Directors

It’s much easier to quickly recognise actors, and to make those connections. Not so simple to join the dots about the directors. At the time of beginning this list it’s still kinda barebones, but I’ll probably be adding a few names and faces as I go along. By the time you read those words, the list may be rather full, and I’ll have been too lazy to rewrite these words 😜

I’m not setting a minimum number of films here. One amazing film will be enough to get on this list! It may be that not every film by the director is amazing, but once they’re listed I’ll list all the films that I’ve looked at. For lack of any better way to list them, and to eschew any suspicion of favouritism or bias, directors are listed alphabetically by surname. Someone once told me that I should maybe become a librarian. I was a bit insulted, as I think I can do better, but anyway I know how to put things in order, yes.

77 directors are listed here at present. This number will certainly change (and auto-update 🤓) over time. Breaking it down a bit, we've got:

13 Palestinian directors
11 directors from elsewhere in the Arab World
18 Israelis
2 non-Israeli Jewish directors
18 Iranians
13 Turks
6 Kurds (from all sides of those borders)

Notice that those numbers don't add up to 77. That's because I'm already accounting for some mixed identities. Have no doubt that we could break those identities down a thousand more times, but let's leave that rabbit hole for another time and place.

Hany Abu-Assad

هاني أبو أسعد

Paradise Now ("al-Janna alaan" - الجنّة الآن) (2005)
Do Not Forget Me, Istanbul (2010)
Omar (عمر) (2013)
Huda's Salon (صالون هدى) (2021)

Yuval Adler

יובל אדלר

Bethlehem (בית לחם) (2013)
The Operative (2019)

Fatih Akın

Head-On, AKA Gegen die Wand (Duvara Karşı - Against the Wall) (2004)
The Edge of Heaven, AKA Auf der anderen Seite (Yaşamın Kıyısında - On the Edge of Life) (2007)

Mounia Akl

مونيا عقل

Costa Brava, Lebanon ("Kusta Brafa, Lubnan" - كستا برافا، لبنان) (2021)

Milad Alami

میلاد عالمی

Opponent ("Dashman" - دشمن) (2023)

Alaa Eddine Aljem

علاء الدين الجم

The Unknown Saint ("Sayid al-Majhul" - سيد المجهول) (2019)

Udi Aloni

אודי אלוני

Junction 48 (ג'נקשן 48 ; "Mafraq 48" - مفرق 48) (2017)

Emin Alper

Beyond the Hill (Tepenin Ardı) (2012)
Frenzy (Abluka) (2015)
A Tale of Three Sisters (Kız Kardeşler) (2019)
Burning Days (Kurak Günler) (2022)

Mohammad Reza Aslani

محمدرضا اصلانی

Chess of the Wind ("Shatranj-e Baad" - شطرنج باد) (1976)

Tsivia Barkai Yacov

ציביה ברקאי יעקב

Red Cow ("Para Aduma" - פרה אדומה) (2018)

Nir Bergman

ניר ברגמן

Broken Wings ("Knafayim Shvurot" - כנפיים שבורות) (2002)
Intimate Grammar ("haDikduk haPnimi" - הדקדוק הפנימי) (2010)

Bahram Beyzai

بهرام بیضائی

Downpour ("Ragbār" - Barrage - رگبار) (1972)
The Stranger and the Fog ("Gharibe va meh" - غریبه و مه) (1974)
Ballad of Tara ("Tcherike-ye Tara" - چریکه تارا) (1979)
Death of Yazdgerd ("Marg-e Yazdgerd" - مرگ یزدگرد) (1981)
Bashu, The Little Stranger ("Bashu, Gharibeye Koochak" - باشو غریبه کوچک) (1989)

Emad Burnat

عماد برناط

Five Broken Cameras ("Khams Kamīrāt Muḥaṭṭamah" - خمس كاميرات محطمة ; "Hamesh Matslemot Shvurot" - חמש מצלמות שבורות) (2011)

