What is the best directorial debut film of the 2000s?

The 2000s saw a wave of bold new voices emerge in cinema with remarkable first films. From There Will Be Blood to Memento, which debut announced its director most spectacularly?

1

Memento

Christopher Nolan's 2000 second film (first US release) — a reverse-chronology mystery about anterograde amnesia.

1000pts

2

District 9

Neill Blomkamp's 2009 debut — a faux-documentary sci-fi allegory on xenophobia that stunned critics.

888pts

3

Hard Candy

David Slade's 2005 debut — a tense two-hander in which a teenage girl confronts a suspected predator.

874pts

4

Brick

Rian Johnson's 2005 debut — a noir mystery transplanted into a California high school with stunning precision.

791pts

5

Garden State

Zach Braff's 2004 debut — a meditative indie drama about disconnection and homecoming.

691pts

6

Half Nelson

Ryan Fleck's 2006 debut — a nuanced drama about a drug-addicted inner-city teacher with Ryan Gosling.

565pts

7

Moon

Duncan Jones's 2009 debut — a minimalist sci-fi chamber film with a Sam Rockwell tour-de-force performance.

565pts

8

City of God

Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund's 2002 debut — a Brazilian crime saga of stunning kinetic energy.

440pts

9

Primer

Shane Carruth's 2004 $7,000 debut — a fascinatingly dense time-travel puzzle that rewards obsessive viewing.

283pts

10

Paranormal Activity

Oren Peli's 2007 found-footage debut made for $15,000 that redefined micro-budget horror.

283pts

11

Little Miss Sunshine

Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris's 2006 debut — a dysfunctional road-trip ensemble that won two Oscars.

283pts

12

Saw

James Wan's 2004 debut — a low-budget horror puzzle-box that launched a decade-spanning franchise.

81pts

13

Napoleon Dynamite

Jared Hess's 2004 deadpan debut — an indie cult comedy about an awkward Idaho teenager.

1pts