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) | |
| Nika Agiashvili | 1979- | | |
| Ömer Lütfi Akad | 1916-2011 | | |
| Zeki Alasya | 1943-2015 | | |
| Sherman Alexie | 1966- | | |
| Woody Allen | 1935- | | |
| Udi Aloni | 1959- | | |
| Brandt Andersen | 1977- | | |
| Paul Thomas Anderson | 1970- | | |
| Paul W. S. Anderson | 1965- | | |
| Wes Anderson | 1969- | | |
| Judd Apatow | 1967- | | |
| Denys Arcand | 1941- | | |
| Darren Aronofsky | 1969- | | |
| Guillermo Arriaga | 1958- | (Jordán) | |
| Amma Asante | 1969- | | |
| Richard Attenborough | 1923-2014 | | |
| Pupi Avati | 1938- | | |
| John G. Avildsen | 1935-2017 | | |
| John Badham | 1939- | | |
| John Banville | 1945- | | |
| Michal Bat-Adam | 1945- | | |
| Michael Bay | 1965- | | |
| Warren Beatty | 1937- | | |
| Robert Benton | 1932- | | |
| Zvonimir Berković | 1928-2009 | | |
| Bernardo Bertolucci | 1940-2018 | | |
| Kathryn Bigelow | 1951- | | |
| Stuart Blumberg | 1969- | | |
| Mark Boal | 1973- | | |
| Peter Bogdanovich | 1939-2022 | | |
| Bong Joon-ho | 1969- | | |
| Sanford Bookstaver | 1973- | | |
| Linwood Boomer | 1955- | | |
| John Boorman | 1933- | | |
| Frank Borzage | 1894-1962 | | |
| Férid Boughedir | 1944- | | |
| Danny Boyle | 1956- | | |
| Vinko Brešan | 1964- | | |
| James L. Brooks | 1940- | | |
| Mel Brooks | 1926- | (Kaminsky) | |
| Jerry Bruckheimer | 1943- | | |
| Veljko Bulajić | 1928- | | |
| Tim Burton | 1958- | | |
| Jez Butterworth | 1969- | | |
| James Cameron | 1954- | | |
| Alessandro Camon | 1963- | | |
| Frank Capra | 1897-1991 | | |
| John Carpenter | 1948- | | |
| John Cassavetes | 1929-1989 | | |
| Nick Cassavetes | 1959- | | |
| Nuri Bilge Ceylan | 1959- | | |
| Charlie Chaplin | 1889-1977 | | |
| Damien Chazelle | 1985- | | |
| Shirley Cheechoo | 1952- | | |
| Goderdzi Chokheli | 1954-2007 | | |
| Lisa Cholodenko | 1964- | | |
| Michael Cimino | 1939-2016 | | |
| Diablo Cody | 1978- | (Busey, Maurio) | |
| Ethan Coen | 1957- | | |
| Joel Coen | 1954- | | |
| Jaume Collet-Serra | 1974- | | |
| Stijn Coninx | 1957- | | |
| Francis Ford Coppola | 1939- | | |
| Roman Coppola | 1965- | | |
| Sofia Coppola | 1971- | | |
| Kevin Costner | 1955- | | |
| Wes Craven | 1939-2015 | | |
| David Cronenberg | 1943- | | |
| 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- | | |
| Guillermo del Toro | 1964- | (Gómez) | |
| Cecil B. DeMille | 1881-1959 | | |
| Jonathan Demme | 1944-2017 | | |
| Walt Disney | 1901-1966 | | |
| Stegath Dorr | 1973- | | |
| Ziad Doueiri | 1963- | | |
| Clint Eastwood | 1930- | | |
| Roland Emmerich | 1955- | | |
| Ildikó Enyedi | 1955- | | |
| Mitra Farahani | 1975- | | |
| Asghar Farhadi | 1972- | | |
| Vera Farmiga | 1973- | | |
| Rainer Werner Fassbinder | 1945-1982 | | |
| David Fincher | 1962- | | |
| Filopimin Finos | 1908-1977 | | |
| Victor Fleming | 1889-1949 | | |
| John Ford | 1894-1973 | | |
| Miloš Forman | 1932-2018 | | |
| Bob Fosse | 1927-1987 | | |
| Stephen Frears | 1941- | | |
| Devery Freeman | 1913-2005 | | |
| William Friedkin | 1935- | | |
| George A. Romero | 1940-2017 | | |
| Greta Gerwig | 1983- | | |
| Mel Gibson | 1956- | | |
| Lewis Gilbert | 1920-2018 | | |
| Terry Gilliam | 1940- | | |
| Obrad Gluščević | 1913-1980 | | |
| Arnon Goldfinger | 1963- | | |
| Krešo Golik | 1922-1996 | | |
