GAY FILM DIRECTORS past and present

1. Jeffrey Schwarz

Jeffrey Schwarz is an Emmy Award-winning producer, director and editor based in Los Angeles. His latest feature documentary is "Commitment to Life," which chronicles the city of Los Angeles' response to the HIV/AIDS crisis. It premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and is ...

--I Am Divine-- --Tab Hunter Confidential-- --Vito-- --Wrangler: Anatomy Of An Icon-- --Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story--

2. Lee Daniels

Producer | Precious

Lee Daniels gave his parents an early Christmas present when he entered the world on December 24, 1959; unfortunately, the Philadelphia native was to have a difficult relationship with his police officer father who later reacted violently to his son's sexuality. Despite the brutality of his ...

--The Butler-- --The Paperboy-- --Shadow Boxer-- --Precious--

3. John Cameron Mitchell

Actor | Hedwig and the Angry Inch

John Cameron Mitchell was born on April 21, 1963 in El Paso, Texas, USA. He is an actor and director, known for Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001), Shortbus (2006) and How to Talk to Girls at Parties (2017).

--Rabbit Hole-- --Shortbus-- --Trending Down-- --Headwig And the Angry Inch--

4. John Waters

Writer | Pecker

Growing up in Baltimore in the 1950s, John Waters was not like other children; he was obsessed by violence and gore, both real and on the screen. With his weird counter-culture friends as his cast, he began making silent 8mm and 16mm films in the mid-'60s; he screened these in rented Baltimore ...

--Pink Flamingos-- --Hairspray-- --Serial Mom-- --Female Trouble--

5. Jean Cocteau

Writer | La Belle et la Bête

Jean Cocteau was one of the most multi-talented artists of the 20th century. In addition to being a director, he was a poet, novelist, painter, playwright, set designer, and actor. He began writing at 10 and was a published poet by age 16. He collaborated with the "Russian Ballet" company of Sergei...

--Beauty And The Beast-- --Orpheus-- --Les Parents Terribles-- --The Blood Of A Poet--

6. Derek Jarman

Director | Caravaggio

After school, Jarman studied history and art history at King's College. In 1963 he began studying art in Pop Art London. In the general mood of optimism from the mid-1960s onward, he began to openly confront his homosexuality. Jarman took over the set design for Ken Russell on the films "The Devils...

--Sabastiane-- --Jubilee-- --Caravaggio-- --The Last Of England--

7. John Krokidas

Director | Kill Your Darlings

John received his B.A. in Theater & American Studies from Yale University, before attending New York University's Graduate Film Program where his first short film, "Shame No More" went on to play over 70 film festivals, while his second, "Slo-Mo" premiered at Telluride and Sundance and then aired ...

--Kill Your Darlings-- --Slo-Mo --Shame No More--

8. Alejandro Amenábar

Writer | The Others

Is the son of a Spanish mother and a Chilean father. His family moved back to Spain when he was 1 year old, and he grew up and studied in Madrid. He wrote, produced and directed his first short film La cabeza at the age of 19, and he was 23 when he directed his feature debut Thesis (1996). His film ...

--The Others-- --The Sea Inside-- --Open Your Eyes-- --Butterfly--

9. Paul Bartel

Actor | Eating Raoul

Paul Bartel was born in Brooklyn in 1938. He decided he wanted to direct animated movies when he was 11 and by 13 had spent a summer working at New York's UPA animation studio. He majored in theater arts at UCLA, and received a Fulbright scholarship to study film direction in Rome, producing a ...

--Death Race 2000--- --Private Parts-- --Lust In The Dust-- --Eating Raoul--

10. Travis Mathews

Director | Interior. Leather Bar.

Travis Mathews is a writer/director/editor. Informed with a Masters in Counseling Psychology and a background in documentary, Mathews is a self-taught filmmaker based in San Francisco.

In 2009 he started an ongoing documentary series called "In Their Room" about gay men and their bedrooms as ...

--Interior. Leather Bar.-- --I Want Your Love-- --In Their Room: Berlin-- --In Their Room: London--

11. Dustin Lance Black

Writer | Milk

Dustin Lance Black was born on June 10, 1974 in Sacramento, California, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Milk (2008), Under the Banner of Heaven (2022) and J. Edgar (2011). He has been married to Tom Daley since May 6, 2017. They have one child.

