Justin Tipping – “Kicks”
We’re not exactly starved for coming-of-age movies —several filmmakers on this list broke through as such this year alone— but it’s rare to find one that’s quite as striking as Tipping’s “Kicks.” The Student Academy Award winning director from Northern California (who was childhood friends with Ryan Coogler) was inspired by his own violent mugging to create this story of young Brandon (Jahking Guillory), who assembles his friends to go out on a quest for revenge when his new shoes are stolen. It’s a film, per our rave review, that’s “reminiscent of ‘Boyz N The Hood’ and ‘Menace II Society,’” but is “much more soulful than either,” combining grittiness and an almost magic realist lyricism in a way that made the film stand out in a huge way. The film didn’t do badly on its quiet September release, but deserved more: hopefully it’ll find the right audience over time, but either way, big things are sure to come for its director.
Dan Trachtenberg – “10 Cloverfield Lane”
He’s the beneficiary of a career path that seems quite unusual right now, but expect plenty more directors to follow in Trachtenberg’s footsteps in the years to come, especially if they’re anywhere near as talented as he is. The 35-year-old director first came to prominence as one of the hosts of early popular video game and movies podcast “The Totally Rad Show.” In 2011, he made an unusually accomplished fan film for the video game “Portal,” which landed him on Hollywood radars (he was attached to the long-gestating “Y: The Last Man” for a while afterwards). Nothing got going for a while, but he showed that the hype was real with this year’s “10 Cloverfield Lane.” Far from a splashy VFX showcase, it was a taut, almost Hitchcockian thriller with lots of texture and some great performances from its three cast members. More recently, he proved he was no one-hit wonder with “Playtest,” the best-directed of the new batch of “Black Mirror” episodes, and he’ll next helm a “Houdini” biopic from the writer of “Jackie.”
Alice Winocour – “Disorder”
If women are underrepresented in filmmaking in general, it goes double for genre fare, which is incorrectly still seen as mostly a masculine space. But it’s people like Winocour who are helping to turn the tide: her tough, clear-eyed, deceptively romantic thriller “Disorder” starring Matthias Schoenaerts and Diane Kruger was one of the best films in the genre all year. Winocour made her debut in 2012 with period romance “Augustine” —a very different and equally well-executed movie— and last year had a popular arthouse hit by co-writing the Oscar-nominated “Mustang” with director Deniz Gamze Ergüven. “Disorder” proved her to have real chops as a director: she can juggle visceral psychological thrills with well-executed character development. A U.S. remake is in the works from “Sicario” writer Taylor Sheridan, but hopefully Winocour is moving onto new pastures rather than reprising her greatest success to date.
Elizabeth Wood – “White Girl”
Given this was a year when Hollywood’s lack of diversity dominated the conversation, it might seem unfortunate that Elizabeth Wood’s first film was called “White Girl.” But the young director’s breakthrough film is terrific, an examination of hedonism and socioeconomic privilege that has a searing, if divisive, response at Sundance. Focusing on college girl Leah (Morgan Saylor) and her relationship with a local drug dealer that leads to a dark slide, the film is allegedly based on Wood’s own experiences in her sophomore year of college, and has a raw and unflinching feel that suggests that the filmmaker has a vital and distinctive voice. Remarkably, given the sometimes shocking nature of the material and the obvious influence from Larry Clark, it led to Wood taking serious meetings to helm Brie Larson in blockbuster “Captain Marvel.” Even if that doesn’t work out, it’s just a taste of where she’s likely to be going.
Elite Zexer – “Sand Storm”
Whatever perceptions you may have of Israeli cinema, “Sand Storm,” the first feature from the awesomely-named Elite Zexer, likely contradicts them. The drama, which won the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema at Sundance, is set among the country’s Arabic Bedouin community, showing the forbidden romance of teenager Layla (Lamis Ammar), and her mother (Ruba Blal)’s anxieties about her husband’s younger second wife. Reminiscent in some ways of recent Saudi Arabian hit “Wadjda,” it’s a compassionate and moving portrait of normal lives in a troubled part of the world and an impassioned feminist drama, a film that just by its sheer existence gives you hope for the future in some ways. Technically assured and marked by beautifully judged performances, the film has a confidence that belies Zexer’s status as a first-time director, and we can’t wait to see what she does next.
Even at an expanded 25 places from last year, there’s still a ton of other names we could have picked here. Former SNL writer Chris Kelly made a lovely, undervalued debut with “Other People,” while Brady Corbet showed he’s not just a pretty face with his austere, European arthouse-style directorial debut “The Childhood Of A Leader.” Matt Ross’s “Captain Fantastic” has plenty of fans, while Laika founder Travis Knight turned out the company’s best movie with “Kubo & The Two Strings.” Music video helmers Daniels made something utterly original with “Swiss Army Man,” and Keith Maitland’s animated documentary “Tower” was pretty distinctive too.
Icelandic helmer Grímur Hákonarson’s UCR winner “Rams” was a startling, wryly funny debut, while Roar Uthaug showed he had blockbuster potential with “The Wave” (he’ll next direct “Tomb Raider”). Benjamin Dickinson’s SXSW award-winner “Creative Control” was another original, while Peter Atencio moved from “Key & Peele” to “Keanu” with flair, and from the animation world, Christian Desmares and Franck Ekinci were behind the charming “April & The Extraordinary World.”
From Korea, Na Hong-jin and Yeon Sang-ho won fans worldwide with “The Wailing” and “Train To Busan” respectively, while Lorenzo Vigas’ surprise Golden Lion winner “From Afar” helped to make his name. Meera Menon’s “Equity” was a strong first film, as was fellow Sundance pics Andrew Neel’s “Goat” and Jim Hosking’s “The Greasy Strangler,” while Alex Lehmann’s “Blue Jay” was something of a TIFF gem. And finally, the absurdly prolific horror helmer Mike Flanagan premiered three movies in 2016, with “Hush” and “Ouijia: Origin Of Evil” being atypically successful examples of the genre.
Anyone else that impressed you? Let us know in the comments.