29 directors who made a name at Sundance

From indie to Oscar

Every January, the film industry descends upon Park City, Utah, for the 10-day Sundance Film Festival, where critics, distributors, and producers hope to find the movies that will break big in the coming year and the new talent who will emerge as culture-defining artists in the years to come. Here are 29 directors who got their start at America's biggest indie film fest.

Chloé Zhao

Breakout: Songs My Brothers Taught Me (2015)

It took less than a decade for Chloé Zhao to go from launching her debut feature in Park City to making history at the Oscars and entering the high-stakes realm of superhero cinema. After following up her Sundance debut — a naturalistic account of life on a Native American reservation — with another poetic indie, 2017's The Rider, Zhao really made waves with 2020's Nomadland, which claimed historic Academy wins for Best Picture and Best Director. From there, she entered the MCU with 2021's star-studded superhero epic Eternals. —Mary Sollosi

Cathy Yan

Breakout: Dead Pigs (2018)

The Sundance-to-studio path was especially swift for Yan. On the strength of her comedic feature debut, Warner Bros. hired the filmmaker to helm 2020's anarchic superhero spin-off Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), hitting theaters just two years (and about two weeks) after Dead Pigs premiered in Park City. —Mary Sollosi

Rian Johnson

Breakout: Brick (2005)

Johnson's directorial debut, a high-school-set neo-noir, earned him a Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision — an asset that would come to define his career. The filmmaker would go on to earn critical raves for his singular 2017 Star Wars entry, The Last Jedi, and an Oscar nod for 2019's suprise smash Knives Out, an original old-school whodunit. —Mary Sollosi

Ava DuVernay

Breakout: Middle of Nowhere (2012)

DuVernay won the fest's U.S. Dramatic Directing Award for her sophomore effort, a drama about a young woman in Compton — where DuVernay grew up — whose husband is incarcerated. Her next feature, 2014's much-lauded Martin Luther King, Jr. biopic Selma, picked up two Oscar nods and made DuVernay the first woman of color to direct a Best Picture-nominated film. She has also emerged as a vocal proponent of increased gender and racial diversity across all levels of the film industry, and inspired a limited-edition "shero" Barbie doll, which sold out just minutes after going on sale. —Mary Sollosi

Ryan Coogler

Breakout: Fruitvale Station (2013)

Coogler took home the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award for his debut, a biopic portraying the last day in the life of police brutality victim Oscar Grant. The timely drama put both Coogler and its star, Michael B. Jordan, on Hollywood's radar, and the pair reteamed for 2015's critically acclaimed revival of the Rocky franchise, Creed. Coogler's third feature, also featuring Jordan, was 2018's Marvel Cinematic Universe entry Black Panther, which blew up the box office almost as much as it shook up the zeitgeist. —Mary Sollosi

Damien Chazelle

Breakout: Whiplash (2014)

Chazelle first screened at Sundance in 2013, when his 18-minute short film about a teenage jazz drummer — inspired by his own high school experience — won the short film fiction Jury Award. A year later, he was back in Park City with the now-full-length Whiplash, his sophomore feature, which became the talk of the fest from the moment it premiered on opening night. Whiplash went on to collect five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and won three — but that Oscar haul is nothing compared to Chazelle's 2016 follow-up, La La Land. The romantic throwback Hollywood musical picked up a record-tying 14 nods, winning six — and making Chazelle the youngest Best Director winner of all time. —Mary Sollosi

Richard Linklater

Breakout: Slacker (1991)

Sundance was still emerging as a cultural force when Linklater showed up with this mostly plotless slice-of-life, which Kevin Smith has often cited as a major influence on Clerks. Since Slacker's Park City debut, Linklater has made such popular films as Dazed and Confused and School of Rock, but is still best known for his observational, conversation-based indies, including the critically adored Before trilogy. He was back at the fest in 2014 for the premiere of his 12-years-in-the-making opus Boyhood, which went on to collect six Oscar nods, including Best Picture and Best Director. —Mary Sollosi

Colin Trevorrow

Breakout: Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

Trevorrow's Sundance-to-tentpole trajectory began as a true indie Cinderella story. After winning a screenplay award for his narrative feature debut in Park City, Trevorrow was hired to direct the Jurassic Park franchise reboot Jurassic World after Brad Bird famously told producer Frank Marshall that Trevorrow "reminds me of me." Soon after Jurassic World went on to become one of the highest-grossing movies of all time, Trevorrow was named as the director for 2019's Star Wars Episode IX. But maybe his ascent was too quick: After 2017's Book of Henry flopped, Disney handed the Episode IX reins back to The Force Awakens helmer J.J. Abrams. —Mary Sollosi