Joseph Cedar

יוסף סידר

Time of Favour ("haHesder" - The Arrangement - ההסדר) (2000)
Campfire ("Medurat ha-Shevet" - מדורת השבט) (2004)
Beaufort (בופור) (2007)
Footnote ("He'arat Shulayim" - הערת שוליים) (2011)
Norman (2016)

Nuri Bilge Ceylan

The Small Town (Kasaba) (1997)
Clouds of May (Mayıs Sıkıntısı) (1999)
Uzak (2002)
Climates (İklimler) (2006)
Three Monkeys (Üç Maymun) (2008)
Once Upon A Time In Anatolia (Bir Zamanlar Anadolu'da) (2011)
Winter Sleep (Kis Uykusu) (2014)
The Wild Pear Tree (Ahlat Agacı) (2018)

Scandar Copti

إسكندر قبطي

Ajami (عجمي) (2009)

Zeki Demirkubuz

Block C (C Blok) (1994)
Innocence (Masumiyet) (1997)
The Third Page (Üçüncü Sayfa) (1999)
Tales of Darkness #1: Fate (Yazgı) (2001)
Tales of Darkness #2: The Confession (İtiraf) (2001)
The Waiting Room (Bekleme Odası) (2003)
Destiny (Kader) (2006)
Envy (Kıskanmak) (2009)
Inside (Yeraltı) (2012)
Nausea (Bulantı) (2015)
Ember (Kor) (2016)

Mohamed Diab

محمد دياب

Cairo 678 (٦٧٨) (2010)
Clash ("Eshtebak" - اشتباك) (2016)
Amira (أميرة) (2021)

Ziad Doueiri

زياد دويري

West Beirut ("Beirut Al Gharbiyya" - بيروت الغربية) (1998)
The Attack ("al-Hujum" - الهجوم ; "haPigu'a" - הפיגוע) (2012)
The Insult ("Qadiyya raqm 23" - Case No. 23 - قضية رقم ٢٣) (2017)

Ronit Elkabetz

רונית אלקבץ

Vivian #1: To Take a Wife ("veLakakhta Lekha Isha" - ולקחת לך אישה) (2004)
Vivian #2: Shiv'a (Seven Days - שבעה) (2008)
Vivian #3: Gett – The Trial of Viviane Amsalem ("Gett - haMishpat shel Vivian Amsalem" - גט - המשפט של ויויאן אמסלם) (2014)

Shlomi Elkabetz

שלומי אלקבץ

Vivian #1: To Take a Wife ("veLakakhta Lekha Isha" - ולקחת לך אישה) (2004)
Vivian #2: Shiv'a (Seven Days - שבעה) (2008)
Vivian #3: Gett – The Trial of Viviane Amsalem ("Gett - haMishpat shel Vivian Amsalem" - גט - המשפט של ויויאן אמסלם) (2014)

Metin Erksan

Revenge of the Snakes (Yilanlarin Öcü) (1962)
Dry Summer (Susuz Yaz) (1963)
Time To Love (Sevmek Zamani) (1965)

Pelin Esmer

Watchtower (Gözetleme Kulesi) (2012)
Something Useful (Ise Yarar Bir Sey) (2017)

Ameer Fakher Eldin

أمير فخر الدين

The Stranger ("Al-Gharib" - الغريب) (2021)

Asghar Farhadi

اصغر فرهادی

Dancing in the Dust ("Raqs dar ghabar" - رقص در غبار) (2003)
Beautiful City ("Shahr-e Ziba" - شهر زیبا) (2004)
Fireworks Wednesday ("Čahâršanbe-Suri" - Wednesday - چهارشنبه‌سوری) (2006)
About Elly ("Dar bāre-ye Elly" - درباره الی) (2009)
A Separation ("Jodâyi-e Nâder az Simin" - The Separation of Nader from Simin - جدایی نادر از سیمین) (2011)
The Past ("Gozashte" - گذشته) (2013)
The Salesman ("Forušande" - فروشنده) (2016)
A Hero ("Qahremaan" - قهرمان) (2021)

