List of directorial debuts
This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many filmmakers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early works by Orson Welles such as his filming of his stage production of Twelfth Night in 1933 or his experimental short film The Hearts of Age in 1934. Often these early works were not intended for commercial release either by intent, such as film school projects or inability to find distribution.
Subsequently, many directors learned their trade in the medium of television as it became popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Notable directors who did their first directorial work in this medium include Robert Altman, Sidney Lumet, and Alfonso Cuarón. As commercial television advertising became more cinematic in the 1960s and 1970s, many directors early work was in this medium, including directors such as Alan Parker and Ridley Scott. With the success of MTV and the popularity of music videos from the early 1980s, this gave another avenue for directors to hone their skills. Notable directors whose early work was in music videos include David Fincher, Jonathan Glazer, Michel Gondry, and Spike Jonze.
The following symbols indicate where a director has worked in another medium prior to directing commercially.
♦ Indicates where a director has created other earlier works for television
# Indicates when a director's earlier work is uncredited
† Indicates when a director's earlier work has not been released in cinemas, for example film school productions, short films or music videos.
Refer to individual entries for further detail.
1880s
[edit]1887
[edit]1890s
[edit]1896
[edit]1898
[edit]1900s
[edit]1901
[edit]1907
[edit]- Sidney Olcott – The Wooing of Miles Standish
1908
[edit]- Louis Feuillade – L'Homme aimanté
- D. W. Griffith – The Adventures of Dollie
1909
[edit]1910s
[edit]1920s
[edit]1930s
[edit]1940s
[edit]1950s
[edit]1960s
[edit]1970s
[edit]1980s
[edit]1990s
[edit]2000s
[edit]2010s
[edit]2020s
[edit]2020
[edit]- Max Barbakow – Palm Springs
- Halle Berry – Bruised
- Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz† – Antebellum
- Brian Patrick Butler† – Friend of the World
- Eric D. Cabello Diaz – El Camino de Xico
- Tony Cervone♦ - Scoob!
- Dean Craig† – Love Wedding Repeat
- Joel Crawford† – The Croods: A New Age
- Jack Danini† – Ode to Passion
- Emerald Fennell† – Promising Young Woman
- Michael Fimognari† – To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You
- Will Forbes – John Henry
- Jeff Fowler† – Sonic the Hedgehog
- Edward Hall♦† – Blithe Spirit
- Sam Hargrave† – Extraction
- Chris Henchy† – Impractical Jokers: The Movie
- David Henrie† – This Is the Year
- Natalie Erika James† – Relic
- Desideri Trujillo – The Land Is Over
- Anthony Jerjen† – Inherit the Viper
- Aneil Karia♦† – Surge
- Glen Keane – Over the Moon
- Regina King♦† – One Night in Miami...
- Natalie Krinsky – The Broken Hearts Gallery
- Patrice Laliberté♦† – The Decline
- Rob Lodermeier – The Willoughbys
- Viggo Mortensen – Falling
- Jekaterina Oertel – DAU. Natasha
- Prentice Penny♦† – Uncorcked
- David Prior† – The Empty Man
- Emma Seligman† – Shiva Baby
- Tomotaka Shibayama – A Whisker Away
- Remi Weekes♦ – His House
- Autumn de Wilde† – Emma
- David S. F. Wilson† – Bloodshot
- Florian Zeller♦ – The Father
2021
[edit]- Elaine Bogan♦ – Spirit Untamed
- Mika Boorem† – Hollywood.Con
- Paul Briggs and John Ripa – Raya and the Last Dragon
- Laura Brousseau and Kevin Pavlovic – The Addams Family 2
- Jonathan Butterell – Everybody's Talking About Jamie
- Enrico Casarosa – Luca
- Ryan Crego♦ – Arlo the Alligator Boy
- Bakhtyar Fatah♦ – 09
- Hamish Grieve† – Rumble
- Maggie Gyllenhaal♦ – The Lost Daughter
- Rebecca Hall – Passing
- Brandon Jeffords – Vivo
- Lisa Joy♦ – Reminiscence
- Fran Kranz – Mass
- Johane Matte, Francisco Ruiz Velasco and Andrew L. Schmidt – Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans
- PJ McCabe – The Beta Test[nb 91]
- Simon McQuoid – Mortal Kombat
- Brian Andrew Mendoza† – Sweet Girl
- Lin-Manuel Miranda – Tick, Tick... Boom!
