Film Directors Famous Film Directors from France

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List of famous film directors from France, listed alphabetically with photos when available. France has given birth to some great movie directors over the years, many of who have gone on to direct popular comedies, dramas, horror movies and more. These are some of the best French directors in the history of the world, so if you're a native of France and an aspiring director then these are people you should look up to.

List is made up of many different items, including Gérard Blain and Pascal Thomas.

This list answers the questions, "Who are the best French directors?" and "Which directors are from France?"

You can click on the names of these legendary directors of France in order to get more information about each one. If you're a film buff use this list of talented French directors to find some new movies you haven't already seen.

1

Abbas Fahdel Abbas Fahdel is an Iraqi-French film director, screenwriter and film critic, born in Babylon, Iraq. Based in France since the age of 18 years, he studied cinema at the Sorbonne University until ...more

2

Abdelkrim Bahloul age 68 Abdelkrim Bahloul is an actor, screenwriter and director.

3

Abdellatif Kechiche age 58 Abdellatif Kechiche is a Tunisian-French actor, film director and screenwriter. He made his directorial debut in 2000 with La Faute à Voltaire, aka Poetical Refugee, which he also wrote. ...more

4

Abel Gance Died at 92 (1889-1981) Abel Gance was a French film director and producer, writer and actor. He is best known for three major silent films: J'accuse, La Roue, and the monumental Napoléon.

5

Adonis Kyrou Died at 62 (1923-1985) Adonis A. Kyrou was a Greek filmmaker and writer, whose works often appeared under the name Ado Kyrou. He was the son of Achilleus A. Kyrou and grandson of Adonis Kyrou, owners and publishers of ...more

6

Agnès B. age 77 agnès b. is a French fashion designer. She is known for her self-named brand, which includes fashion and film interests.

7

Agnès Delahaie age 98 Agnès Delahaie is a French film producer. She was nominated in 1956 for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for her film Gervaise.

8

Agnès Jaoui age 54 Agnès Jaoui is a French screenwriter, film director, actress and singer. She frequently works in collaboration with her former partner Jean-Pierre Bacri.

9

Agnès Varda age 90 Agnès Varda is a French film director and professor at the European Graduate School. Her films, photographs, and art installations focus on documentary realism, feminist issues, and ...more

10

Agnès Merlet age 59 Agnès Merlet is a French film director who is known for directing Son of the Shark, Artemisia and Dorothy Mills. Recently she directed the Irish/French/Swedish co-production Hideaways ...more

11

Akhenaton age 50 Philippe Fragione, better known by his stage name Akhenaton, is a French rapper and producer of French hip hop. He has also worked under the aliases Chill, AKH, Sentenza, and Spectre. He became ...more

12

Alain Beigel age 54 Alain Beigel is an actor and film director.

13

Alain Berbérian age 65 Alain Berbérian is a French film director and writer of Armenian descent.

14

Alain Cavalier age 87 Alain Cavalier is a French film director. He was born in Vendôme, Loir-et-Cher and studied film at the Institut des hautes études cinématographiques. He won several awards, ...more

15

Alain Chabat age 60 Alain Chabat is an actor, film and television producer, film director and screenwriter.

16

Alain Corneau Died at 67 (1943-2010) Alain Corneau was a French film director and writer. Corneau was born in Meung-sur-Loire, Loiret. Originally a musician, he worked with Costa-Gavras as an assistant, which was also his first ...more

17

Alain Cuny Died at 86 (1908-1994) Alain Cuny was a French actor. He was born René Xavier Marie in Saint-Malo, Brittany, and studied medicine for a while before entering the film industry as a costume and set designer. ...more

18

Alain Delon age 83 Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon is a French actor and businessman, with French-Swiss dual citizenship since 1999. He rose quickly to stardom, and by the age of 23 was already being compared ...more

19

Alain Fleischer age 74 Alain Fleischer is a film director, film editor and screenwriter.

20

Alain Fresnot age 67 Alain Fresnot is a film director, a film editor, and a screenwriter.

21

Alain Gagnol age 51 Alain Gagnol is a French film maker. In January 2012, he was nominated for an Academy Award for the animated movie A Cat in Paris.

22

Alain Gomis age 46 Alain Gomis is a film director and screenwriter.

