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.
#8
Asghar Farhadi
The talented Iranian director has been increasingly recognized in America in recent years, even receiving an Academy Award screenplay nomination for 2011's A Separation. (That film, like Farhadi's most recent effort The Salesman, won an Oscar in the foreign-language category, and they are the only two Iranian films so honored.) Note that Farhadi's 2003 directorial debut Dancing in the Dust was not released in the States and thus does not have enough reviews available for consideration.
| Films directed, 2000-2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| ▣ | A Separation | 2011 |
| ▣ | About Elly | 2009 |
| ▣ | The Past | 2013 |
| ▣ | The Salesman | 2016 |
| ▣ | Fireworks Wednesday | 2006 |
| ▣ | The Beautiful City | 2004 |