerome Robbins | 1918-1998 | | |
| Gene Roddenberry | 1921-1991 | | |
| Robert Rodriguez | 1968- | | |
| Nicolas Roeg | 1928-2018 | | |
| Éric Rohmer | 1920-2010 | | |
| Rakesh Roshan | 1949- | (Nagrath) | |
| Roberto Rossellini | 1906-1977 | | |
| Scott Rudin | 1958- | | |
| David O. Russell | 1958- | | |
| Anthony Russo | 1970- | | |
| Joseph Russo | 1971- | | |
| Rupert Sanders | 1971- | | |
| Carlos Saura | 1932-2023 | | |
| Franklin J. Schaffner | 1920-1989 | | |
| John Schlesinger | 1926-2003 | | |
| Branko Schmidt | 1957- | | |
| Julian Schnabel | 1951- | | |
| Tessa Schram | 1988- | | |
| Joel Schumacher | 1939-2020 | | |
| Til Schweiger | 1963- | | |
| Martin Scorsese | 1942- | | |
| Ridley Scott | 1937- | | |
| Tony Scott | 1944-2012 | | |
| Jakov Sedlar | 1952- | | |
| David Seidler | 1937- | | |
| David O. Selznick | 1902-1965 | | |
| Mack Sennett | 1880-1960 | (Sinnott) | |
| Larisa Shepitko | 1938-1979 | | |
| Taylor Sheridan | 1970- | (Gibler) | |
| M. Night Shyamalan | 1970- | | |
| Don Siegel | 1912-1991 | | |
| Neil Simon | 1927-2018 | | |
| Bryan Singer | 1965- | | |
| Douglas Sirk | 1897-1987 | (Sierck) | |
| Victor Sjöström | 1879-1960 | (Seastrom) | |
| Kevin Smith | 1970- | | |
| Zack Snyder | 1966- | | |
| Steven Soderbergh | 1963- | | |
| Ben Sombogaart | 1947- | | |
| Stephen Sommers | 1962- | | |
| Celine Song | 1988- | | |
| Barry Sonnenfeld | 1953- | | |
| Aaron Sorkin | 1961- | | |
| Steven Spielberg | 1946- | | |
| Morgan Spurlock | 1970-2024 | | |
| John M. Stahl | 1886-1950 | (Strelitsky) | |
| Konstantin Stanislavski | 1863-1938 | | |
| Andrew Stanton | 1965- | | |
| Fisher Stevens | 1963- | | |
| George Stevens | 1904-1975 | | |
| Matt Stone | 1971- | | |
| Oliver Stone | 1946- | | |
| Preston Sturges | 1898-1959 | (Biden) | |
| Piotr Szulkin | 1950-2018 | | |
| Isao Takahata | 1935-2018 | | |
| Quentin Tarantino | 1963- | | |
| Andrei Tarkovsky | 1932-1986 | | |
| Jacques Tati | 1907-1982 | | |
| Norman Taurog | 1899-1981 | | |
| Don Taylor | 1920-1998 | | |
| Sam Taylor-Johnson | 1967- | (Wood) | |
| William Desmond Taylor | 1872-1922 | (Deane, Tanner) | |
| Lewis Teague | 1938- | | |
| Irving Thalberg | 1899-1936 | | |
| Tanel Toom | 1982- | | |
| Robert Towne | 1934-2024 | (Schwartz) | |
| François Truffaut | 1932-1984 | | |
| Dalton Trumbo | 1905-1976 | | |
| Guinevere Turner | 1968- | | |
| Jon Turteltaub | 1963- | | |
| Roger Vadim | 1928-2000 | | |
| Willem van de Sande Bakhuyzen | 1957-2005 | | |
| Jean van de Velde | 1957- | | |
| Jaco Van Dormael | 1957- | | |
| Theo van Gogh | 1957-2004 | | |
| Chiem van Houweninge | 1940- | | |
| Kim van Kooten | 1974- | | |
| Gus Van Sant | 1952- | | |
| Alex van Warmerdam | 1952- | | |
| Agnès Varda | 1928-2019 | | |
| Nia Vardalos | 1962- | | |
| Matthew Vaughn | 1971- | | |
| Jelena Veljača | 1981- | | |
| Gore Verbinski | 1964- | | |
| Paul Verhoeven | 1938- | | |
| Dziga Vertov | 1896-1954 | (Kaufman) | |
| King Vidor | 1894-1982 | | |
| Denis Villeneuve | 1967- | | |
| Luchino Visconti | 1906-1976 | | |
| František Vláčil | 1924-1999 | | |
| Erich von Stroheim | 1885-1957 | (Stroheim) | |
| Lars von Trier | 1956- | | |
| Gustav von Wangenheim | 1895-1975 | | |
| Antun Vrdoljak | 1931- | | |
| Lana Wachowski | 1965- | | |
| Lilly Wachowski | 1967- | | |
| Fatin Abdel Wahab | 1913-1972 | | |
| Taika Waititi | 1975- | | |
| Andrzej Wajda | 1926-2016 | | |
| James Wan | 1977- | | |
| Warwick Ward | 1891-1967 | | |
| Keenen Ivory Wayans | 1958- | | |
| Harvey Weinstein | 1952- | | |
| Jerry Weintraub | 1937-2015 | | |
| Peter Weir | 1944- | | |
| Orson Welles | 1915-1985 | | |
| Wim Wenders | 1945- | | |
| Leigh Whannell | 1977- | | |
| Joss Whedon | 1964- | | |
| Kristen Wiig | 1973- | | |
| Billy Wilder | 1906-2002 | | |
| Hugh Wilson | 1943-2018 | | |
| Adolf Winkelmann | 1946- | | |
| Robert Wise | 1914-2005 | | |
| Digby Wolfe | 1929-2012 | | |
| John Woo | 1946- | | |
| Ed Wood | 1924-1978 | | |
| William Wyler | 1902-1981 | | |
| Nedrick Young | 1914-1968 | (Douglas) | |
| James Young Deer | 1876-1946 | (Johnson) | |
| Lordan Zafranović | 1944- | | |
| Derviş Zaim | 1964- | | |
| Darryl F. Zanuck | 1902-1979 | | |
| Krzysztof Zanussi | 1939- | | |
| Franco Zeffirelli | 1923-2019 | | |
| Benh Zeitlin | 1982- | | |
| Robert Zemeckis | 1951- | | |
| Mai Zetterling | 1925-1994 | | |
| Zhang Yimou | 1951- | | |
| Chloé Zhao | 1982- | | |
| Fred Zinnemann | 1907-1997 | | |
| Rob Zombie | 1965- | (Cummings) | |
| David Zucker | 1947- | | |
| Jerry Zucker | 1950- | | |
| Adolph Zukor | 1873-1976 | (Zuckery) | |
| Andrzej Żuławski | 1940-2016 | | |
| Andrey Zvyagintsev | 1964- | |