23

Alain Guiraudie age 54 Alain Guiraudie is a French film director and screenwriter. He has directed ten mostly LGBT-related films since 1990. He is openly gay. Guiraudie has named Georges Bataille as an important ...more

24

Alain Jessua age 86 Alain Jessua is a French film director and screenwriter. He directed ten films between 1956 and 1997. He worked as assistant director for Jacques Becker on the set of Casque d'or, with Max ...more

25

Alain Levent Died at 74 (1934-2008) Alain Levent was a French cinematographer and film director. He worked on 80 films between 1960 and 2007. His 1972 film The Bar at the Crossing was entered into the 22nd Berlin International ...more

26

Alain Maline age 71 Alain Maline is a film director and screenwriter.

27

Alain Payet Died at 60 (1947-2007) Alain Payet, also known under the pseudonyms John Pardaillan, John and Frederick Brasil Amor, James Gardner, James Gartner and Alain Garnier, was a film director of French pornographic movies ...more

28

Alain Resnais Died at 92 (1922-2014) Alain Resnais was a French film director whose career extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct a number of short films which ...more

29

Alain Robbe-Grillet Died at 86 (1922-2008) Alain Robbe-Grillet was a French writer and filmmaker. He was, along with Nathalie Sarraute, Michel Butor and Claude Simon, one of the figures most associated with the Nouveau Roman trend. Alain ...more

30

Albert Band Died at 78 (1924-2002) Albert Band was an American film director and film producer. He was the son of artist Max Band, father of filmmaker Charles Band and of film composer Richard Band. He is the grandfather of Alex ...more

31

Alexandre Michon Died at 63 (1858-1921) Alexander Mishon was a Russian photographer and cinematographer. Born to a French family in Kharkiv, he started his career as a photographer and owned a photo studio in his hometown. He later ...more

32

Albert Capellani Died at 57 (1874-1931) Albert Capellani was a French film director and screenwriter of the silent era. He directed films between 1905 and 1922. His brother was the actor-sculptor Paul Capellani. Capellani, along with ...more

33

Albert Dieudonné Died at 87 (1889-1976) Albert Dieudonné was a French actor, screenwriter, film director and novelist. Dieudonné was born in Paris, France, and made his acting debut in silent film in 1908 for The ...more

34

Albert Dupontel age 54 Albert Dupontel is a French actor, film director and screenwriter. He started his career as a stand-up comedian. In February 1998, his 1996 film Bernie took the Grand Prize at the 9th Yubari ...more

35

Albert Kirchner Albert Kirchner was a French photographer, manufacturer, exhibitor, and filmmaker who is noted for producing several religious and pornographic films. He was employed as a photographer by ...more

36

Albert Lamorisse Died at 48 (1922-1970) Albert Lamorisse was a French filmmaker, film producer, and writer, who is best known for his award winning short films which he began making in the late 1940s, and also for inventing the famous ...more

37

Albert Uderzo age 91 Albert Uderzo is a French comic book artist, and scriptwriter. He is best known for his work on the Astérix series, but also drew other comics such as Oumpah-pah, also in collaboration ...more

38

Albert W. Hale Died at 65 (1882-1947) Albert W. Hale was a film director.

39

Alejandro Jodorowsky age 89 Alejandro Jodorowsky is a Chilean filmmaker, playwright, actor, author, musician, comics writer and spiritual guru. Best known for his avant-garde films, he has been "venerated by cult ...more

40

Aleksandar Petrović Died at 65 (1929-1994) Aleksandar "Saša" Petrović was an acclaimed Yugoslav film director who was one of the leading European directors in the 1960s and one of the major figures of the Yugoslav Black Wave. ...more

41

Alex Chan Alex Chan is a industrial engineer and film director.

42

Alex Chang Alex Chan created the 2005 short political film The French Democracy.

43

Alex Joffe Died at 77 (1918-1995) Alex Joffé was a French film director and screenwriter. He was the father of the director Arthur Joffé, as well as Marion and Nina.

44

Alex Ranarivelo Alex Ranarivelo is a film director, editor and screenwriter.

45

Alexandre Aja age 41 Alexandre Aja is a French film director who rose to international stardom for his 2003 horror film Haute Tension. He has also directed the horror films The Hills Have Eyes, Mirrors, Piranha 3D ...more

46

Alexandre Arcady age 71 Alexandre Arcady is a film producer, director and screenwriter.

47

Alexandre Astier age 44 Alexandre Astier is a French writer, director, editor, scriptwriter, humorist, actor and composer. He is most known as the writer, editor, composer, director and lead actor of the French ...more

48

Alexandre Astruc age 95 Alexandre Astruc is a French film critic and film director born 13 July 1923, in Paris. Before becoming a film director he was a journalist, novelist and film critic. His contribution to the ...more

49

Alexandre Gavras age 49 Alexandre Gavras is a film maker. Gavras, along with fellow producer Xavier Legrand, is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for the 2013 film Avant que de tout

50

Alexandre Ginnsz Alexandre Ginnsz is a French film director, writer, and producer who moved to the United States in 1987.

