The 12 Best Directorial Debuts of the 2000s

Startling first films that launched some of the era's most distinctive filmmakers. Where do you stand?

1. 1
   City of God

   Fernando Meirelles 2002 debut about crime and survival in the Rio favelas across two decades.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Kontroll

   Nimrod Antal 2003 Hungarian debut set entirely in the Budapest metro system.
   641pts
3. 3
   Slumdog Millionaire

   Danny Boyle and Loveleen Tandan 2008 debut bringing a Mumbai teen game show story to the Oscars.
   494pts
4. 4
   Paranormal Activity

   Oren Peli 2007 found-footage debut that launched a franchise from a $15,000 budget.
   384pts
5. 5
   Shifty

   Eran Creevy 2008 British drama debut set over 24 hours in a London drug dealer life.
   384pts
6. 6
   Memento

   Christopher Nolan 2000 breakthrough psychological thriller told in reverse chronological order.
   231pts
7. 7
   Primer

   Shane Carruth 2004 debut about two engineers who accidentally build a time machine in a garage.
   231pts
8. 8
   Eden Lake

   James Watkins 2008 British horror debut about a couple terrorized by a youth gang in the woods.
   231pts
9. 9
   Monsters

   Gareth Edwards 2010 debut shot on a minimal budget about alien-infected zones in Central America.
   231pts
10. 10
    Whale Rider

    Niki Caro 2002 New Zealand debut about a Maori girl claiming her birthright as her tribe tribal leader.
    231pts
11. 11
    Brick

    Rian Johnson 2005 neo-noir debut transplanting hard-boiled detective fiction to a California high school.
    1pts
12. 12
    Napoleon Dynamite

    Jared Hess 2004 quirky debut about an awkward Idaho teen that became a cult phenomenon.
    1pts