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.
#20
Abbas Kiarostami
Before his death last year at the age of 76, Kiarostami was perhaps Iran's most acclaimed film director. He was a staple at Cannes (winning the Palme d'Or in 1997 for Taste of Cherry), and his most recent works found him working in Europe and Asia for the first time.
The director's final film, 24 Frames, has yet to reach American theaters, but it received strong reviews upon its Cannes debut in May and will likely raise Kiarostami's average score when it comes out. (Also omitted is his experimental 2008 feature Shirin, which did not get a U.S. release.)
| Films directed, 2000-2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| ▣ | Ten | 2002 |
| ▣ | Certified Copy | 2010 |
| ▣ | Like Someone in Love | 2012 |
| ▣ | ABC Africa | 2001 |