List of directorial debuts explained

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

  1. 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

1887

1890s

1896

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1900s

1901

1907

1908

1909

1910s

1911

1912

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1914

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1919

1920s

1920

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1930s

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1940s

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1950s

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1990s

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2020s

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2025

Upcoming

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Louis Le Prince, who shot the world's first film in Leeds . Ian . Youngs . June 23, 2015 . August 29, 2018 . . BBC.
  2. Un feu d'artifice improvisé ? Les effets pyrotechniques chez Méliès . Jacques . Malthête . 61–72 . 2003 . fr . 1960-6176 . AFRHC . 1895 . 39 . 10.4000/1895.3082 . 2-913758-31-2.
  3. Co-directed with Robert N. Bradbury
  4. As Detlef Sierck
  5. Co-directed with Anthony Hankey
  6. Co-directed with Hamilton Luske, Ben Sharpsteen and David D. Hand
  7. Web site: 15 Facts About Orson Welles' CITIZEN KANE: America's Greatest Film Turns 75. AFI.com. January 14, 2018.
  8. Book: Lloyd. Ann. Robinson. David. The Illustrated History of Cinema. 162. Macmillan. 1987. 978-0-02-919241-2.
  9. Co-directed with Gunther von Fritsch
  10. Co-directed with Brian Desmond Hurst
  11. Co-directed with Robert Jordan Hill
  12. Co-directed with Yakov Bazelyan
  13. Web site: The 50 greatest debut movies: part six. Time Out. September 2, 2011.
  14. Web site: The 50 greatest debut movies: part three. Time Out. September 2, 2011.
  15. Book: Breaking In — How 20 Film Directors Got Their Start. Jarecki, Nicholas. 2001. Broadway Books . 0-7679-0674-8. registration.
  16. Directed segment Interlude in the Marshland
  17. Web site: Time Out's 50 greatest directorial debuts of all time. Time Out. September 2, 2011.
  18. Co-directed with Abe Levitow
  19. Web site: The 50 greatest debut movies: part five. Time Out. September 2, 2011.
  20. Co-directed with Bradley R. Swirnoff
  21. Co-directed with Wolfgang Reitherman
  22. Co-directed with Bill Melendez
  23. Co-directed with John Lounsbery
  24. Web site: The Top Grossing Directorial Debuts of All-time. 5 August 2011 . Indiewire.com. September 3, 2011.
  25. Co-directed with Rintaro
  26. Web site: The 50 greatest debut movies: part four. Time Out. September 2, 2011.
  27. Co-directed with Kenneth Tsang
  28. Co-directed with Art Stevens
  29. Web site: Eric's Top 10 Directorial Debuts. scene-stealers.com. August 20, 2009.
  30. Book: My First Movie. registration. Lowenstein, Stephen. 2000. Pantheon Books . 0-375-42081-9.
  31. Co-directed with Don Bluth
  32. Co-directed with Jesse Wells
  33. Co-directed with Frank Lustig
  34. Co-directed with Phil Nibbelink and Simon Wells
  35. Web site: J.D.'s Top 10 Directorial Debuts. scene-stealers.com. August 20, 2009.
  36. Co-directed with Joe Johnston
  37. Co-directed with Mike Gabriel
  38. News: Imanol Arias debuta como director de cine con 'Un asunto privado' . Antonio . Albert . May 12, 1993 . Madrid . es . September 3, 2018 . . Prisa.
  39. Web site: Losing Chase . Macor . Alison . February 7, 1997 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20200805180514/https://www.austinchronicle.com/events/film/1997-02-07/283342/ . August 5, 2020 . live.
  40. Co-directed with David Van Taylor
