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?
1City of God
Fernando Meirelles 2002 debut about crime and survival in the Rio favelas across two decades.
1000pts
2Kontroll
Nimrod Antal 2003 Hungarian debut set entirely in the Budapest metro system.
740pts
3Slumdog Millionaire
Danny Boyle and Loveleen Tandan 2008 debut bringing a Mumbai teen game show story to the Oscars.
634pts
4Shifty
Eran Creevy 2008 British drama debut set over 24 hours in a London drug dealer life.
555pts
5Paranormal Activity
Oren Peli 2007 found-footage debut that launched a franchise from a $15,000 budget.
555pts
6Memento
Christopher Nolan 2000 breakthrough psychological thriller told in reverse chronological order.
444pts
7Monsters
Gareth Edwards 2010 debut shot on a minimal budget about alien-infected zones in Central America.
444pts
8Primer
Shane Carruth 2004 debut about two engineers who accidentally build a time machine in a garage.
444pts
9Eden Lake
James Watkins 2008 British horror debut about a couple terrorized by a youth gang in the woods.
444pts
10Whale Rider
Niki Caro 2002 New Zealand debut about a Maori girl claiming her birthright as her tribe tribal leader.
444pts
11Brick
Rian Johnson 2005 neo-noir debut transplanting hard-boiled detective fiction to a California high school.
0pts
12Napoleon Dynamite
Jared Hess 2004 quirky debut about an awkward Idaho teen that became a cult phenomenon.
0pts
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