--The Journey Of Jared Price-- --Virginia-- --On The Bus-- --My Life With count Dracula--

12. Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Writer | Faustrecht der Freiheit

Above all, Rainer Werner Fassbinder was a rebel whose life and art was marked by gross contradiction. Openly homosexual, he married twice; one of his wives acted in his films and the other served as his editor. Accused variously by detractors of being anticommunist, male chauvinist, antiSemitic and...

--The Marriage Of Maria Braun-- --The Bitter Tears Of Petra Van Kant-- --Lili Marleen-- --Querelle--

13. Todd Haynes

Director | Far from Heaven

Todd Haynes was always interested in art, and made amateur movies and painted while he was still a child. He attended Brown university and majored in art and semiotics. After he graduated he moved to New York City and made the controversial short film Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1987). ...

--Velvet Goldmine-- --Far From Heaven-- --I'm Not There-- --Safe--

14. Alan Ball

Producer | American Beauty

Alan Ball is an American writer, director, and producer who is known for writing the acclaimed film American Beauty and creating the HBO series True Blood starring Anna Paquin. He also wrote the films Towelhead and Uncle Frank. He also created Here and Now, Six Feet Under, and Banshee. He won ...

--Towelhead-- --All Signs Of Death-- --True Blood-- --Six Feet Under--

15. Paul Morrissey

Director | Mixed Blood

Born in New York City in 1938, Paul Morrissey studied literature at Fordham University. In the early 1960s, following a stint in the Army and jobs in insurance and as a social worker, he began directing short independent films.

In 1965, he was introduced to Andy Warhol, who asked him to contribute ...

--Heat-- --Flesh-- --Trash-- --Flesh For Frankenstein--

16. Rob Epstein

Producer | The Celluloid Closet

Rob Epstein was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA as Robert P. Epstein. He is a producer and director, known for The Celluloid Closet (1995), Paragraph 175 (2000) and The Times of Harvey Milk (1984).

Rob has produced films that have screened worldwide, in cinemas, on television, home video and ...

--Howl-- --The Celluloid Closet-- --The Times Of Harvey Milk-- --Lovelace--

17. George Cukor

Director | My Fair Lady

George Cukor was an American film director of Hungarian-Jewish descent, better known for directing comedies and literary adaptations. He once won the Academy Award for Best Director, and was nominated other four times for the same Award.

In 1899, George Dewey Cukor was born on the Lower East Side of...

--My Fair Lady-- --The Philadelphia Story-- --A Star Is Born (1954)-- --Adams Rib--

18. Darren Stein

Director | Jawbreaker

Darren Stein was born on December 24, 1971 in California, USA. He is a director and writer, known for Jawbreaker (1999), G.B.F. (2013) and Sparkler (1997).

--Put The Camera On Me-- --GBF-- --Jawbreaker-- --Sparkler--

19. Jeffrey Friedman

Director | Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice

Jeffrey Friedman is a producer, director, and editor, known for Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice (2019), The Celluloid Closet (1995) and Howl (2010).

Jeffrey began his film career in New York City working with some of the most respected filmmakers in the industry. He apprenticed with the ...

--Paragraph 175-- --Common Threads: Stories From The Quilt-- --The Celluloid Closet-- --Howl--

20. Jonathan Caouette

Director | Tarnation

Jonathan Caouette has been making films since he was 8 years old. His shorts include "The Ankle Slasher" (1987), "The Techniques and Sciences of Eva" (1988), "Pig Nymph" (1990), "The Hospital" (2001), and "Fame" (2002). As a regional theater actor, Jonathan has appeared as a schizophrenic John the ...

--Walk Away Renee-- --All Flowers In Time-- --42 One Dream Rush-- --Tarnation--

21. Mike Kuchar

Director | Death Quest of the Ju-Ju Cults

Mike Kuchar was born on August 31, 1942 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a director and actor, known for Death Quest of the Ju-Ju Cults (1976), The Craven Sluck (1967) and Lure of the Woods (2005).

