Top 25 UP-and-COMING Directors to Look out for
*First Film must have been within last 5 years
*Listed by Date of First Film(aka Newness)
Honorable Mentions of UP-and-COMING directors that made 1 film more than 5 years ago and therefore had to be excluded
-------------------
1) Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In) - Excluded due to "The Pallbearer (1996)"
2) Greg Mottola (Adventureland, Superbad) - Excluded due to "The Daytrippers (1996)"
3) James Gunn (Slither, Super) - Excluded due to "Tromeo & Juliet (1996)"
4) Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth, Waiting for Superman) - Excluded due to "Gossip (2000)"
5) Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine) - Excluded due to "Brother Tied (1998)"
6) Mike Cahill (Another Earth) - Excluded due to "Boxers & Ballerinas (2004)"
7) Lee Daniels (Precious) - Excluded due to "Shadowboxer (2005)"
8) Bobcat Goldthwait (Worlds Greatest Dad) - Excluded due to "Shakes The Clown (1991)"
9) David Yates (Harry Potter) - Excluded due to "The Tichborne Claimant (1998)"
10) Rian Johnson (Brick, Brothers Bloom) - Excluded due to "Brick (2005)"
11) Bennett Miller (Moneyball, Capote) - Excluded due to "Capote (2005)"
12) Andrew Domink (Assassination of Jesse James) - Excluded due to "Chopper (2000)"
13) Johnathan Dayton/Valarie faris (Little Miss Sunshine) - Excluded due to Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
14) Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, 40 year old virgin) - Excluded due to "40 Year old Virgin (2005)"
*Listed by Date of First Film(aka Newness)
Honorable Mentions of UP-and-COMING directors that made 1 film more than 5 years ago and therefore had to be excluded
-------------------
1) Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In) - Excluded due to "The Pallbearer (1996)"
2) Greg Mottola (Adventureland, Superbad) - Excluded due to "The Daytrippers (1996)"
3) James Gunn (Slither, Super) - Excluded due to "Tromeo & Juliet (1996)"
4) Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth, Waiting for Superman) - Excluded due to "Gossip (2000)"
5) Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine) - Excluded due to "Brother Tied (1998)"
6) Mike Cahill (Another Earth) - Excluded due to "Boxers & Ballerinas (2004)"
7) Lee Daniels (Precious) - Excluded due to "Shadowboxer (2005)"
8) Bobcat Goldthwait (Worlds Greatest Dad) - Excluded due to "Shakes The Clown (1991)"
9) David Yates (Harry Potter) - Excluded due to "The Tichborne Claimant (1998)"
10) Rian Johnson (Brick, Brothers Bloom) - Excluded due to "Brick (2005)"
11) Bennett Miller (Moneyball, Capote) - Excluded due to "Capote (2005)"
12) Andrew Domink (Assassination of Jesse James) - Excluded due to "Chopper (2000)"
13) Johnathan Dayton/Valarie faris (Little Miss Sunshine) - Excluded due to Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
14) Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, 40 year old virgin) - Excluded due to "40 Year old Virgin (2005)"
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- Director
- Composer
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Born in New York City and raised in Sunnyside, Queens and then Westchester County, Benh Zeitlin began his career as a film-maker at the tender age of 6 years when he and a friend made a Batman movie. He continued making films as a child before attending Wesleyan University, where he majored in film. After graduation, Benh spent a summer in Prague working with a prominent animation artist. Returning to the U.S., he worked in a private school in Manhattan helping elementary students create short films.First Film Directed: Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)(USA)
Last Film Directed: Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)(USA)
Upcoming Film: N/A- Writer
- Director
- Producer
John Michael McDonagh was born in 1967 in London, England, UK. He is a writer and director, known for The Guard (2011), Calvary (2014) and The Forgiven (2021). He has been married to Elizabeth Eves since 2003.First Film Directed: The Guard (2011)(UK)
Last Film Directed: The Guard (2011)(UK)
Upcoming Film: Calvary (2013)(UK)- Writer
- Director
- Editor
Joe Cornish was born on 20 December 1968 in London, England, UK. He is a writer and director, known for Attack the Block (2011), Ant-Man (2015) and The Kid Who Would Be King (2019).First Film Directed: Attack the Block (2011)(UK)
Last Film Directed: Attack the Block (2011)(UK)
Upcoming Film: N/A (Possibly Attack the Block Sequel or Die Hard 5)- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Writer/Director Dee Rees is an alumna of New York University's graduate film program and a Sundance Screenwriting & Directing Lab Fellow.
