25 Best Film Directors of the 21st Century (So Far)
Which directors have received the best reviews from professional critics since 2000? Find out below, where we rank this century's top filmmakers by their average Metascores.
To be included, a director must have four or more eligible films. Such films have seven or more reviews from professional critics and were first released (in any country) on or after January 1, 2000, and must have been released (including as a straight-to-Netflix streaming release) at some point in the USA. Multi-director anthology films are excluded, as are theatrical re-releases of older films. Averages were calculated using Metascores from July 12, 2017, and include films released through July 7, 2017.
#16 (tie)
Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Turkey's most notable working director won the Palme d'Or in Cannes for his most recent feature, 2014's Winter Sleep. His next film is The Wild Pear Tree, a drama about an aspiring author that will likely make its debut at Cannes in 2018.
| Films directed, 2000-2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| ▣ | Winter Sleep | 2014 |
| ▣ | Distant | 2002 |
| ▣ | Once Upon a Time in Anatolia | 2011 |
| ▣ | Three Monkeys | 2008 |
| ▣ | Climates | 2006 |