Forugh Farrokhzad

فروغ فرخزاد

The House is Black ("Khaneh siah ast" - خانه سیاه است) (1963)

Mahdi Fleifel

مهدي فليفل

A World Not Ours ( (2012)
Xenos ( (2014)
A Man Returned ( (2017)
A Drowning Man ( (2018)
3 Logical Exits ( (2020)

Ari Folman

ארי פולמן

Saint Clara ("Clara haKadosha" - קלרה הקדושה) (1996)
Waltz With Bashir ("Vals 'im Bashir" - ואלס עם באשיר) (2008)

Eytan Fox

איתן פוקס

The Song of the Siren ("Shirat ha-Sirena" - שירת הסירנה) (1994)
Yossi & Jagger (יוסי וג'אגר) (2002)
Walk on Water ("Lalekhet al Mayim" - ללכת על המים) (2004)
The Bubble ("haBuah" - הבועה) (2006)
Yossi ("haSippur Shel Yossi" - Yossi's Story - הסיפור של יוסי) (2011)

Shira Geffen

שירה גפן

Jellyfish ("Meduzot" - מדוזות) (2007)
Self-Made ("Boreg" - A Screw - בורג) (2014)

Bahman Ghobadi

بهمن قبادی

A Time for Drunken Horses ( "Zamāni barāy-e masti-e asbhā" - زمانی برای مستی اسب‌ها) (2000)
Marooned in Iraq ("Gomgashte i dar Aragh" - گم‌گشته‌ای در عراق) (2002)
Turtles Can Fly ("Lakposhtha Parvaz Mikonand" - لاک‌پشت‌ها هم پرواز می‌کنند) (2004)
Half Moon ("Niveyemang" - نیوەمانگ) (2006)
No-one Knows About Persian Cats ("Kasi az Gorbehaye Irani Khabar Nadareh" - کسی از گربه های ایرانی خبر نداره) (2009)
Rhino Season ("Fasl-e Kargadan" - فصل کرگدن) (2012)
A Flag Without a Country ("Iallaî bê wllat" - ئاڵای بێ وڵات ; "Parcham bedon keshor" - پرچ م بدون کشور) (2015)

Amos Gitai

עמוס גיתאי

Kadosh (Holiness - קדוש) (1999)
Kippur (כיפור) (2000)
Kedma (Forwards - קדמה) (2002)
Promised Land ("ha-Aretz ha-Muvtakhat" - הארץ המובטחת) (2004)
Free Zone (2005)
Disengagement (2007)

Jonathan Glazer

The Zone of Interest (2023)

Ebrahim Golestan

ابراهیم گلستان

Brick and Mirror ("Khesht o Ayeneh" - خشت و آینه) (1965)

Ofir Raul Graizer

אופיר ראול גרייצר

The Cakemaker ("haOfeh miBerlin" - The Baker from Berlin - האופה מברלין) (2016)

Yılmaz Güney

Hope (Umut) (1970)
The Herd (Sürü) (1978)
Yol (Rê - The Road) (1982)

Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige

خليل جريججوانا وخليل جريج

Memory Box (2021)

Mani Haghighi

مانی حقیقی

Men At Work ("Kargarān Mashghoul-e Kār-and" - Workers are busy - کارگران مشغول کارند) (2006)
Modest Reception ("Paziraie sadeh" - پذیرایی ساده) (2012)
A Dragon Arrives! ("Ejhdeha Vared Mishavad!" - اژدها وارد می‌شود) (2016)
Pig ("Khook" - خوک) (2018)
Subtraction ("Tafrigh" - تفریق) (2022)

