25 Best Film Directors of the 21st Century (So Far)

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – July 19, 2017

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.

21 of 27 photo by Jess Pinkham via Bill Ross

84.3

#6 (tie)

Ross brothers

Documentarian brothers Bill and Turner Ross have only made four features, but all of them have impressed critics. Much of their work—which finds the brothers sharing photography and producing duties in addition to directing—details life in various American locales (including New Orleans in Tchoupitoulas and small-town Ohio in 45365), though their most recent feature documents a color guard performance and concert curated by David Byrne. (A fifth documentary, River, was released episodically online and was not generally reviewed by film critics.)

Films directed, 2000-2017
▣	Western	2015
▣	45365	2009
▣	Tchoupitoulas	2012
▣	Contemporary Color	2016

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