- Edson Oda – Nine Days
- Mike Rianda - The Mitchells vs. the Machines
- Alessandra de Rossi – My Amanda
- Rodo Sayagues – Don't Breathe 2
- Evan Spiliotopoulos – The Unholy
- Liesl Tommy♦ – Respect
- Mattson Tomlin – Mother/Android
- Jean-Philippe Vine – Ron's Gone Wrong[nb 92]
- Jude Weng – Finding 'Ohana
- Robin Wright†♦ – Land
- Steve Yamamoto – Monster Hunter: Legends of the Guild
- Carlson Young† – The Blazing World
2022
[edit]- Kenya Barris♦ – You People
- Loren Bouchard♦ and Bernard Derriman†♦ – The Bob's Burgers Movie
- Reid Carolin and Channing Tatum – Dog
- John C. Donkin – The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild
- Jesse Eisenberg† – When You Finish Saving the World
- Tim Federle♦ – Better Nate Than Ever
- John Patton Ford† – Emily the Criminal
- Tom George♦ – See How They Run
- Mark Gustafson – Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
- Alex Hardcastle♦ – Senior Year
- Lee Jung-jae – Hunt
- Gail Lerner†♦ – Cheaper by the Dozen
- Pierre Perifel – The Bad Guys
- J.J. Perry – Day Shift
- Danny and Michael Philippou† – Talk to Me
- Domee Shi† – Turning Red
- Goran Stolevski† – You Won't Be Alone
- Charlotte Wells†♦ – Aftersun
- Patrick Wilson – Insidious: The Dark Realm
- Mike Cheslik† – Hundreds of Beavers
- Spider One ♦ – Allegoria
2023
[edit]- Carlos Alcántara – ¡Asu mare! Los amigos
- Kenya Barris♦ – You People
- Frederick C.G. Borromeo† – Distortion
- Jacob Byrd† – Adalynn
- Charlie Day – Fool's Paradise
- Tom DeLonge – Monsters of California
- Chloe Domont†♦ – Fair Play
- Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
- Felipe Gálvez Haberle – The Settlers
- Meredith Hama-Brown† – Seagrass
- Benjamin Howard† – Riley
- Raven Jackson† – All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt
- Cord Jefferson♦ – American Fiction
- Michael Jelenic♦ – The Super Mario Bros. Movie[nb 93]
- Michael B. Jordan – Creed III
- Zarrar Kahn† – In Flames
- Anna Kendrick – Woman of the Hour
- Chad Kinis – Beks Days of Our Lives
- Adele Lim – Joy Ride
- Eva Longoria♦ – Flamin' Hot
- Nicholas Maggio† – Mob Land
- Flora Martínez – Itzia, Tango & Cacao
- Chris Pine – Poolman
- Molly Preston – Freedom, Wisconsin
- A. V. Rockwell† – A Thousand and One
- Lee Hong-chi – Love Is a Gun
- M. H. Murray† – I Don't Know Who You Are
- FM Reyes – In His Mother's Eyes
- Jingyi Shao† – Chang Can Dunk
- Corey Sherman – Big Boys
- Grant Singer – Reptile
- Celine Song – Past Lives
- Julio Torres – Problemista
- Max Tzannes – Et Tu
- Fawn Veerasunthorn – Wish[nb 94]
- D. W. Waterson♦† – Backspot
- Meera Welankar – Butterfly
- Patrick Wilson – Insidious: The Red Door
- Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk – Hell of a Summer[29]
2024
[edit]- Cinzia Angelini and David Feiss – Hitpig!