  41. Co-directed with Peter Farrelly
  42. Web site: Review: Dangan Runner. Kevin Ouellette. July 15, 2008. August 16, 2012. Nippon Cinema.
  43. Co-directed with Quentin Lee
  44. Co-directed with Simon Wells
  45. Web site: The 50 greatest debut movies: part two. Time Out. September 2, 2011.
  46. Co-directed with Jim Wynorski
  47. Co-directed with Kevin Lima
  48. Co-directed with Eric Goldberg, Pixote Hunt, James Algar and Hendel Butoy
  49. Web site: 10 best-reviewed directorial debuts since 1990. Metacritic.com. September 3, 2011.
  50. Co-directed with Ralph Zondag
  51. Co-directed with Richard Rich
  52. Co-directed with Richard Rich
  53. Co-directed with David Daniel
  54. Co-directed with Corey Yuen
  55. Co-directed with Norton Virgien
  56. Co-directed with Tim Johnson
  57. Co-directed with Efram Potelle
  58. Co-directed with Vicky Jenson and Bibo Bergeron
  59. Co-directed with Andrew Adamson and Kelly Asbury
  60. Sob Stories: The quiet beauty of Man Push Cart. Slate . 7 September 2006 . Slate Magazine. August 18, 2015 . Stevens . Dana .
  61. Co-directed with Ryan Fleck
  62. Co-directed with Nick Park
  63. Co-directed with Tim Burton
  64. Co-directed with Eric Darnell
  65. Co-directed with Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino
  66. Co-directed with James Cameron
  67. Co-directed with Roger Allers
  68. Co-directed with Tim Johnson
  69. Web site: Top 5 Female Directorial Debuts. Soundonsight.org. October 24, 2011.
  70. Co-directed with John Lasseter
  71. Web site: The Doom Dispatch: The Ten best Directorial Debuts of the Decade. 29 May 2009 . www.geeksofdoom.com. August 21, 2009.
  72. Co-directed with Chris Buck
  73. Co-directed with Brad Bird
  74. Co-directed with Vincent Paronnaud
  75. Co-directed with Steve Hickner
  76. Co-directed with Brian Hooks
  77. Co-directed with Ryan Fleck
  78. Co-directed with Sam Fell
  79. Co-directed with Mark Osborne
  80. Web site: 10 worst-reviewed directorial debuts since 1990. Metacritic.com. September 3, 2011.
  81. Co-directed with Matthew Robinson
  82. Co-directed with Pete Docter
  83. News: Katalin Varga. Guardian.co.uk. October 10, 2009 . London . Peter . Bradshaw . August 8, 2009.
  84. Web site: TIFF '10:Day 7. 16 September 2010 . AVClub.com. September 17, 2010.
  85. Co-directed with Byron Howard
  86. Web site: SXSW Review: Attack The Block Could Be The Best Action Movie of the Year. Cinemablend.com. March 17, 2011.
  87. Co-directed with Lionel Steketee and Thomas N'Gijol
  88. Co-directed with Stephen Anderson
  89. Co-directed with John Lasseter
  90. Co-directed with Alastair Fothergill
  91. Co-directed with Barry Cook
  92. Co-directed with Brenda Chapman
  93. Co-directed with Chris Renaud
  94. Co-directed with Sam Fell
  95. Co-directed with Peter Lord
  96. Co-directed with Steve Martino
  97. Co-directed with Mike McCoy
  98. Co-directed with Chris Buck
  99. Co-directed with Guy Jenkin
  100. Web site: Bona announces Q1 2014 results. Kevin Ma. June 1, 2014. June 1, 2014. Film Business Asia.
  101. Co-directed with Jocelyn Towne
  102. Co-directed with Jennifer Yuh Nelson
  103. Co-directed with Chris Renaud
  104. Co-directed with Michael Thurmeier
  105. Co-directed with Mike Mitchell
  106. As Declan Dale
  107. Co-directed with Garth Jennings
  108. Co-directed with Andrew Stanton
  109. Co-directed with Nicholas Stoller
  110. Co-directed with Conrad Vernon
  111. Co-directed with Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda
  112. Co-directed with Lee Unkrich
  113. Co-directed with Rich Moore
  114. Co-directed with Yarrow Cheney
  115. Co-directed with Peter Ramsey