--I Was A Teenage Rumpot-- --Sins Of The Fleshapoids-- --Pussy On A Hot Ten Roof-- --The Craven Sluck--

22. George Kuchar

Director | The Devil's Cleavage

George Kuchar was born on August 31, 1942 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. He was a director and actor, known for The Devil's Cleavage (1975), Bongwater (1998) and Sparkle's Tavern (1976). He died on September 6, 2011 in San Francisco, California, USA.

--Unstrap Me-- --Pagan Rhapsody-- --I Married A Heathen- --Hold Me While I'm Naked--

23. Casper Andreas

Actor | Hawaii Five-0

Casper is an accomplished actor, writer, film director and producer.

In 2020, he was nominated for the John Cassavetes Award at the Sprit Awards for producing "Wild Nights with Emily", Madeleine Olnek's comedic biopic about Emily Dickinson starring Molly Shannon. Also in 2020, Casper premiered his ...

--The Big Gay Musical-- --Going Down In LA-LA Land-- --Between Love And Goodbye-- --Violet Tendencies--

24. Thom Fitzgerald

Director | Cloudburst

Thom Fitzgerald: Since his 1997 feature debut, Thom has won over two dozen international awards including the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Award (Genie), The FIPRESCI European International Critics' Prize, The Emerging Master Award at the Seattle International Film Festival, and the ...

--The Hanging Garden-- --Beefcake-- --The Wild Dogs-- --Cloudburst--

25. Gregg Araki

Writer | Mysterious Skin

Gregg Araki was born on December 17, 1959 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is a writer and director, known for Mysterious Skin (2004), White Bird in a Blizzard (2014) and Kaboom (2010).

--Mysterious Skin-- --Kaboom-- --The Living End-- --The Doom Generation--

26. John Schlesinger

Director | Midnight Cowboy

Oscar-winning director John Schlesinger, who was born in London, on February 16, 1926, was the eldest child in a solidly middle-class Jewish family. Berbard Schlesinger, his father, was a pediatrician, and his mother, Winifred, was a musician. He served in the Army in the Far East during World War ...

--Far From The Madding Crowd-- --Sunday, Bloody Sunday-- --Darling-- --Midnight Cowboy--

27. Joel Schumacher

Director | The Phantom of the Opera

Joel Schumacher was an American film director, film producer, screenwriter and fashion designer from New York City. He rose to fame in the 1980s for directing the coming-of-age drama "St. Elmo's Fire" (1985), and the vampire-themed horror film "The Lost Boys" (1987). In the 1990s, he worked on two ...

--Batman Forever-- --Phone Booth-- --Flawless-- --The Lost Boys--

28. Anthony Perkins

Actor | Psycho

Anthony Perkins was born April 4, 1932 in New York City, to Janet Esselstyn (Rane) and Osgood Perkins, an actor of both stage and film. His father died when he was five. Anthony's paternal great-grandfather was engraver Andrew Varick Stout Anthony. Perkins attended the Brooks School, the Browne & ...

--Lucky Stiff-- --Psycho III--

29. Bryan Singer

Director | X-Men

Bryan Singer is an American film director and producer who got his start writing and co-directing the short film Lions Den with his classmates while he attended USC. He was hired by 20th Century Fox to direct X-Men, which helped kick-start the superhero renaissance. He later directed three sequels....

--X-Men-- --The Usual Suspects-- --Superman Returns-- --Apt Pupil--

30. Terence Davies

Writer | Distant Voices, Still Lives

Terence Davies was born on November 10, 1945 in Liverpool, England, UK. He was a writer and director, known for Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988), The House of Mirth (2000) and Benediction (2021). He died on October 7, 2023 in Mistley, Essex, England, UK.

--The Neon Bible-- --The House Of Mirth-- --Distant Voices, Still Lives-- --The Terence Davis Trilogy--

31. Dean DeBlois

Writer | Lilo & Stitch

Dean DeBlois is a Canadian writer, director, and producer known best for having co-written and co-directed Disney's Lilo & Stitch (2002) and Dreamworks' How to Train Your Dragon (2010), both Oscar nominated. While working as an assistant animator and layout artist for Hinton Animation Studios ...