In 2018, Dee became the first Black woman nominated for an Oscar in the Best Adapted Screenplay category for her highly-acclaimed film Mudbound (2017). The film, starring Jason Mitchell, Carey Mulligan and Mary J. Blige, tells the story of two men returning home from World War II, struggling to deal with racism and post-war life and was nominated for four Oscars, two Golden Globes, and received over 100 nominations between 2017 and 2018.
Her 1980's political thriller The Last Thing He Wanted is an adaptation of the novel by Joan Didion and will star Anne Hathaway as hardened journalist Elena McMahon.
Dee's Emmy-Award winning HBO film Bessie (2015) starred Queen Latifah as the legendary American Blues singer and was nominated for a total of twelve Emmy Awards, including Dee's individual nominations for Outstanding Writing and Outstanding Directing For A Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special. Bessie was also nominated for four Critics' Choice Awards and Dee was the recipient of the 2016 Director's Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Miniseries as well as the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Directing in a Television Movie.
Dee's debut feature film Pariah starring Adepero Oduye and Kim Wayans premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival where it was honored with the festival's U.S. Dramatic Competition "Excellence in Cinematography" Award and was later released by Focus Features. Pariah went on to win numerous awards including the John Cassavetes Award at the Independent Spirit Awards (2011), the Gotham Award for Best Breakthrough Director (2011), Outstanding Film- Limited Release at the GLAAD Media Awards (2012) and it received seven NAACP Image Award nominations including Outstanding Motion Picture, Outstanding Directing and Outstanding Writing and won the award for Outstanding Independent Motion Picture. Pariah also earned Dee a spot on New York Times' 10 Directors to Watch list in 2013.
Previously, Dee was selected as a 2008 Tribeca Institute/Renew Media Arts Fellow and appeared on Filmmaker Magazine's 25 New Faces of Independent Film that same year. She is a 2011 United States Artists Fellow and her notable residencies include Yaddo and The MacDowell Colony.
Dee Rees was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee and resides in New York.First Film Directed: Pariah (2011)(USA)
Last Film Directed: Pariah (2011)(USA)
Upcoming Film: Bolo (2013)(USA)- Producer
- Director
- Writer
J.C. Chandor is known for A Most Violent Year (2014), Margin Call (2011) and All Is Lost (2013). He has been married to Mary Cameron Goodyear since 2004. They have two children.First Film Directed: Margin Call (2011)(USA)
Last Film Directed: Margin Call (2011)(USA)
Upcoming Film: All Is Lost (2013)(USA)- Writer
- Director
- Producer
James Bobin was born in 1972 in Hampshire, England, UK. He is a writer and director, known for Muppets Most Wanted (2014), The Muppets (2011) and Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019). He is married to Fran Beauman. They have three children.First Film Directed: The Muppets (2011)(USA)
Last Film Directed: The Muppets (2011)(USA)
Upcoming Film: The Muppets 2 (2013)(USA)- Writer
- Producer
- Actor
David Michôd is known for The King (2019), Animal Kingdom (2010) and The Rover (2014). He is married to Mirrah Foulkes.First Film Directed: Animal Kingdom (2010)(Australia)
Last Film Directed: Animal Kingdom (2010)(Australia)
Upcoming Film: Sydney Unplugged (segment)(2013)(Australia); The Rover (2013)(Australia)- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Ruben Fleischer was born on 31 October 1974 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. He is a producer and director, known for Zombieland (2009), Gangster Squad (2013) and Venom (2018). He has been married to Holly Shakoor Fleischer since 10 November 2012.First Film Directed: Zombieland (2009)(USA)
Last Film Directed: 30 Minutes of Less (2011)(USA)
Upcoming Film: Gangster Squad (2012)(USA)- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Duncan Jones was born on 30 May 1971 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK. He is a director and writer, known for Moon (2009), Source Code (2011) and Mute (2018). He has been married to Rodene Ronquillo since 6 November 2012. They have two children.First Film Directed: Moon (2009)(USA)