- Michiel Blanchart† – Night Call
- Samantha Jayne♦† and Arturo Perez Jr.♦† – Mean Girls
- S. J. Clarkson♦ – Madame Web
- Spenser Cohen♦† and Anna Halberg – Tarot
- Patrick Delage♦ – Despicable Me 4[nb 95]
- David Derrick Jr.♦, Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller♦† – Moana 2
- Loris Lai – How Kids Roll[30]
- Kelsey Mann♦ – Inside Out 2
- Dougal Wilson† – Paddington in Peru
- Kelly Marcel – Venom: The Last Dance[31]
- Rachel Morrison♦ – The Fire Inside
- Dev Patel† – Monkey Man
- Jerry Seinfeld♦ – Unfrosted
- Arkasha Stevenson♦† – The First Omen
- Chris Stuckmann† – Shelby Oaks
- Zelda Williams† – Lisa Frankenstein
- Elle Márjá Eira♦† – Stolen
- Michael Felker – Things Will Be Different
- Josh Margolin – Thelma
- Ishana Night Shyamalan – The Watchers
- Manasi Sinha – Eta Amader Golpo
- Simon Otto - That Christmas
2025
[edit]- Madeline Sharafian♦† – Elio[nb 96][32]
- Pete Browngardt – The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie
2026
[edit]- Tyree Dillihay♦† – GOAT[33][34]
- Erica Rivinoja – The Cat in the Hat[nb 97][35]
- Daniel Chong♦† – Hoppers[36]
Upcoming
[edit]- Michael Cera† – TBA[37]
- Emily Dean – Tao[38]
- John D. Eraklis and Tara Nicole Whitaker – Pierre the Pigeon-Hawk[39]
- Mark Fischbach†♦ – Iron Lung[40]
- Keith Jardine† – Killer Kafé[41]
- Scarlett Johansson† – Eleanor the Great[42]
- Jonathan Krisel – untitled Sesame Street film[43]
- Minkyu Lee† – The Witch Boy[44]
- Kristen Stewart† – The Chronology of Water[45]
- Taylor Swift† – TBA[46]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ Co-directed with Robert N. Bradbury
- ^ As Detlef Sierck
- ^ Co-directed with Anthony Hankey
- ^ Co-directed with Hamilton Luske, Ben Sharpsteen and David D. Hand
- ^ Co-directed with Gunther von Fritsch
- ^ Co-directed with Brian Desmond Hurst
- ^ Co-directed with Robert Jordan Hill
- ^ Co-directed with Yakov Bazelyan
- ^ Directed segment Interlude in the Marshland
- ^ Co-directed with Abe Levitow
- ^ Co-directed with Bradley R. Swirnoff
- ^ Co-directed with Wolfgang Reitherman
- ^ Co-directed with Bill Melendez
- ^ Co-directed with John Lounsbery
- ^ Co-directed with Rintaro
- ^ Co-directed with Kenneth Tsang
- ^ Co-directed with Art Stevens
- ^ Co-directed with Don Bluth
- ^ Co-directed with Jesse Wells
- ^ Co-directed with Frank Lustig
- ^ Co-directed with Phil Nibbelink and Simon Wells
- ^ Co-directed with Joe Johnston
- ^ Co-directed with Mike Gabriel
- ^ Co-directed with David Van Taylor
- ^ Co-directed with Peter Farrelly
- ^ Co-directed with Quentin Lee
- ^ Co-directed with Simon Wells
- ^ Co-directed with Jim Wynorski
- ^ Co-directed with Kevin Lima
- ^ Co-directed with Eric Goldberg, Pixote Hunt, James Algar and Hendel Butoy
- ^ Co-directed with Ralph Zondag
- ^ Co-directed with Richard Rich
- ^ Co-directed with Richard Rich
- ^ Co-directed with David Daniel
- ^ Co-directed with Corey Yuen
- ^ Co-directed with Norton Virgien
- ^ Co-directed with Tim Johnson
- ^ Co-directed with Efram Potelle
- ^ Co-directed with Vicky Jenson and Bibo Bergeron
- ^ Co-directed with Andrew Adamson and Kelly Asbury
- ^ Co-directed with Ryan Fleck
- ^ Co-directed with Nick Park
- ^ Co-directed with Tim Burton
- ^ Co-directed with Eric Darnell
- ^ Co-directed with Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino
- ^ Co-directed with James Cameron
- ^ Co-directed with Roger Allers
- ^ Co-directed with Tim Johnson
- ^ Co-directed with John Lasseter
- ^ Co-directed with Chris Buck
- ^ Co-directed with Brad Bird
- ^ Co-directed with Vincent Paronnaud
- ^ Co-directed with Steve Hickner
- ^ Co-directed with Brian Hooks
- ^ Co-directed with Ryan Fleck
- ^ Co-directed with Sam Fell
- ^ Co-directed with Mark Osborne
- ^ Co-directed with Matthew Robinson