--Lilo & Stich-- --Heima-- --How To Train Your Dragon-- --Go Quite--

32. Tony Richardson

Director | Tom Jones

The son of a Shipley chemist he was initially connected with the stage first with the post war Shipley Young Theatre then with the Bradford Civic Theatre where he came into contact with the Bradford born author J B Priestley who recognising his potential commissioned him to write a TV documentary. ...

--The Loved One-- --Tom Jones-- --A Taste Of Honey-- --Blue Sky--

33. Stephen Fry

Actor | Gosford Park

Writer, actor, comedian, doer of good works, excellent good friend to the famous and not, Fry lives in his London SW1 flat and his Norfolk house when not traveling. Famous for his public declaration of celibacy in the "Tatler" back in the 1980s, Emma Thompson has characterised her friend as "90 ...

--Bright Young Things--

34. Simon Callow

Actor | Four Weddings and a Funeral

Simon Callow was born on June 13, 1949 in London, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Shakespeare in Love (1998) and A Room with a View (1985). He has been married to Sebastian Fox since June 2016.

--The Ballad Of The Sad Cafe--

35. Randal Kleiser

Director | Grease

Randal Kleiser has been an internationally known film director since the release of his first feature, Grease (1978). Other features include The Blue Lagoon (1980) with Brooke Shields, Summer Lovers (1982) starring Peter Gallagher and Daryl Hannah, Grandview, U.S.A. (1984) with Jamie Lee Curtis, ...

--Grease-- --Honey I Blew Up The Kid-- --It's My Party-- --The Boy In The Plastic Bubble--

36. Todd Graff

Actor | The Abyss

Todd Graff was born on October 22, 1959 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for The Abyss (1989), The Vanishing (1993) and Camp (2003). He has been married to Jhon Lafaurie since 2014.

--Camp-- --Joyful Noise-- --Bandslam--

37. John August

Writer | Big Fish

John August's screenwriting credits include Go (1999), Big Fish (2003), Titan A.E. (2000), Charlie's Angels (2000), and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003).

Born and raised in Boulder, Colorado, John earned a degree in journalism from Drake University in Iowa and an MFA in film from the Peter ...

--The Nines-- --God--

38. James Ivory

Writer | Call Me by Your Name

The main part of his few movies were filmed in the quarter of a century in which he worked closely together with the Indian producer Ismail Merchant and the German writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. His first films are all set in India and are very much influenced by the style of Satyajit Ray and Jean ...

--A Room With A View-- --Maurice-- --Howards End-- --Heat And Dust--

39. Andy Warhol

Director | Blue Movie

Andrew Warhol's father, Ondrej, came from the Austria-Hungary Empire (now Slovakia) in 1912, and sent for his mother, Julia Zavackyová Warholová, in 1921. His father worked as a construction worker and later as a coal miner. Around some time, the family moved to Pittsburgh. During his teenage years...

--Lonesome Cowboys-- --I,A Man-- --The Velvet Underground & Nico-- --Sleep--

40. Roland Emmerich

Writer | Independence Day

Roland Emmerich is a German film director and producer of blockbuster films like The Day After Tomorrow (2004), Godzilla (1998), Independence Day (1996) and The Patriot (2000). Before fame, he originally wanted to be a production designer, but decided to be a director, after watching the original ...

--2012-- --Independence Day-- --Stargate-- --Day After Tommorow--

41. Pier Paolo Pasolini

Writer | Il Decameron

Pier Paolo Pasolini achieved fame and notoriety long before he entered the film industry. A published poet at 19, he had already written numerous novels and essays before his first screenplay in 1954. His first film Accattone (1961) was based on his own novel and its violent depiction of the life ...

--Salo-- --Arabian Nights-- --Oedipus Rex-- --Mamma Roma--

42. Steve Balderson

Director | Firecracker

Steve Balderson was born in Manhattan, Kansas, USA. He is a director and writer, known for Firecracker (2005), Alchemy of the Spirit (2022) and El Ganzo (2015).

--Firecracker-- --Pep Squad-- --Stuck!-- --Underbelly--

43. James Whale

Director | Bride of Frankenstein

James Whale was an English film director, theatre director and actor. He is best remembered for his four classic horror films: Frankenstein (1931), The Old Dark House (1932), The Invisible Man (1933) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935). He also directed films in other genres, including what is ...