Last Film Directed: Source Code (2011)(USA)
Upcoming Film: Mute(Sequel to "Moon") (2011)(USA)- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Cary Joji Fukunaga is a Japanese-American film director, screenwriter, cinematographer and producer from Oakland, California who is known for directing the James Bond film No Time to Die, Kofi, Beasts of No Nation, Jane Eyre and Sin Nombre. He co-wrote the 2017 film adaptation of the Stephen King book It. He directed several episodes of the television show True Detective.First Film Directed: Sin Nombre (2009)(USA/Mexico)
Last Film Directed: Jane Eyre (2011)(USA/UK)
Upcoming Film: No Blood, No Guts, No Glory (2013)(USA)- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Marc Webb is an American film and music video director. He directed over 100 music videos before he made his film directorial debut with 500 Days of Summer, a romantic comedy. He later directed The Amazing Spider-Man and its 2014 sequel starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. He also directed Gifted and The Only Living Boy in New York.First Film Directed: 500 Days of Summer (2009)(USA)
Last Film Directed: 500 Days of Summer (2009)(USA)
Upcoming Film: The Amazing Spiderman (2012)(USA)- Producer
- Writer
- Actor
Philip A. Lord is an American filmmaker, producer and writer who collaborates with Christopher Miller. They both worked on Clone High, a cult classic animated sci-fi teen comedy show, The Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street, 22 Jump Street and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Into the Spider-Verse is considered one of the best animated films of the 2010s and won Best Animated Feature.First Film Directed: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (2009)(USA)
Last Film Directed: 21 Jump Street (2012)(USA)
Upcoming Film: Lego: The Piece of Resistance (2014)(USA)
*Phil Lord and Chris Miller are kind of a package deal so I think they count as one.- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Nicholas Stoller is an English-American screenwriter and director. He is known best for directing the 2008 comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and writing/directing its 2010 spin-off/sequel, Get Him to the Greek. He also wrote The Muppets and directed the Seth Rogen comedy, Neighbors. He is a frequent creative partner of Jason Segel.First Film Directed: Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)(USA)
Last Film Directed: Get Him to the Greek (2010)(USA)
Upcoming Film: The Five-Year Engagement (2012)(USA)- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Writer, Director and Producer Rupert Wyatt was born and raised in the South of England.
He is the founding member of the film collective Picture Farm that along with its prolific Commercial output has produced numerous Documentaries and Feature Films including the multi-award winning DARK DAYS (2001), and FISHING WITHOUT NETS (2014) both audience award winners of the Sundance Film Festival. His directorial debut was THE ESCAPIST (2008) starring Brian Cox, Damian Lewis, Dominic Cooper and Joseph Fiennes, which premiered at the Sundance film festival and was nominated for eight international awards.
As a screenwriter he has worked in France for producers Claudie Ossard (AMELIE) and Jean-Pierre Ramsay (TOTAL ECLIPSE), the UK, and the U.S where has written screenplays for 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros, Universal Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment.
His 2nd film as director was 20th Century Fox's RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2011) starring Andy Serkis. Since it's release, the film has seen enormous success worldwide, both critically and commercially, spawning one sequel and a second soon to be released.
In 2013 he directed the Pilot episode of AMC's TURN which is soon to begin production on its 4th Season. 2014 saw the release of Paramount Pictures' THE GAMBLER, his 3rd film as director, and starring Mark Wahlberg, Brie Larson, John Goodman, and Jessica Lange.