- ^ a b Co-directed with Pete Docter
- ^ Co-directed with Byron Howard
- ^ Co-directed with Lionel Steketee and Thomas N'Gijol
- ^ Co-directed with Stephen Anderson
- ^ Co-directed with John Lasseter
- ^ Co-directed with Alastair Fothergill
- ^ Co-directed with Barry Cook
- ^ Co-directed with Brenda Chapman
- ^ Co-directed with Chris Renaud
- ^ Co-directed with Sam Fell
- ^ Co-directed with Peter Lord
- ^ Co-directed with Steve Martino
- ^ Co-directed with Mike McCoy
- ^ Co-directed with Chris Buck
- ^ Co-directed with Guy Jenkin
- ^ Co-directed with Jocelyn Towne
- ^ Co-directed with Jennifer Yuh Nelson
- ^ Co-directed with Chris Renaud
- ^ Co-directed with Michael Thurmeier
- ^ Co-directed with Mike Mitchell
- ^ As Declan Dale
- ^ Co-directed with Garth Jennings
- ^ Co-directed with Andrew Stanton
- ^ Co-directed with Nicholas Stoller
- ^ Co-directed with Conrad Vernon
- ^ Co-directed with Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda
- ^ Co-directed with Lee Unkrich
- ^ Co-directed with Rich Moore
- ^ Co-directed with Yarrow Cheney
- ^ Co-directed with Peter Ramsey
- ^ Co-directed with Peter Chelsom, Fernando Eimbcke, Dennis Gansel, Dani Levy, Josef Rusnak, Til Schweiger, Massy Tadjedin
- ^ Co-directed with Chris Renaud
- ^ co-directed with Jim Cummings
- ^ Co-directed with Sarah Smith
- ^ Co-directed with Aaron Horvath
- ^ Co-directed with Chris Buck
- ^ Co-directed with Chris Renaud
- ^ Co-directed with Domee Shi
- ^ Co-directed with Alessandro Carloni
References
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- ^ Malthête, Jacques (2003). "Un feu d'artifice improvisé ? Les effets pyrotechniques chez Méliès". 1895 (in French) (39). AFRHC: 61–72. doi:10.4000/1895.3082. ISBN 2-913758-31-2. ISSN 1960-6176.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "The 50 greatest debut movies: part three". Time Out. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Eric's Top 10 Directorial Debuts". scene-stealers.com. Retrieved August 20, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g "The 50 greatest debut movies: part five". Time Out. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
- ^ "15 Facts About Orson Welles' CITIZEN KANE: America's Greatest Film Turns 75". AFI.com. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
- ^ Lloyd, Ann; Robinson, David (1987). The Illustrated History of Cinema. Macmillan. p. 162. ISBN 978-0-02-919241-2.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "The 50 greatest debut movies: part two". Time Out. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
- ^ "The 50 greatest debut movies: part six". Time Out. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "The 50 greatest debut movies: part four". Time Out. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Jarecki, Nicholas (2001). Breaking In — How 20 Film Directors Got Their Start. Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-0674-8.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Lowenstein, Stephen (2000). My First Movie. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-375-42081-9.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Time Out's 50 greatest directorial debuts of all time". Time Out. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "The Top Grossing Directorial Debuts of All-time". Indiewire.com. 5 August 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g "J.D.'s Top 10 Directorial Debuts". scene-stealers.com. Retrieved August 20, 2009.
- ^ Albert, Antonio (May 12, 1993). "Imanol Arias debuta como director de cine con 'Un asunto privado'". El País (in Spanish). Madrid: Prisa. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
- ^ Macor, Alison (February 7, 1997). "Losing Chase". The Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020.