| Alejandro González Iñárritu | 1963- | | |
| Şerif Gören | 1944- | | |
| Peter Greenaway | 1942- | | |
| Rajko Grlić | 1947- | | |
| Matt Groening | 1954- | | |
| Val Guest | 1911-2006 | (Grossmann) | |
| Taylor Hackford | 1944- | | |
| Fadil Hadžić | 1922-2011 | | |
| Lasse Hallström | 1946- | | |
| Michael Haneke | 1942- | | |
| Michel Hazanavicius | 1967- | | |
| Jim Henson | 1936-1990 | | |
| George Roy Hill | 1921-2002 | | |
| Alfred Hitchcock | 1899-1980 | | |
| 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 | | |
| Feđa Isović | 1965- | | |
| Issa Rae | 1985- | (Diop) | |
| Moshe Ivgy | 1953- | | |
| Peter Jackson | 1961- | | |
| Jim Jarmusch | 1953- | | |
| Tamara Jenkins | 1962- | | |
| Rian Johnson | 1973- | | |
| Ellis Jones | 1943- | | |
| Spike Jonze | 1969- | | |
| Neil Jordan | 1950- | | |
| Rupert Julian | 1879-1943 | (Hayes) | |
| John Kani | 1942- | | |
| Ekta Kapoor | 1975- | | |
| Lawrence Kasdan | 1949- | | |
| Satish Kaushik | 1956- | | |
| Elia Kazan | 1909-2003 | | |
| Veronica Kedar | 1984- | | |
| Kathleen Kennedy | 1953- | | |
| Aamir Khan | 1965- | | |
| Archer King | 1917-2012 | | |
| Elmar Klos | 1910-1993 | | |
| Brian Klugman | 1975- | | |
| Jeroen Krabbé | 1944- | | |
| Stanley Kubrick | 1928-1999 | | |
| Zacharias Kunuk | 1957- | | |
| Emir Kusturica | 1954- | | |
| Yorgos Lanthimos | 1973- | | |
| Michelle Latimer | 19xx- | | |
| David Lean | 1908-1991 | | |
| Ang Lee | 1954- | | |
| Spike Lee | 1957- | | |
| Mike Leigh | 1943- | | |
| Sebastián Lelio | 1974- | (Watt) | |
| Jalil Lespert | 1976- | | |
| Barry Levinson | 1942- | | |
| Jerry Lewis | 1926-2017 | | |
| Adolf E. Licho | 1876-1944 | (Lichowetzer) | |
| Richard Linklater | 1960- | | |
| Frank Lloyd | 1886-1960 | | |
| Bey Logan | 1961- | | |
| Ulli Lommel | 1944-2017 | | |
| George Lucas | 1944- | | |
| Ida Lupino | 1918-1995 | | |
| Branko Lustig | 1932-2019 | | |
| David Lynch | 1946- | | |
| Dick Maas | 1951- | | |
| Terrence Malick | 1943- | | |
| Joseph L. Mankiewicz | 1909-1993 | | |
| Delbert Mann | 1920-2007 | | |
| Michael Mann | 1943- | | |
| Ernst Marischka | 1893-1963 | | |
| Garry Marshall | 1934-2016 | | |
| Penny Marshall | 1943-2018 | | |
| Dalibor Matanić | 1975- | | |
| Leo McCarey | 1898-1969 | | |
| Adam McKay | 1968- | | |
| Steve McQueen | 1969- | | |
| Fernando Meirelles | 1955- | (Ferreira) | |
| Ayelet Menahemi | 1963- | | |
| Sam Mendes | 1965- | | |
| Vladimir Menshov | 1939- | | |
| Ismail Merchant | 1936-2005 | (Rahman) | |
| Arnon Milchan | 1944- | | |
| Lewis Milestone | 1895-1980 | | |
| Oktavijan Miletić | 1902-1987 | | |
| Bennett Miller | 1966- | | |
| Vatroslav Mimica | 1923- | | |
| Anthony Minghella | 1954-2008 | | |
| Vincente Minnelli | 1903-1986 | | |
| Moshé Mizrahi | 1931-2018 | | |
| Mehran Modiri | 1967- | | |
| Michael Moore | 1954- | | |
| Oren Moverman | 1966- | | |
| F. W. Murnau | 1888-1931 | | |
| Campion Murphy | 1962- | | |
| Ajay Nayyar | 1982- | | |
| Carthew Neal | 1979- | | |
| Bob Nelson | 1956- | | |
| Mike Newell | 1942- | | |
| 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- | | |
| Krsto Papić | 1933-2013 | | |
| Paweł Pawlikowski | 1957- | | |
| Alexander Payne | 1961- | | |
| Keir Pearson | 1966- | | |
| Jordan Peele | 1979- | | |
| Tomislav Pinter | 1926-2008 | | |