As of 2016, he lives between Los Angeles and Hudson, New York with his wife Erica Beeney; a film maker, and their three children.First Film Directed: The Escapist (2008)(USA)
Last Film Directed: Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)(USA)
Upcoming Film: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)(USA)- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Steve McQueen was born on 9 October 1969 in London, England, UK. He is a director and producer, known for 12 Years a Slave (2013), Shame (2011) and Hunger (2008). He is married to Bianca Stigter. They have two children.First Film Directed: Hunger (2008)(UK)
Last Film Directed: Shame (2011)(UK)
Upcoming Film: 12 Years A Slave (2013)(UK/USA)- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Martin McDonagh was born on 26 March 1970 in Camberwell, London, England, UK. He is a writer and director, known for In Bruges (2008), Seven Psychopaths (2012) and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017).First Film Directed: In Bruges (2008)(UK)
Last Film Directed: In Bruges (2008)(UK)
Upcoming Film: Seven Psychopaths (2012) (UK)- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Jonathan Levine was born on 18 June 1976. He is a producer and director, known for 50/50 (2011), The Wackness (2008) and Warm Bodies (2013).First Film Directed: All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006-completed, 2008-released)(USA)
Last Film Directed: 50/50 (2011)(USA)
Upcoming Film: Warm Bodies (2013)(USA)- Producer
- Director
- Actor
Tate Taylor was born on 3 June 1969 in Jackson, Mississippi, USA. He is a producer and director, known for Get on Up (2014), The Help (2011) and The Girl on the Train (2016).First Film Directed: Pretty Ugly People (2008)(USA)
Last Film Directed: The Help (2011)(USA)
Upcoming Film: Peace Like a River (2013)(USA)- Director
- Editor
- Writer
Rodrigo Cortés was born in 1973 in Pazos Hermos, Ourense, Galicia, Spain. He is a director and editor, known for Buried (2010), Love Gets a Room (2021) and Red Lights (2012).First Film Directed: The Contestant (2007)(Spain)
Last Film Directed: Buried (2010)(Spain)
Upcoming Film: Red Lights (2012)(USA/Spain)- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Jeff Nichols was born on 7 December 1978 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He is a writer and director, known for Take Shelter (2011), Mud (2012) and Midnight Special (2016).First Film Directed: Shotgun Stories (2007)(USA)
Last Film Directed: Take Shelter (2011)(USA)
Upcoming Film: Mud (2012)(USA)- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Juan Antonio García Bayona is a Spanish film director. He directed the 2007 horror film The Orphanage, the 2012 drama film The Impossible, and the 2016 fantasy drama film A Monster Calls. Bayona's latest film is the 2018 science fiction adventure film Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, the fifth installment of the Jurassic Park film series. He has also directed television commercials and music videos. He will direct the first two episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.First Film Directed: The Orphanage (2007)(USA)
Last Film Directed: The Orphanage (2007)(USA)
Upcoming Film: The Impossible (2012)(USA)- Producer
- Actor
- Writer
Benjamin Géza "Ben" Affleck-Boldt was born on August 15, 1972 in Berkeley, California and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to mother Chris Anne (Boldt), a school teacher, and father Timothy Byers "Tim" Affleck, a social worker. Ben has a younger brother, actor Casey Affleck, who was born in 1975. He is of mostly English, Irish, German, and Scottish ancestry. His middle name, Géza, is after a Hungarian family friend who was a Holocaust survivor.
Affleck wanted to be an actor ever since he could remember, and his first acting experience was for a Burger King commercial, when he was on the PBS mini-series, The Voyage of the Mimi (1984). It was also at that age when Ben met his lifelong friend and fellow actor, Matt Damon. They played little league together and took drama classes together. Ben's teen years consisted of mainly TV movies and small television appearances including Hands of a Stranger (1987) and The Second Voyage of the Mimi (1988). He made his big introduction into feature films in 1993 when he was cast in Dazed and Confused (1993). After that, he did mostly independent films like Kevin Smith's Mallrats (1995) and Chasing Amy (1997) which were great for Ben's career, receiving renowned appreciation for his works at the Sundance film festival. But the success he was having in independent films didn't last much longer and things got a little shaky for Ben. He was living in an apartment with his brother Casey and friend Matt, getting tired of being turned down for the big roles in films and being given the forgettable supporting ones. Since Matt was having the same trouble, they decided to write their own script, where they could call all the shots. So, after finishing the script for Good Will Hunting (1997), they gave it to their agent, Patrick Whitesell, who showed it to a few Hollywood studios, finally being accepted by Castle Rock. It was great news for the two, but Castle Rock wasn't willing to give Ben and Matt the control over the project they were hoping for. It was friend Kevin Smith who took it to the head of Miramax who bought the script giving Ben and Matt the control they wanted and, in December 5, 1997, Good Will Hunting (1997) was released, making the two unknown actors famous. The film was nominated for 9 Academy Awards and won two, including Best Original Screenplay for Ben and Matt. The film marked Ben's breakthrough role, in which he was given for the first time the chance to choose roles instead of having to go through grueling auditions constantly.