Kevin Smith

Breakout: Clerks (1994)

Harvey Weinstein's Miramax snatched up the rights to Smith's low-budget, black-and-white, Grand Jury Prize nominated debut at the Festival. Miramax's continued interest in Smith allowed him the freedom to make Mallrats, his first real critical success Chasing Amy, Dogma, and, eventually, a Jay and Silent Bob project, a sequel to Clerks, and a television spinoff. —Lindsey Bahr

Steven Soderbergh

Breakout: Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)

Sundance would be nothing without Soderbergh. His dark, Audience Award and Palme d'Or-winning pic is credited with helping kickstart the 1990s independent film craze — and Miramax. The mid-'90s were tough for Soderbergh, but he found his footing again in '98 with Out of Sight, and was catapulted back into prestige filmmaking with 2000's Erin Brockovich and Traffic, which earned him two Best Director nods (and a win for Traffic). Oceans franchise and retirement threats aside, Soderbergh finally has the clout to make whatever genre experiment he wants. —Lindsey Bahr

Edward Burns

Breakout: The Brothers McMullen (1995)

Burns' Cinderella story quickly became Sundance legend: When he was a lowly production-assistant for Entertainment Tonight, he slipped a VHS rough-cut of his movie to Robert Redford after a junket interview. Not only did McMullen make the festival, but it won the Grand Jury prize. As a result, amateur filmmakers are forever handing Burns copies of their first movies. —Jeff Labrecque

Quentin Tarantino

Breakout: Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Tarantino's violent, hyper-literate debut defined a generation of indie filmmaking and spawned a number of lesser knockoffs. Festival accolades and a partnership with Miramax got his sophomore feature Pulp Fiction off the ground, and solidified Tarantino's ascent to Hollywood royalty. Not only did it earn Tarantino a Best Screenplay Oscar — it would become one of the most influential and beloved films of all time. —Lindsey Bahr

Nicole Holofcener

Breakout: Walking and Talking (1996)

Holofcener had already made a trip to Sundance with her short Angry, but it wasn't until Walking and Talking — her ode to friendship and complicated women starring a new to the scene Catherine Keener — that people (ahem, Miramax again) really took notice. A protégé of Martin Scorsese (who taught her at Columbia) and Woody Allen (she served as apprentice editor on Hannah and Her Sisters), Holofcener established herself as a solid voice in independent film with her five features, and has a knack for nailing the one-off television episode for cult and classic shows like Sex and the City, Enlightened, Gilmore Girls, and Bored to Death — even if the steady work is merely to fund her film projects. —Lindsey Bahr

Robert Rodriguez

Breakout: El Mariachi (1993)

Rodriguez's $7,000 Spanish-language action pic picked up the Audience Award at Sundance, attracting interest from Columbia Pictures. The studio invested in post-production touch-ups and distributed it in the U.S., leading to a longstanding collaboration with the ultimate Sundance kid Quentin Tarantino and, eventually, three franchises: Spy Kids, Sin City, and Machete. —Lindsey Bahr

Darren Aronofsky

Breakout: Pi (1997)

Harvard and AFI alum Aronofsky broke out with his mind-bending, Directing Award-winning debut Pi and went on to shock audiences with his follow-up, Requiem for a Dream. Although he turned down Batman for the box office and critical flop, The Fountain, Aronofsky stuck to his uniquely bleak guns and picked up five Oscar nominations for 2010's Black Swan. —Lindsey Bahr

Marc Webb

Breakout: (500) Days of Summer (2009)

Webb was an accomplished director of music videos, working with artists like Miley Cyrus, Maroon 5, and Weezer. His full-hearted, song-filled romance starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel struck a chord, and Webb was ushered into the big-time, eventually landing The Amazing Spider-Man. —Jeff Labrecque

Spike Jonze

Breakout: How They Get There (1997)

Jonze was the most celebrated music-video director of the 1990s, crafting mesmerizing visuals for the Beastie Boys, Bjork, and Fatboy Slim. How They Get There feels a little like a Chaplin-esque music-video, and it demonstrates Jonze's jackass sense of humor, especially when a distracted pedestrian is steamrolled by a speeding car. —Jeff Labrecque

Alexander Payne

Breakout: Citizen Ruth (1996)

A 1991 Sundance short had earned Payne a writing deal at Universal that gave him time to work on his first feature, a politically charged black comedy about abortion rights, starring Laura Dern. It won critical accolades, and showcased Payne's winning formula of tragicomedy. —Jeff Labrecque

James Wan

Breakout: Saw (2004)