--Frankenstein-- --The Bride Of Frankenstein-- --The Invisible Man-- --Show Boat (1936)--

44. Kenny Ortega

Director | High School Musical 3: Senior Year

Kenny Ortega was born on April 18, 1950 in Palo Alto, California, USA. He is a director and producer, known for High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008), Michael Jackson's 'This Is It': Auditions - Searching for the World's Best Dancers (2010) and Descendants 3 (2019).

--Hocus Pocus-- --High School Musical-- --This Is It-- --Newsies--

45. Xavier Dolan

Actor | J'ai tué ma mère

Xavier Dolan was born on March 20, 1989 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is an actor and producer, known for I Killed My Mother (2009), Tom at the Farm (2013) and Heartbeats (2010).

--Tom At The Farm-- --Laurence Anyways-- --Heartbeats-- --I Killed My Mother--

46. Robert Luketic

Director | The Ugly Truth

Robert Luketic was born on November 1, 1973 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is a director and writer, known for The Ugly Truth (2009), Killers (2010) and 21 (2008).

--Legally Blond-- --21-- --Killers-- --Paranoia--

47. Jim Fall

Director | Trick

Jim Fall has had a diversified directing career spanning theater, TV, and motion pictures. Jim's feature film career started with the acclaimed independent feature "Trick" which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and Berlin Film Festival in Dramatic Competition. It was quickly acquired by Fine...

--The Lizzie McGuire Movie-- --Tricks-- --Wedding Wars-- --Holiday Engagement--

48. Tom Kalin

Director | Swoon

Tom Kalin is known for Swoon (1992), Savage Grace (2007) and They Are Lost to Vision Altogether (1989).

--Swoon-- --Savage Grace-- --The Robots Of Sodom-- --Plain Pleasures--

49. Gus Van Sant

Director | Elephant

Gus Green Van Sant Jr. is an American filmmaker, painter, screenwriter, photographer and musician from Louisville, Kentucky who is known for directing films such as Good Will Hunting, the 1998 remake of Psycho, Gerry, Elephant, My Own Private Idaho, To Die For, Milk, Last Days, Finding Forrester, ...

--Milk-- --Elephant-- --Good Will Hunting-- --My Own Private Idaho--

50. Lindsay Anderson

Director | If....

Lindsay was born in Bangalore, India but educated in England at Cheltenham College and Wadham College, Oxford where he was a classical scholar. He then spent 3 years war time service in the Kings Royal Rifle Corps. His career in the theatre started at the Royal Court in the late 1950's where he was...

--If...-- --O Lucky Man-- --This Sporting Life-- --The Whales Of August--

51. Pedro Almodóvar

Writer | Hable con ella

The most internationally acclaimed Spanish filmmaker since Luis Buñuel was born in a small town (Calzada de Calatrava) in the impoverished Spanish region of La Mancha. He arrived in Madrid in 1968, and survived by selling used items in the flea-market called El Rastro. Almodóvar couldn't study ...

--Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown-- --What Have I Done To Deserve This?-- --Law Of Desire-- --I'm So Excited--

52. Ferzan Özpetek

Director | La finestra di fronte

He is a Turkish-Italian director, screenwriter and writer. In 1976, he first went to Perugia Foreigners University in Italy, learned Italian for a year, and then transferred to Rome La Sapienza University to study cinema. After completing his education there, he went to Accademia Navona and ...

--His Secret Life-- --Steam: The Turkish Bath-- --A Perfect Day--

53. Luchino Visconti

Writer | Il gattopardo

Born in his ancestral palazzo, situated in the same Milanese square as both the opera house La Scala and the Milan Cathedral, Luchino Visconti (1906 - 1976) was raised under the auspices of aristocratic privilege, theater and Catholicism. This triangulation of monuments would create an equally ...

--Death In Venice-- --The Damned-- --The Leopard-- --Rocco And His Brothers--

54. Clive Barker

Writer | Nightbreed

Born in Liverpool, England, UK, Clive Barker is an English writer, director, and visual artist, best known for his works in the genres of horror and dark fantasy. His mother Joan Ruby (née Revill) was a painter and school welfare officer and his father Leonard Barker was a personnel director for an...