1 Abbas Fahdel Abbas Fahdel is an Iraqi-French film director, screenwriter and film critic, born in Babylon, Iraq. Based in France since the age of 18 years, he studied cinema at the Sorbonne University until ...more

2 Abdelkrim Bahloul age 68 Abdelkrim Bahloul is an actor, screenwriter and director.

3 Abdellatif Kechiche age 58 Abdellatif Kechiche is a Tunisian-French actor, film director and screenwriter. He made his directorial debut in 2000 with La Faute à Voltaire, aka Poetical Refugee, which he also wrote. ...more

4 Abel Gance Died at 92 (1889-1981) Abel Gance was a French film director and producer, writer and actor. He is best known for three major silent films: J'accuse, La Roue, and the monumental Napoléon.

5 Adonis Kyrou Died at 62 (1923-1985) Adonis A. Kyrou was a Greek filmmaker and writer, whose works often appeared under the name Ado Kyrou. He was the son of Achilleus A. Kyrou and grandson of Adonis Kyrou, owners and publishers of ...more

6 Agnès B. age 77 agnès b. is a French fashion designer. She is known for her self-named brand, which includes fashion and film interests.

7 Agnès Delahaie age 98 Agnès Delahaie is a French film producer. She was nominated in 1956 for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for her film Gervaise.

8 Agnès Jaoui age 54 Agnès Jaoui is a French screenwriter, film director, actress and singer. She frequently works in collaboration with her former partner Jean-Pierre Bacri.

9 Agnès Varda age 90 Agnès Varda is a French film director and professor at the European Graduate School. Her films, photographs, and art installations focus on documentary realism, feminist issues, and ...more

10 Agnès Merlet age 59 Agnès Merlet is a French film director who is known for directing Son of the Shark, Artemisia and Dorothy Mills. Recently she directed the Irish/French/Swedish co-production Hideaways ...more

11 Akhenaton age 50 Philippe Fragione, better known by his stage name Akhenaton, is a French rapper and producer of French hip hop. He has also worked under the aliases Chill, AKH, Sentenza, and Spectre. He became ...more

12 Alain Beigel age 54 Alain Beigel is an actor and film director.

13 Alain Berbérian age 65 Alain Berbérian is a French film director and writer of Armenian descent.

14 Alain Cavalier age 87 Alain Cavalier is a French film director. He was born in Vendôme, Loir-et-Cher and studied film at the Institut des hautes études cinématographiques. He won several awards, ...more

15 Alain Chabat age 60 Alain Chabat is an actor, film and television producer, film director and screenwriter.

16 Alain Corneau Died at 67 (1943-2010) Alain Corneau was a French film director and writer. Corneau was born in Meung-sur-Loire, Loiret. Originally a musician, he worked with Costa-Gavras as an assistant, which was also his first ...more

17 Alain Cuny Died at 86 (1908-1994) Alain Cuny was a French actor. He was born René Xavier Marie in Saint-Malo, Brittany, and studied medicine for a while before entering the film industry as a costume and set designer. ...more

18 Alain Delon age 83 Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon is a French actor and businessman, with French-Swiss dual citizenship since 1999. He rose quickly to stardom, and by the age of 23 was already being compared ...more

19 Alain Fleischer age 74 Alain Fleischer is a film director, film editor and screenwriter.

20 Alain Fresnot age 67 Alain Fresnot is a film director, a film editor, and a screenwriter.

21 Alain Gagnol age 51 Alain Gagnol is a French film maker. In January 2012, he was nominated for an Academy Award for the animated movie A Cat in Paris.