- ^ Kevin Ouellette (July 15, 2008). "Review: Dangan Runner". Nippon Cinema. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
- ^ a b c d "Top 5 Female Directorial Debuts". Soundonsight.org. October 24, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "10 best-reviewed directorial debuts since 1990". Metacritic.com. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f "10 worst-reviewed directorial debuts since 1990". Metacritic.com. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g "The Doom Dispatch: The Ten best Directorial Debuts of the Decade". www.geeksofdoom.com. 29 May 2009. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
- ^ Stevens, Dana (7 September 2006). "Sob Stories: The quiet beauty of Man Push Cart". Slate. Slate Magazine. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
- ^ Bradshaw, Peter (August 8, 2009). "Katalin Varga". London: Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
- ^ "TIFF '10:Day 7". The A.V. Club. 16 September 2010. Retrieved September 17, 2010.
- ^ "SXSW Review: Attack The Block Could Be The Best Action Movie of the Year". Cinemablend.com. March 17, 2011.
- ^ Kevin Ma (June 1, 2014). "Bona announces Q1 2014 results". Film Business Asia. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
- ^ Sneider, Jeff (9 September 2018). "Hotel Mumbai Review: A Harrowing Recreation of 2008 Terror Attacks". Collider. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
- ^ Lang, Brent (2023-02-06). "Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk's Directorial Debut Hell of a Summer Drops First Look, Altitude Film Sales Boards Horror-Comedy (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on 2023-02-07. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
- ^ "I bambini di Gaza: ecco il trailer del film del regista italo-americano Loris Lai" [The children of Gaza: here is the trailer of the film by Italian-American director Loris Lai]. The Hollywood Reporter Roma (in Italian). 9 March 2024. Archived from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (October 28, 2022). "'Venom 3': Kelly Marcel Set to Direct Next Installment Starring Tom Hardy". Deadline. Archived from the original on October 28, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
- ^ Taylor, Drew (2024-08-10). "Pixar Chief Pete Docter Talks New Elio Directors, Story and Casting Changes | Exclusive". TheWrap. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (30 May 2024). "Goat: Sony Pictures Animation Sets Release Tied To 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend From Director Tyree Dillihay; Stephen Curry & Erick Peyton's Unanimous Media". Deadline. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ Gajewski, Ryan (30 May 2024). "Sony Sets Animated Sports Comedy GOAT From Stephen Curry for 2026 Release". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ "Warner Animation Group Dr. Seuss Enterprises Expand World Dr. Seuss Feature Films" (Press release). Warner Bros. 1 October 2020. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 10, 2024). "Pixar Unveils New Film At D23: Hoppers With Jon Hamm & Bobby Moynihan". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
- ^ "Michael Cera Interview: Scott Pilgrim, Barbie, The Adults". Retrieved 2023-08-16.
- ^ Zahed, Ramin (June 20, 2019). "Emily Dean Making Feature Directorial Debut with Sony's 'Tao'". Animation Magazine. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
- ^ "Tara Nicole Whitaker Making Feature Directorial Debut with Animated Pic "Pierre the Pigeon-Hawk"". August 17, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
- ^ Grobar, Matt (April 21, 2023). "Markiplier To Star In & Direct Horror Film Iron Lung From His Own Script; Self-Financed Feature Adapts David Szymanski Video Game". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 21, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
- ^ Cardinale, John (December 13, 2023). "First movie begins filming in New Mexico since SAG AFTRA strike". KOAT. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
- ^ Rubin, Rebecca (February 23, 2024). "Scarlett Johansson's Directorial Debut 'Eleanor the Great' Sets Cast: June Squibb, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jessica Hecht (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (September 30, 2018). "'Sesame Street' Movie Taps 'Portlandia' Co-Creator Jonathan Krisel as Director (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on September 29, 2018. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
- ^ Rosario, Alexandra Del (January 28, 2021). "'The Witch Boy': Netflix To Release Animated Musical From Oscar-Nominated Director Minkyu Lee". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (November 16, 2022). "Kristen Stewart To Direct Scott Free's Adaptation Of 'The Chronology Of Water' Starring Imogen Poots". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
- ^ Lang, Brent (December 9, 2022). "Taylor Swift Making Feature Directing Debut for Searchlight Pictures". Variety. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 11, 2022.