| Jennifer Podemski | 1983- | | |
| Roman Polanski | 1933- | | |
| Stephen Poliakoff | 1952- | | |
| Sydney Pollack | 1934-2008 | | |
| Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | 1927-2013 | | |
| Carrie Preston | 1967- | | |
| Sam Raimi | 1959- | | |
| Harold Ramis | 1944-2014 | | |
| Robert Redford | 1936- | | |
| Carol Reed | 1906-1976 | | |
| Roger Rees | 1944-2015 | | |
| Ivan Reitman | 1946- | | |
| Michelle Rejwan | 1982- | | |
| Jean Renoir | 1894-1979 | | |
| Florián Rey | 1894-1962 | (Martínez, del Castillo) | |
| Gene Reynolds | 1923-2020 | (Blumenthal) | |
| Gavin Richards | 1946- | | |
| Tony Richardson | 1928-1991 | | |
| Eran Riklis | 1954- | | |
| Guy Ritchie | 1968- | | |
| Jerome Robbins | 1918-1998 | | |
| Robert Rodriguez | 1968- | | |
| Nicolas Roeg | 1928-2018 | | |
| Rakesh Roshan | 1949- | (Nagrath) | |
| Roberto Rossellini | 1906-1977 | | |
| David O. Russell | 1958- | | |
| Rupert Sanders | 1971- | | |
| Franklin J. Schaffner | 1920-1989 | | |
| John Schlesinger | 1926-2003 | | |
| Branko Schmidt | 1957- | | |
| Julian Schnabel | 1951- | | |
| Sheldon Schrager | 1931- | | |
| Joel Schumacher | 1939-2020 | | |
| Martin Scorsese | 1942- | | |
| Ridley Scott | 1937- | | |
| Tony Scott | 1944-2012 | | |
| Jakov Sedlar | 1952- | | |
| David Seidler | 1937- | | |
| Danilo Šerbedžija | 1971- | | |
| Taylor Sheridan | 1970- | | |
| M. Night Shyamalan | 1970- | | |
| Neil Simon | 1927-2018 | | |
| Kevin Smith | 1970- | | |
| Zack Snyder | 1966- | | |
| Steven Soderbergh | 1963- | | |
| Barry Sonnenfeld | 1953- | | |
| Steven Spielberg | 1946- | | |
| John M. Stahl | 1886-1950 | (Strelitsky) | |
| Fisher Stevens | 1963- | | |
| George Stevens | 1904-1975 | | |
| Oliver Stone | 1946- | | |
| Tegan Summer | 1972- | | |
| Piotr Szulkin | 1950-2018 | | |
| Isao Takahata | 1935-2018 | | |
| Quentin Tarantino | 1963- | | |
| Norman Taurog | 1899-1981 | | |
| Ronnie Taylor | 1924-2018 | | |
| Sam Taylor-Johnson | 1967- | (Wood) | |
| Tanel Toom | 1982- | | |
| M. Nurullah Tuncer | 1959- | | |
| Guinevere Turner | 1968- | | |
| Theo van Gogh | 1957-2004 | | |
| Gus Van Sant | 1952- | | |
| Agnès Varda | 1928-2019 | | |
| Nia Vardalos | 1962- | | |
| Matthew Vaughn | 1971- | | |
| Jelena Veljača | 1981- | | |
| Paul Verhoeven | 1938- | | |
| Denis Villeneuve | 1967- | | |
| František Vláčil | 1924-1999 | | |
| Frano Vodopivec | 1924-1998 | | |
| Gustav von Wangenheim | 1895-1975 | | |
| Antun Vrdoljak | 1931- | | |
| Vjekoslav Vrdoljak | 1954- | | |
| Lana Wachowski | 1965- | | |
| Lilly Wachowski | 1967- | | |
| Fatin Abdel Wahab | 1913-1972 | | |
| Taika Waititi | 1975- | | |
| James Wan | 1977- | | |
| Warwick Ward | 1891-1967 | | |
| Keenen Ivory Wayans | 1958- | | |
| Jerry Weintraub | 1937-2015 | | |
| Orson Welles | 1915-1985 | | |
| Wim Wenders | 1945- | | |
| 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- | | |
| William Wyler | 1902-1981 | | |
| James Young Deer | 1876-1946 | (Johnson) | |
| Lordan Zafranović | 1944- | | |
| Derviş Zaim | 1964- | | |
| Benh Zeitlin | 1982- | | |
| Robert Zemeckis | 1951- | | |
| Fred Zinnemann | 1907-1997 | | |
| Bogdan Žižić | 1934- | | |
| David Zucker | 1947- | | |
| Jerry Zucker | 1950- | | |
| Adolph Zukor | 1873-1976 | (Zuckery) | |
| Andrey Zvyagintsev | 1964- | |