Affleck chose such roles in the blockbusters Armageddon (1998), Shakespeare in Love (1998), and Pearl Harbor (2001). In the early years of the 2000s, he also starred in the box office hits Changing Lanes (2002), The Sum of All Fears (2002), and Daredevil (2003), as well as the disappointing comedies Gigli (2003) and Surviving Christmas (2004). While the mid 2000s were considered a career downturn for Affleck, he received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance in Hollywoodland (2006). In the several years following, he played supporting roles, including in the films Smokin' Aces (2006), He's Just Not That Into You (2009), State of Play (2009), and Extract (2009). He ventured into directing in 2007, with the thriller Gone Baby Gone (2007), which starred his brother, Casey Affleck, and was well received. He then directed, co-wrote, and starred in The Town (2010), which was named to the National Board of Review Top Ten Films of the year. For the political thriller Argo (2012), which he directed and starred in, Affleck won the Golden Globe Award and BAFTA Award for Best Director, and the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, and BAFTA Award for Best Picture (Affleck's second Oscar win).
In 2014, Affleck headlined the book adaptation thriller Gone Girl (2014). He starred as Bruce Wayne/Batman in the superhero film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Suicide Squad (2016), and Justice League (2017). He reprised the role in Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021) and he will next appear as Batman in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023) and The Flash (2023).
Recently he has given praise-worthy performances in The Way Back (2020) as a recovering alcoholic, The Last Duel (2021) (notably he also co-wrote the script), and a scene-stealing golden globe nominated performance in The Tender Bar (2021).First Film Directed: Gone Baby Gone (2007)(USA)
Last Film Directed: Town (2010)(USA)
Upcoming Film: Argo (2012)(USA)- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Tony Gilroy was born in Manhattan, New York, New York, USA; and raised in upstate New York. His father, Frank D. Gilroy, was a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, director, and screenwriter. Tony has penned many films, including The Devil's Advocate (1997) and The Cutting Edge (1992).First Film Directed: Michael Clayton (2007)(USA)
Last Film Directed: Duplicity (2009)(USA)
Upcoming Film: The Bourne Legacy (2012)(USA)- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Charles Ferguson was born on 24 March 1955 in San Francisco, California, USA. He is a producer and director, known for Inside Job (2010), No End in Sight (2007) and Watergate (2018).First Film Directed: No End in Sight (2007)(USA)
Last Film Directed: Inside Job (2010)(USA)
Upcoming Film: Untitled HBO Wikileaks Movie (2013)(USA)- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Sarah Polley is an actress and director renowned in her native Canada for her political activism. Blessed with an extremely expressive face that enables directors to minimize dialog due to her uncanny ability to suggest a character's thoughts, Polley has become a favorite of critics for her sensitive portraits of wounded and conflicted young women in independent films.
She was born into a show business family: her stepfather, Michael Polley, appeared with her in the movie The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) and on the television series Avonlea (1990); and her mother, Diane Polley, was an actress and casting director. It was her mother's connections that launched Sarah, at her own insistence, on an acting career at the age of four, following in the footsteps of her older half-brother Mark Polley. A second half-brother, John Buchan, is a casting director and producer.
Her career as a child actress shifted into high gear when she was cast as the Cockney waif Jody Turner in Lantern Hill (1989), for which she won a Gemini Award, the Canadian equivalent of the Emmy, in 1992. Produced by Kevin Sullivan, the film was based on the book by Lucy Maud Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables (1985). When Sullivan created a television series based on Montgomery's work, he cast Polley in the lead role of Sara Stanley in Avonlea (1990). The series propelled Polley into the first rank of Canadian TV stars and made her independently wealthy by the age of fourteen.
Her personal life was deeply affected by the death of her mother Diane from cancer shortly after her 11th birthday, a development that ironically paralleled the fictional life of her character Sara. Highly intelligent and politically progressive at a young age, Polley eventually rebelled against what she felt was the Americanization of the series after it was picked up by the Disney Channel for distribution in the US, eventually dropping out of the show. Though she does not blame her parents, she remains publicly disenchanted over the loss of her childhood and, in October 2003, said she is working on a script about a twelve-year-old girl on a TV show.