--Hellraiser-- --Night Breed-- --Lord Of Illusion-- --Clive Barkers Salome & The Forbidden--

55. Ira Sachs

Director | Keep the Lights On

Ira Sachs was born on November 21, 1965 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. He is a director and writer, known for Keep the Lights On (2012), Passages (2023) and Little Men (2016).

--Keep The Lights On-- --Boy-Girl, Boy-Girl-- --Forty Shades Of Blue-- --The Delta--

56. Paris Barclay

Producer | NYPD Blue

A preeminent force in television entertainment, Paris Barclay has directed nearly 200 episodes of television and was active as a Director/Producer for series including: Station 19, Pitch, Sons of Anarchy, In Treatment, Cold Case, City of Angels and NYPD Blue. He also has directed episodes of a wide...

--In Treatment-- --America's Dream-- --Big Mike-- --Hate--

57. Mike White

Writer | School of Rock

Mike White was born Michael Christopher White on June 28, 1970 in Pasadena, California. He is a writer, director and producer, mostly acknowledged for his award-winning HBO series The White Lotus (2021). He wrote and produced the HBO series Enlightened (2011), and wrote and co-produced Year of the ...

--Year Of The Dog--

58. Jeremy Podeswa

Director | Station Eleven

Jeremy Podeswa is an award winning feature film and television director who has been nominated four times for the Best Director Emmy, for HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" and "Game of Thrones" (twice), and for the Tom Hanks/ Steven Spielberg produced "The Pacific". He has also been nominated four times for...

--Eclipse-- --The Five Senses-- --Fugitive Pieces-- --Touch--

59. Peter Paige

Writer | The Fosters

Peter Paige is an accomplished actor, director, and playwright who has worked on countless theatrical productions in New York and at regional theaters around the country, not to mention numerous television and film projects. Paige lived in seven different states before graduating from high school. ...

--Leaving Barstow-- --Say Uncle--

60. Todd Holland

Director | Malcolm in the Middle

Todd Holland's life was changed forever when, at the age of five, he saw an episode of Jonny Quest that scared the bejesus out of him - and from that moment he wanted life to always be that exciting. Story-telling became his gateway drug of choice. Since that fateful viewing, Todd has directed more...

--The Wizard-- --Krippendorf's Tribe-- --Firehouse Dog-- --Isabel--

61. Don Mancini

Writer | Chucky

Don Mancini was born on January 25, 1963 in the USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Chucky (2021), Bride of Chucky (1998) and Seed of Chucky (2004).

--Curse Of Chucky-- --Seed Of Chucky--

62. Marco Kreuzpaintner

Director | Those About to Die

Marco Kreuzpaintner is a director, writer and executive producer best known for his Netflix hit "Bodies", the Bafta winning series "The Lazarus Project" and queer classic feature film "Summer Storm".

Kreuzpaintner started his career as writer/director of international acclaimed feature films such as...

--Karbat-- --Summer Storm-- --Trade-- --Gany Und Gar--

63. Michael Sucsy

Director | Grey Gardens

Michael Sucsy is a Golden Globe, Emmy, and PGA Award-winning film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for creating "Grey Gardens" (HBO) in which he directed Jessica Lange to a Best Actress Emmy Award and Drew Barrymore to a Best Actress Golden Globe and SAG Award.

Sucsy was raised in New...

--The Vow-- --Scruples-- --Grey Gardens--

64. Michael Patrick King

Producer | Sex and the City 2

Michael Patrick King was born on September 14, 1954 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Sex and the City 2 (2010), Sex and the City (1998) and Sex and the City (2008).

--Sex In The City-- --Sex In The City 2-- --It's A Mann's City--

65. Carter Smith

Director | The Ruins

Maine-native Carter Smith began his career in the world of fashion photography. His breakthrough story included a series of gritty, documentary-style portraits of teen life in the Midwest, which appeared in the British magazine ID. His fashion work and celebrity portraits have since been featured ...

