TOP 30 Directors Under 45

1. Joe Wright

Born: August 25, 1972 in London, England, UK (age 45)
Academy Award recognition: none
Selected filmography:

• Pride & Prejudice (2005)
• Atonement (2007)
• Hanna (2011)
• Anna Karenina (2012)

2. Ava DuVarnay

Born: August 24, 1972 in Long Beach, California, USA (age 45)
Academy Award recognition: 1 nomination (for Best Documentary Feature)
Selected filmography:

• Middle of Nowhere (2012)
• Selma (2014)
• 13th (2016) (documentary feature)

3. Jeff Nichols

Born: December 7, 1978 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA (age 38)
Academy Award recognition: none
Selected filmography:

• Shotgun Stories (2007)
• Take Shelter (2011)
• Mud (2012)
• Midnight Special (2016)
• Loving (2016)

4. Cary Fukunaga

Born: July 10, 1977 in Oakland, California, USA (age 40)
Academy Award recognition: none
Selected filmography:

• Sin Nombre (2009)
• Jane Eyre (2010)
• Beasts of No Nation (2015)

5. Jason Reitman

Born: October 19, 1977 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada (age 39)
Academy Award recognition: 4 nominations (2 for directing, 1 for writing and 1 for Best Picture)
Selected filmography:

• Thank You for Smoking (2005)
• Juno (2007)
• Up in the Air (2009)
• Young Adult (2011)

6. Dee Rees

Born: February 7, 1977 in Nashville, Tennessee, United States (age 40)
Academy Award recognition: none
Selected filmography:

• Pariah (2007) (short film)
• Pariah (2011)
• Bessie (2015) (TV film)

7. Damien Chazelle

Born: January 19, 1985 in Providence, Rhode Island, USA (age 32)
Academy Award recognition: 3 nominations (2 for writing, 1 for directing) | 1 win (Best Director for La La Land)
Selected filmography:

• Whiplash (2014)
• La La Land (2016)

8. Asghar Farhadi

Born: May 7, 1972 in Khomeyni Shahr, Isfahan, Iran
Academy Award recognition: 1 nomination (for writing)
Selected filmography:

• Fireworks Wednesday (2006)
• About Elly (2009)
• A Separation (2011)
• The Salesman (2016)

9. Sarah Polley

Born: January 8, 1979 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Academy Award recognition: 1 nomination (for writing)
Selected filmography:

• Away From Her (2007)
• Take This Waltz (2011)

10. Antonio Campos

Born: August 24, 1983 in New York City, New York, USA
Academy Award recognition: none
Selected filmography:

• Afterschool (2008)
• Simon Killer (2013)
• Christine (2016)

11. Rian Johnson

Born: December 17, 1973 in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
Academy Award recognition: none
Selected filmography:

• Brick (2005)
• Looper (2012)

12. Barry Jenkins

Born: November 19, 1979 in Miami, Florida, USA

Academy Award recognition: 2 nominations (1 for directing, 1 for writing) | 1 win (Best Adapted Screenplay for Moonlight)

Selected filmography:

• Medicine for Melancholy (2008)
• Moonlight (2016)

13. Yorgos Lanthimos

Born: 1973 in Athens, Greece
Academy Award recognition: 1 nomination (for writing)
Selected filmography:

• Dogtooth (2009)
• Alpeis (2011)
• The Lobster (2015)

14. David Lowery

Born: December 26, 1980 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Academy Award recognition: none
Selected filmography:

• Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013)
• Pete's Dragon (2016)

15. Ryan Coogler

Born: May 23, 1986 in Oakland, California, USA
Academy Award recognition: none
Selected filmography:

• Fruitvale Station (2013)
• Creed (2015)

16. Pablo Larraín

Born: August 19, 1976 in Santiago, Chile
Academy Award recognition: none
Selected filmography:

• No (2012)
• The Club (2015)
• Neruda (2016)
• Jackie (2016)

17. Richard Ayoade

Born: June 12, 1977 in Whipp's Cross, London, England, UK
Academy Award recognition: none
Selected filmography:

• Submarine (2010)
• The Double (2013)

18. Maren Ade

Born: December 12, 1976 in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Academy Award recognition: none
Selected filmography:

• The Forest for the Trees (2003)
• Everyone Else (2009)
• Toni Erdmann (2016)

19. Laszlo Nemes

Born: February 18, 1977 in Budapest, Hungary
Academy Award recognition: none
Selected filmography:

• Son of Saul (2015)

20. Tom Hooper

Born: October 5, 1972 in London, England, UK

Academy Award recognition: 1 nomination (for directing) | 1 win (Best Director for The King's Speech)

Selected filmography:

• The King's Speech (2010)
• Les Misérables (2012)
• The Danish Girl (2015)

21. David Michôd

Born: November 30, 1972 in Sydney, Australia
Academy Award recognition: none
Selected filmography:

• Animal Kingdom (2010)
• The Rover (2014)

22. Marco Martins

Born: 1972 in Portugal
Academy Award recognition: none
Selected filmography:

• Alice (2005)
• How to Draw a Perfect Circle (2009)
• São Jorge (2016)

23. Destin Daniel Cretton

Born: November 23, 1978 in Maui, Hawaii, USA
Academy Award recognition: none
Selected filmography:

• Short Term 12 (2008) (short film)
• Short Term 12 (2013)

24. Benh Zeitlin

Born: October 14, 1982 in Manhattan, New York, USA
Academy Award recognition: 2 nominations (1 for directing, 1 for writing)
Selected filmography:

• Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)

25. John Carney

Born: 1972 in Dublin, Ireland
Academy Award recognition: none
Selected filmography:

• Once (2007)
• Begin Again (2013)
• Sing Street (2016)

26. James Ponsoldt

Born: 1978 in Athens, Georgia, USA
Academy Award recognition: none
Selected filmography:

• Smashed (2012)
• The Spectacular Now (2013)
• The End of the Tour (2015)

27. Sebastián Silva

Born: April 9, 1979 in Santiago, Metropolitan Region, Chile
Academy Award recognition: none
Selected filmography:

• The Maid (2009)
• Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus and 2012 (2013)
• Magic Magic (2013)
• Nasty Baby (2015)

28. Julia Ducournau

Born: November 18, 1983 in Paris, France
Academy Award recognition: none
Selected filmography:

• Junior (2011) (short film)
• Raw (2016)

29. Drake Doremus

Born: March 29, 1983 in Orange, California, USA
Academy Award recognition: none
Selected filmography:

• Like Crazy (2011)
• Breathe In (2014)

30. Sean Durkin

Born: December 9, 1981 in Canada
Academy Award recognition: none
Selected filmography:

• Mary Last Seen (2010) (short film)
• Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)