If filmmaking were a human body, the director would serve as the brain, and the rest of the crew would be the rest of the body - they each have their own purposes and functions, but ultimately need directions from the brain. A director is the visionary of a film; determining a film’s overall look while collaborating with other heads of departments. Directors have to visualize and make decisions in all areas, such as cinematography, lighting, actors’ performances, locations, costumes, set design, and more.
A director’s job is not easy, and although most of the established directions are much older, there are blossoming young directors who have taken the world by storm. They are an inspiration to young aspiring filmmakers worldwide who previously lacked confidence due to their age.
Benh Zeitlin
Zeitlin is a 39-year-old American filmmaker who has directed a few films, such as Beasts of the Southern Wild and Wendy. His first-ever feature, a fantasy drama film Beasts of the Southern Wild, received 4 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay.
It also won many awards from Sundance Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival, to name a few. In 2020, he released his second fantasy feature Wendy, where he took inspiration from re-imagining Peter Pan.
Gia Coppola
If her name sounds familiar, you guessed it right - she’s part of the Coppola family. Born in 1987, Gia Coppola is the granddaughter of master filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola and the niece of Sofia Coppola. Her feature-length directorial debut was in James Franco’s book adaptation Palo Alto starring James Franco, Emma Roberts, and Nat Wolff. The film won a few awards, such as ‘Best Youth Film’ from the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival and ‘Best Film’ from Venice Horizons Award.
Her current directorial project is called The Seven Faces of Jane, which she is co-directing with Community alumni Gillian Jacobs and Ken Jeong, and is currently in its post-production phase. Time has proven that filmmaking runs in the Coppola family.
Evan Goldberg
Goldberg is best known as a writer/director and frequent collaborator with his childhood friend, Seth Rogen. Nearly all of his works include Seth Rogen as the main actor: The Interview, Sausage Party, Knocked Up, The Disaster Artist, This Is The End, Pineapple Express, and more.
His first feature Superbad, starring Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, and Michael Cera, among the few comedy legends in the film, gave him a start in his filmmaking venture and comedic storytelling. Superbad has been claimed as an “iconic comedy...a true classic of its times” by Maxim film critic Pete Hammond.
Xavier Dolan
In 2009, Xavier Dolan made his directorial debut for I Killed My Mother at just 19 years old but wrote the script when he was only 16. What makes his debut even more impressive is his role as not just the director but also the writer, producer, costume designer, and actor - all of which he excelled. The Canadian director won 18 awards for the film alone, three in the Cannes Film Festival.
Dolan made nine more films after his directorial debut, some of them including Laurence Anyways, Matthias & Maxime, and most recently made his TV directorial and writing debut for The Night Logan Woke Up. At just 33 years of age, he proves that age is just a number, and it shouldn’t hinder young filmmakers from competing against some of the best in the world.
Lulu Wang
Lulu Wang’s Posthumous, which she wrote and directed in 2014, was her first-ever feature film. At 39 years old, Lulu Wang, a Chinese-born American, eventually made a name for herself through the award-winning film starring Awkwafina, The Farewell. Wang’s personal and cultural experiences growing up in a Chinese background inspired the 2019 comedy-drama film.
Wang has inspired millions of not just aspiring female filmmakers but also artists with an Asian background. With a nearly all-Asian cast, The Farewell opened up many opportunities for Asian actors and filmmakers (especially women) globally.
Ryan Coogler
American filmmaker Ryan Coogler was included in Time’s list of 30 people under 30 who are changing the world in 2013. It's no wonder Coogler made it to the list because he has directed incredible films such as Fruitvale Station, Creed, and Black Panther, and its sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, set to be released by the end of this year, at such a young age.
Coogler’s first feature film was Fruitvale Station, which he wrote and directed. The 2013 biographical drama film starred the likes of Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer, and Chad Michael Murray. It is based on the events leading up to the death of Oscar Grant who was a young African-American man who was fatally shot in Fruitvale Station in California. The film won over 30 awards from various film festivals and associations.
Lena Dunham
Lena Dunham is perhaps most well known for her role as the creator of the hit HBO series Girls, as well as being an executive producer and one of the lead actors in it. Some of the experiences that her character, Hannah, faces in the series, are inspired by her real-life experiences living in New York - this is perhaps why many struggling young women can relate to her character in the series.
Her new upcoming semi-autobiographical comedy film Sharp Stick, which she wrote, directed, and produced is set to release in July this year, marking her directorial debut in a feature-length film. At just 35 years old, Dunham has proven her stance as a talented filmmaker, writer, and actor.
Robert Eggers
Robert Eggers is perhaps best known for his role as a director, but he is also a talented writer and production designer. Growing up in England, Eggers developed a liking for folklore and grotesque fairytales from a young age. Films such as The Witch and most famously, The Lighthouse all have depictions of dark horroresque folklore, which give off a sense of uneasiness and unrealism.
The Lighthouse was an entirely black and white film intentionally shot in a square 1:19.1 aspect ratio. Set in the early 1890s, Eggers feels that the aspect ratio works best for this film and is an homage to old black and white films which usually have squarer aspect ratios. His most recent project is the action-adventure film The Northman, which was released just a few weeks ago. This is his first higher-budget film produced by Focus Features and Universal Pictures. Most of his previous works were produced by A24, an independent entertainment company that produces lower-budget films and gives more creative freedom to its artists. Eggers also frequently collaborates with The Queen’s Gambit’s Anya-Taylor Joy, who has starred in three of his projects - The Witch being her first-ever feature film.
Damien Chazelle
Damien Chazelle won his first Oscar for Best Director for the musical-romance film La La Land in 2017 when he was just 32 years old, making him the youngest director to have won an Oscar in that category. The film, starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, was nominated for 14 Oscar nominations in total and won 6. The only other film to have received 14 nominations was Titanic, in 1997, and All About Eve, in 1950. His previous film Whiplash, which starred Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons, also received five Oscar nominations - winning three for Best Supporting Actor for J.K. Simmons, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound Mixing.
Chazelle’s other works include 10 Cloverfield Lane, First Man, and Babylon. The sci-fi psychological thriller 10 Cloverfield Lane was released in the same year as La La Land in 2016, while First Man, another collaboration with Ryan Gosling, was a biopic film about Neil Armstrong released in 2018. His most recent period-drama film Babylon, starring Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, and Tobey Maguire is in the post-production phase and is set to release by Christmas this year.