--The Ruins-- --Jamie Marks Is Dead-- --Bugcrush: Boys Life 6--

66. Nicholas Hytner

Director | The Madness of King George

Nicholas Hytner was born on May 7, 1956 in Manchester, England, UK. He is a director and producer, known for The Madness of King George (1994), The Crucible (1996) and The History Boys (2006).

--The Madness Of King George-- --The Crucible-- --The History Boys-- --Center Stage--

67. Stephen Daldry

Director | The Reader

In 1989, Stephen Daldry worked as a freelance reader of unsolicited manuscripts for Literary Manager Nicholas Wright in the Scripts Department at the Royal National Theatre. In July of that year, he directed a Dadaist/expressionist production of "Judgement Day," a play by Odon von Horvath, at the ...

--Billy Elliot-- --The Hours-- --The Reader-- --Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close--

68. Don Roos

Writer | The Opposite of Sex

Don Roos was born on April 14, 1955 in New York, USA. He is a writer and director, known for The Opposite of Sex (1998), Happy Endings (2005) and M.Y.O.B. (2000). He has been married to Dan Bucatinsky since 2008. They have two children.

--The Opposite Of Sex-- --Bounce-- --Happy Endings-- --The Other Woman--

69. François Ozon

Director | Dans la maison

François Ozon was born on November 15, 1967 in Paris, France. He is a director and writer, known for In the House (2012), 8 Women (2002) and Swimming Pool (2003).

--Swimming Pool-- --8 Women-- --In The House-- --Young And Beautiful--

70. Del Shores

Writer | Sordid Lives

Writer/Director/Producer/Actor/Stand-Up Comedian "Del Shores is a master of the Texas comedy." Los Angeles Times

Del Shores has written, directed and produced successfully across studio and independent film, network and cable television and regional and national touring theatre.

Shores' career took ...

--Sordid Lives-- --The Wilde Girls-- --Blues For Willadean-- --Southern Baptist Sissies--

71. Bill Condon

Director | Dreamgirls

Bill Condon was born on October 22, 1955 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a director and writer, known for Dreamgirls (2006), Gods and Monsters (1998) and Kinsey (2004).

--Gods And Monsters-- --Dreamgirls-- --The Fifth Estate-- --Candyman: Farewell To The Flesh--

72. Charles Laughton

Actor | Witness for the Prosecution

Charles Laughton was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England, to Eliza (Conlon) and Robert Laughton, hotel keepers of Irish and English descent, respectively. He was educated at Stonyhurst (a highly esteemed Jesuit college in England) and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (received gold medal). ...

--Night Of The Hunter--

73. Tate Taylor

Producer | Get on Up

Tate Taylor was born on June 3, 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).

--The Help-- --Pretty Ugly People--

74. Rob Marshall

Director | Mary Poppins Returns

Rob Marshall was born on October 17, 1960 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. He is a director and producer, known for Mary Poppins Returns (2018), Chicago (2002) and Into the Woods (2014).

--Chicago-- --Memoirs Of A Geisha-- --Nine-- --Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides--

75. Tom Ford

Director | A Single Man

Tom Ford is an American fashion designer, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He gained fame as the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. In 2006, Ford launched his own "Tom Ford" label.

Ford directed the films A Single Man (2009) and Nocturnal Animals (2016), both films were...

--A Single Man--

76. Franco Zeffirelli

Director | Romeo and Juliet

Franco Zeffirelli is an Italian director and producer of operas, films and television. He was also a senator from 1994 until 2001 for the Italian center-right Forza Italia party. Some of his operatic designs and productions have become worldwide classics.

He was known for several of the movies he ...

--Tea With Mussolini-- --Romeo And Juliet-- --Brother Sun Sister Moon-- --Hamlet--

77. Barry Shils

Producer | Wigstock: The Movie

Barry Shils is known for Wigstock: The Movie (1995), Vampire's Kiss (1988) and Motorama (1991).

--Wigstock-- --Motorama-- --Generation A: Portraits Of Autism And Art--

78. Richard Day

Producer | Arrested Development

Richard Day is known for Arrested Development (2003), Girls Will Be Girls (2003) and The Larry Sanders Show (1992).