Wan's sadomasochistic torture porn experiment proved to be a welcome antidote to the prestige Sundance pics. Lionsgate picked up worldwide distribution rights before it even premiered. Its success spawned six sequels, but Wan left to direct other massively profitable micro-budget horror flicks including The Conjuring and the Insidious movies. He's currently directing Fast & Furious 7 in Justin Lin's franchise-reviving wake. —Lindsey Bahr

Paul Greengrass

Breakout: Bloody Sunday (2002)

A former TV journalist, Greengrass had directed television and two movies when his docu-thriller about the 1972 British massacre of Irish nationalists debuted at Sundance. Almost overnight, he jumped to the top of studios' wish-lists, and he was soon handed the keys to the Bourne franchise. —Jeff Labrecque

David O. Russell

Breakout: Spanking the Monkey (1994)

After picking up an Audience Award at the Festival, unknown writer-director David O. Russell caught the eye of Harvey Weinstein, who both financed and helped assemble a stellar cast, including Ben Stiller, Lily Tomlin, and Mary Tyler Moore for 1996's Flirting with Disaster. Since then, A-List talent can't seem to resist lining up to work with the dark, volatile humorist. Hard to believe he's still waiting on an Oscar win. —Lindsey Bahr

Marc Forster

Breakout: Everything Put Together (2000)

Forster's first feature, which starred Radha Mitchell and Megan Mullally, was a Sundance winner that disappeared at the box office. But important people took notice, paving the way for his follow-up, Monster's Ball, which led to Finding Neverland, and, ultimately, directing 007 in Quantum of Solace. —Jeff Labrecque

Paul Thomas Anderson

Breakout: Cigarettes & Coffee (1993)

Anderson's $20,000, multi-story character experiment Cigarettes & Coffee screened at the Sundance Shorts Program and earned him enough attention to get accepted into their 1994 Feature Film Program, resulting in his first, Cannes-approved feature Hard Eight. Healthy support from New Line president Michael De Luca allowed Anderson to make three of his best films — Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and Punch-Drunk Love. —Lindsey Bahr

Catherine Hardwicke

Breakout: Thirteen (2003)

A production designer by trade for the likes of Cameron Crowe and David O. Russell, Hardwicke burst onto the scene with Thirteen, an arresting portrait of female adolescence. Starring a young Evan Rachel Wood and her co-writer, 13-year-old Nikki Reed, Hardwicke won the Sundance Directing Award for her efforts and was rewarded, a few years later, with launching the Twilight franchise. Her handheld style kept the budget under $40 million. Not bad for a movie that went on to make almost $400 million worldwide. —Lindsey Bahr

Todd Haynes

Breakout: Poison (1991)

Already somewhat of a cult icon after Superstar, his Barbie doll-acted version of the Karen Carpenter story, Haynes broke out as a thrilling voice in Queer Cinema with the brutal Poison, which picked up the Grand Jury Prize. After teaming up with a still little known Julianne Moore for 1995's Safe, Haynes and longtime producer Christine Vachon, became established voices in subversive genre cinema. —Lindsey Bahr

Todd Field

Breakout: In the Bedroom (2001)

Field had directed several shorts, two of which had competed at Sundance, when he arrived with In the Bedroom, a story of guilt and revenge that was nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture. Prior, he'd been better known as an actor (Eyes Wide Shut), but afterwards, he became recognized as one of the industry's most thoughtful filmmakers (Little Children). —Jeff Labrecque

Wes Anderson

Breakout: Bottle Rocket (1993)

The formidable Polly Platt and James L. Brooks saw Anderson's 13-minute black and white short and decided to help make it a feature. Thanks to the simultaneously burgeoning careers of his college classmates and collaborators Owen and Luke Wilson and the mentorship of Brooks, Anderson was able to hone his now signature style while attracting incredible talent to his films — even if he still can't promise his actors awards recognition. —Lindsey Bahr

Jason Reitman

Breakout: Operation (1998)

The Canadian-born filmmaker typically saves his big premieres for Toronto, but he got his start with Sundance shorts, beginning with 1998's Operation. In 2000's In God We Trust (pictured), a deceased man who'd been hit by a truck sneaks back to Earth to escape damnation. All Reitman's hard work culminated in Thank You for Smoking, which played Sundance in 2005. —Jeff Labrecque

Neil LaBute

Breakout: In the Company of Men (1997)

Based on his play, In the Company of Men set the template for terse dialogue and harsh sexual politics that LaBute would become more widely known for in his subsequent films. It won the Sundance Filmmaker's Trophy and also launched the career of Aaron Eckhart. —Jeff Labrecque