This is a list of notable directors and their first commercial cinematic films, listed chronologically by release date.
Many of the listed filmmakers, including Orson Welles, directed earlier works that were not commercially released, such as film-school projects, movies that failed to find distribution, or others that were never intended for release. Beginning in the 1940s and 1950s, some directors learned their trade in the medium of television, including Robert Altman, Sidney Lumet, and Alfonso Cuarón. Later directors such as Alan Parker and Ridley Scott did their first professional work in commercial television advertising, which became more cinematic in the 1960s and 1970s. The success of MTV and the popularity of music videos from the early 1980s drew first work from David Fincher, Jonathan Glazer, Michel Gondry, and Spike Jonze.
♦ Indicates a director who created other earlier works for television.
# Indicates a director whose earlier work is uncredited.
† Indicates a director whose earlier work has not been released in cinemas—for example, film school productions, short films, or music videos.
Pre–1876
1874
- Pierre Janssen – Passage de Vénus
1876–1925
1878
1887
1889
1892
1894
1896
1898
1901
1907
1908
1909
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
1920
1921
1922
1923
1924
1925
|
1926–1975
1926
1927
1928
1929
1930
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936
1937
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
|
1976–2025
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
|
2026–present
2026
2027
Upcoming
|
See also
- List of cinematic firsts
- History of film technology