--Girls Will Be Girls-- --Straight Jacket-- --Girls Will Be Girls 2012--

79. Chris Butler

Writer | ParaNorman

Chris Butler was born in 1974 in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK. He is a writer, known for ParaNorman (2012), Missing Link (2019) and Kubo and the Two Strings (2016).

--ParaNorman--

80. Ismail Merchant

Producer | Howards End

Ismail Merchant was born on December 25, 1936 in Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India [now Mumbai, Maharashtra, India]. He was a producer and director, known for Howards End (1992), A Room with a View (1985) and The Remains of the Day (1993). He died on May 25, 2005 in London, England, UK.

--The Mystic Masseur-- --Cotton Mary-- --The Proprietor-- --In Custody--

81. Douglas McKeown

Writer | The Deadly Spawn

Douglas McKeown terrorized several Metuchen, New Jersey neighborhoods in the 1950s and as a teenager, filmed a T-Rex devouring his brother. After a brief career teaching film, theatre and literature in the early 1970s (several of his students went on to distinguish themselves in television, the ...

--The Deadly Spawn--

82. James Bridges

Writer | The China Syndrome

James Bridges was born on February 3, 1936 in Paris, Arkansas, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for The China Syndrome (1979), Perfect (1985) and The Paper Chase (1973). He died on June 6, 1993 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

--The China Syndrome-- --The Paper Chase-- --Urban Cowboy-- --Mike's Murder--

83. Kenneth Anger

Director | Fireworks

Kenneth Anger grew up in Hollywood and started out as a child actor, but his interest in filmmaking was evident at an early age: he made his first film, Who Has Been Rocking My Dreamboat (1941) , at age 14.

Anger developed into one of the pioneers of the American underground film movement. His ...

--Fireworks-- --Lucifer Rising-- --Scorpio Rising-- --Rabbit Moon--

84. Q. Allan Brocka

Writer | Rick & Steve the Happiest Gay Couple in All the World

Q. Allan Brocka's work as a director and screenwriter spans a range of genres in television, animation, live action, documentary, commercial, and feature film. He is best known as the creator, director and showrunner of Rick & Steve the Happiest Gay Couple in All the World, a prime time animated ...

--Boy Culture-- --Eating Out-- --Eating Out: The Open Weekend-- --Eating Out: Drama Camp--

85. Colin Higgins

Writer | Nine to Five

Colin Higgins was born on July 28, 1941 in Nouméa, New Caledonia, France. He was a writer and director, known for Nine to Five (1980), Foul Play (1978) and Harold and Maude (1971). He died on August 5, 1988 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.

--Nine To Five-- --The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas-- --Foul Play--

86. James Broughton

Director | The Pleasure Garden

James Broughton was born on November 10, 1913 in Modesto, California, USA. He was a director and writer, known for The Pleasure Garden (1955), The Potted Psalm (1946) and Erogeny (1976). He died on May 17, 1999 in Port Townsend, Washington, USA.

--Mothers Day-- --Together-- --Dreamwood-- --The Pleasure Garden--

87. Curtis Harrington

Director | Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet

Curtis Harrington was an excellent and shamefully underrated writer and director who specialized in marvelously offbeat and atmospheric low-budget independent horror pictures. Harrington was born on September 17, 1926, in Los Angeles and grew up in Beaumont, California. A hardcore film buff from a ...

--Games-- --Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?-- --What's The Matter With Helen?-- --Queen Of Blood--

88. Andy Milligan

Director | The Degenerates

Andy Milligan was born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1929. He was a self-taught film maker, playwright, script writer and costume designer. He grew up mostly in Minnesota, but he and his family moved around the country a lot. His father, Andrew Milligan Sr. (1894-1985) was a captain in the U.S. Army ...

--Fleshpot On 42nd Street-- --The Body Beneath-- --The Ghastly Ones-- --Vapors--

89. Howard Brookner

Director | Robert Wilson and the Civil Wars

Howard Brookner was born on April 30, 1954 in New York, New York, USA. He was a director and writer, known for Robert Wilson and the Civil Wars (1987), Bloodhounds of Broadway (1989) and Probe (1988). He died on April 27, 1989 in New York City, New York, USA.

--Bloodhounds Of Broadway-- --Robert Wilson And The Civil Wars-- --Burroughs: The Movie-