Polley, who picked up a second Gemini Award for her performance in the TV series Straight Up (1996), subsequently quit acting and high school to turn her attention to politics, positioning herself on the extreme left of Canada's left-of-center New Democratic Party. The publicity ensuing from her losing some teeth after being slugged by an Ontario policeman during a protest against the Conservative provincial government, plus the stinging cynicism from some other activists unimpressed by her celebrity, led her to lower her political profile temporarily and return to acting in Atom Egoyan's film The Sweet Hereafter (1997). It was her appearance as Nicole, the teenage girl injured in a school bus accident who serves as the conscience of the small town rent by the tragedy, that first brought her to the attention of critics in the US. In Canada, the role was heralded by critics as her successful breakthrough to adult roles. It was her second film with Egoyan, who wrote the part with her in mind when he adapted the novel by Russell Banks, who, ironically, is American. Predictions of an Academy Award nomination and future stardom were part of the critical consensus, and she received her first Best Actress Genie nomination from Canada's Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television and the Best Supporting Actress award from the Boston Society of Film Critics. It was the buzz created at the Sundance Festival, where her starring role in the film Guinevere (1999) was showcased, when the entertainment media crowned her the it-girl of 1999.
Intensely private and extremely ambivalent about the personal cost of celebrity and the Hollywood ethos Fame is the Name of the Game, Polley could be seen as rebelling against the expectations of mainstream cinema when she embarked on a career path that took her out of the spotlight thrown by the harsh lights of the Hollywood hype/publicity machine after shooting the film Go (1999). She dropped out of Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous (2000), the US$60 million mega-hyped vehicle that was supposed to make her a mainstream star in the US, choosing to return to Canada to make the CDN$1.5 million The Law of Enclosures (2000) for Genie Award-winner John Greyson, a director she admires greatly. The film grossed poorly in Canada and was not released in the US, but it did garner Polley her second Genie nomination for Best Actress. While her replacement in Almost Famous (2000) went on to win an Oscar nomination and a career above the title in glossy Hollywood films, she took a wide variety of parts, large and small, in independent films, including significant roles in the ensemble pieces The Claim (2000) and The Weight of Water (2000); bit parts in eXistenZ (1999) and Love Come Down (2000); and the lead in No Such Thing (2001). Her choice of projects showed her to be a questing spirit more focused on learning the art of her craft than on stardom.
She has said that her choice of film roles, eschewing mainstream Hollywood movies for chancier, non-commercial independent fare, was the result of an ethical decision on her part to make films with social importance. A less-observant viewer might think that the rebel Polley played in her political life that had previously manifested itself in her profession was now driving her to the verge of career suicide in terms of popularity, marketability, and choice of future roles. However, that interpretation does not recognize the extraordinary talent that will always keep her in demand by directors, if not casting agents, with an eye on the opening weekend box office. One must understand Polley's career progression in light of her attendance at the Canadian Film Centre's directors program and her production of short films, including Don't Think Twice (1999) and the highly praised I Shout Love (2001). Polley is a cinema artist. This woman wants to make, and will make films. Thus, we can understand her career choices as a desire to work with and understand the technique of some of the best directors in film, including David Cronenberg, Michael Winterbottom, and Hal Hartley.
Polley is as renowned for her intelligence as for her remarkable talent. The problem of the intelligent person in the acting field is that the actor, as artist, in not ultimately in control of their medium, and it is artistic control that is the hallmark of the great artist. The controlling intelligence on a movie set is the director, and her attendance at the Canadian Film Centre has given her a new perspective on acting. The actor, she says, should not try to give a complete performance for the camera (that is, control the representation on film) but must remember that the function of the actor is to give the director as much coverage as possible as a film, as well as a performance, is made in the editing room. According to Polley, this realization, that the film actor exists to serve the director, has given her new enthusiasm for acting. Thus, her career, and her career choices, can be seen as a quest for knowledge about the art of cinema, a journey whose fruition we will see in her future feature work as both actor and director.First Film Directed: Away From Her (2006)(Canada)
Last Film Directed: Away From Her (2006)(Canada)
Upcoming Film: Take This Waltz (2012)(Canada)