  116. Co-directed with Peter Chelsom, Fernando Eimbcke, Dennis Gansel, Dani Levy, Josef Rusnak, Til Schweiger, Massy Tadjedin
  117. Co-directed with Chris Renaud
  118. co-directed with Jim Cummings
  119. Co-directed with Sarah Smith
  120. Co-directed with Aaron Horvath
  121. Co-directed with Chris Buck
  122. Web site: 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) . 2023-02-07 . Variety . 2023-02-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230207003653/https://variety.com/2023/film/news/first-look-image-finn-wolfhard-billy-bryk-hell-of-a-summer-berlin-efm-1235514681/ . live .
  123. Co-directed with Chris Renaud
  124. Web site: 9 March 2024 . 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 . . it . 18 March 2024 . 13 March 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240313044550/https://www.hollywoodreporter.it/film/film-stranieri/i-bambini-di-gaza-opera-prima-loris-lai-trailer-cast-uscita/93970/ . live.
  125. Web site: 'Venom 3': Kelly Marcel Set to Direct Next Installment Starring Tom Hardy. Deadline. Justin. Kroll. October 28, 2022. December 20, 2022. October 28, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221028161027/https://deadline.com/2022/10/venom-3-kelly-marcel-set-to-direct-next-installment-starring-tom-hardy-1235157025/. live.
  126. Web site: Michael Cera Interview: Scott Pilgrim, Barbie, The Adults . 2023-08-16 . en-US.
  127. Web site: Emily Dean Making Feature Directorial Debut with Sony's 'Tao'. Animation Magazine. Ramin. Zahed. June 20, 2019. October 14, 2020.
  128. Web site: Tara Nicole Whitaker Making Feature Directorial Debut with Animated Pic "Pierre the Pigeon-Hawk". August 17, 2021. October 16, 2023 .
  129. Web site: 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 . May 1, 2023 . . April 21, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230421164813/https://deadline.com/2023/04/markiplier-to-star-in-direct-horror-film-iron-lung-from-his-own-script-1235333152/ . live .
  130. Web site: First movie begins filming in New Mexico since SAG AFTRA strike . . John . Cardinale . December 13, 2023 . December 16, 2023.
  131. Web site: Scarlett Johansson's Directorial Debut 'Eleanor the Great' Sets Cast: June Squibb, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jessica Hecht (EXCLUSIVE) . . Rebecca . Rubin . February 23, 2024 . February 23, 2024.
  132. Web site: 'Sesame Street' Movie Taps 'Portlandia' Co-Creator Jonathan Krisel as Director (EXCLUSIVE). Variety. Justin. Kroll. September 30, 2018. September 30, 2018. September 29, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180929194834/https://variety.com/2018/film/news/sesame-street-movie-director-jonathan-krisel-portlandia-1202961279/. live.
  133. Web site: 'The Witch Boy': Netflix To Release Animated Musical From Oscar-Nominated Director Minkyu Lee. Deadline Hollywood. Alexandra Del. Rosario. January 28, 2021. December 20, 2022. February 4, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210204114412/https://deadline.com/2021/01/the-witch-boy-netflix-oscar-nominated-minkyu-lee-animated-musical-1234682006/. live.
  134. Web site: Kristen Stewart To Direct Scott Free's Adaptation Of 'The Chronology Of Water' Starring Imogen Poots. Deadline Hollywood. Justin. Kroll. November 16, 2022. November 16, 2022.
  135. Web site: Taylor Swift Making Feature Directing Debut for Searchlight Pictures. Variety. Brent. Lang. December 9, 2022. December 11, 2022. December 10, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221210030559/https://variety.com/2022/film/news/taylor-swift-feature-directing-debut-searchlight-pictures-1235455606/. live.