22 Alain Gomis age 46 Alain Gomis is a film director and screenwriter.

23 Alain Guiraudie age 54 Alain Guiraudie is a French film director and screenwriter. He has directed ten mostly LGBT-related films since 1990. He is openly gay. Guiraudie has named Georges Bataille as an important ...more

24 Alain Jessua age 86 Alain Jessua is a French film director and screenwriter. He directed ten films between 1956 and 1997. He worked as assistant director for Jacques Becker on the set of Casque d'or, with Max ...more

25 Alain Levent Died at 74 (1934-2008) Alain Levent was a French cinematographer and film director. He worked on 80 films between 1960 and 2007. His 1972 film The Bar at the Crossing was entered into the 22nd Berlin International ...more

26 Alain Maline age 71 Alain Maline is a film director and screenwriter.

27 Alain Payet Died at 60 (1947-2007) Alain Payet, also known under the pseudonyms John Pardaillan, John and Frederick Brasil Amor, James Gardner, James Gartner and Alain Garnier, was a film director of French pornographic movies ...more

28 Alain Resnais Died at 92 (1922-2014) Alain Resnais was a French film director whose career extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct a number of short films which ...more

29 Alain Robbe-Grillet Died at 86 (1922-2008) Alain Robbe-Grillet was a French writer and filmmaker. He was, along with Nathalie Sarraute, Michel Butor and Claude Simon, one of the figures most associated with the Nouveau Roman trend. Alain ...more

30 Albert Band Died at 78 (1924-2002) Albert Band was an American film director and film producer. He was the son of artist Max Band, father of filmmaker Charles Band and of film composer Richard Band. He is the grandfather of Alex ...more

31 Alexandre Michon Died at 63 (1858-1921) Alexander Mishon was a Russian photographer and cinematographer. Born to a French family in Kharkiv, he started his career as a photographer and owned a photo studio in his hometown. He later ...more

32 Albert Capellani Died at 57 (1874-1931) Albert Capellani was a French film director and screenwriter of the silent era. He directed films between 1905 and 1922. His brother was the actor-sculptor Paul Capellani. Capellani, along with ...more

33 Albert Dieudonné Died at 87 (1889-1976) Albert Dieudonné was a French actor, screenwriter, film director and novelist. Dieudonné was born in Paris, France, and made his acting debut in silent film in 1908 for The ...more

34 Albert Dupontel age 54 Albert Dupontel is a French actor, film director and screenwriter. He started his career as a stand-up comedian. In February 1998, his 1996 film Bernie took the Grand Prize at the 9th Yubari ...more

35 Albert Kirchner Albert Kirchner was a French photographer, manufacturer, exhibitor, and filmmaker who is noted for producing several religious and pornographic films. He was employed as a photographer by ...more

36 Albert Lamorisse Died at 48 (1922-1970) Albert Lamorisse was a French filmmaker, film producer, and writer, who is best known for his award winning short films which he began making in the late 1940s, and also for inventing the famous ...more

37 Albert Uderzo age 91 Albert Uderzo is a French comic book artist, and scriptwriter. He is best known for his work on the Astérix series, but also drew other comics such as Oumpah-pah, also in collaboration ...more

38 Albert W. Hale Died at 65 (1882-1947) Albert W. Hale was a film director.

39 Alejandro Jodorowsky age 89 Alejandro Jodorowsky is a Chilean filmmaker, playwright, actor, author, musician, comics writer and spiritual guru. Best known for his avant-garde films, he has been "venerated by cult ...more

40 Aleksandar Petrović Died at 65 (1929-1994) Aleksandar "Saša" Petrović was an acclaimed Yugoslav film director who was one of the leading European directors in the 1960s and one of the major figures of the Yugoslav Black Wave. ...more

41 Alex Chan Alex Chan is a industrial engineer and film director.

42 Alex Chang Alex Chan created the 2005 short political film The French Democracy.

43 Alex Joffe Died at 77 (1918-1995) Alex Joffé was a French film director and screenwriter. He was the father of the director Arthur Joffé, as well as Marion and Nina.

44 Alex Ranarivelo Alex Ranarivelo is a film director, editor and screenwriter.

45 Alexandre Aja age 41 Alexandre Aja is a French film director who rose to international stardom for his 2003 horror film Haute Tension. He has also directed the horror films The Hills Have Eyes, Mirrors, Piranha 3D ...more

46 Alexandre Arcady age 71 Alexandre Arcady is a film producer, director and screenwriter.

47 Alexandre Astier age 44 Alexandre Astier is a French writer, director, editor, scriptwriter, humorist, actor and composer. He is most known as the writer, editor, composer, director and lead actor of the French ...more

48 Alexandre Astruc age 95 Alexandre Astruc is a French film critic and film director born 13 July 1923, in Paris. Before becoming a film director he was a journalist, novelist and film critic. His contribution to the ...more

49 Alexandre Gavras age 49 Alexandre Gavras is a film maker. Gavras, along with fellow producer Xavier Legrand, is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for the 2013 film Avant que de tout

50 Alexandre Ginnsz Alexandre Ginnsz is a French film director, writer, and producer who moved to the United States in 1987.