Çağan Irmak

My Father and My Son (Babam ve Oğlum) (2005)
Alone (Issız Adam - Abandoned Man / My Abandoned Island / My Lonely Ada - it's a play on words) (2008)

Annemarie Jacir

آن ماري جاسر

Like Twenty Impossibles ("Ka'inana Ashrun Mustaheel" - كأننا عشرون مستحيل) (2003)
Salt of this Sea ("Milh hadha al-bahr" - ملح هذا البحر) (2008)
When I Saw You ("Lamma Shoftak" - لما شفتك) (2012)
Wajib (Duty - واجب) (2017)
Palestine 36 (فلسطين ٣٦) (2025)

Hüseyin Karabey

My Marlon and Brando (Gitmek: Benim Marlon ve Brandom) (2008)
Do Not Forget Me, Istanbul (2010)
Come To My Voice (Were Dengê Min ; Sesime Gel) (2014)

Tolga Karaçelik

Toll Booth (Gişe Memuru) (2010)
Sarmaşık (2015)

Maryam Keshavarz

مریم کشاورز

Circumstance ("Šar'ayet" - شرایط) (2011)

Abbas Kiarostami

عباس کیارستمی

The Report ("Gozāresh" - گزارش) (1977)
First Case, Second Case ("Qazieh-e shekl-e avval... shekl-e dovvom" - قضیه شکل اول... شکل دوم) (1979)
Koker #1: Where is the Friend's Home? ("Khane-ye dust kojast" - خانه دوست کجاست) (1987)
Close Up ("Klūzāp, nemā-ye nazdīk" - Close-up, close-up view - کلوزآپ ، نمای نزدیک) (1990)
Koker #2: And Life Goes On ("Zendegi va digar hich" - Life and nothing else - زندگی و دیگر هیچ) (1992)
Koker #3: Through the Olive Trees ("Zīr-e Derakhtān-e Zeytūn" - زیر درختان زیتون) (1994)
A Taste of Cherry ("Ta’m-e gīlās" - طعم گیلاس) (1997)
The Wind Will Carry Us ("Bād mā rā khāhad bord" - باد ما را خواهد برد) (1999)
Ten ("Das" - ده) (2002)
Shirin (شیرین) (2008)

Shawkat Amin Korki
(Şewket Emîn Korkî)

شەوکەت ئەمین کۆرکی

Crossing The Dust ("Perrînewe le Xûbar" - پەڕینەوە لە غووبار) (2006)
Kick Off (2009)
Memories On Stone (Bîranînên li ser kevirî) (2014)
The Exam ("Ezmûn" - ئەزموون) (2021)

Roy Krispel

רוי קריספל

Abu Omar (אבו עומאר ; أبو عمر) (2021)

Nadine Labaki

نادين لبكي

Caramel ("Sukkar banat" - سكر بنات) (2007)
Where Do We Go Now? ("w halla' la wayn" - وهلأ لوين) (2011)
Capernaum ("Cafarnaüm" - كفرناحوم) (2018)

Nadav Lapid

נדב לפיד

Policeman ("haShoter" - השוטר) (2011)
The Kindergarten Teacher ("haGanenet" - הגננת) (2014)
Synonymes (2019)
Ahed's Knee ("haBerekh" - The Knee - הברך) (2021)
Yes! ("Ken!" - !כן) (2025)

Talya Lavie

טליה לביא

Zero Motivation ("Efes bikhsei 'Enosh" - Zero in human relations - אפס ביחסי אנוש) (2014)
Honeymood (2020)

Majid Majidi

مجید مجیدی

Children of Heaven ("Bæccähâ-ye âsmân" - بچه‌های آسمان) (1997)
The Colour of Paradise ("Rang-e Khodā" - The Color of God - رنگ خدا) (1999)
Baran (Rain - باران) (2001)
The Song of Sparrows ("Âvâz-e gonjeshk-hâ" - آواز گنجشک‌ها) (2008)

Mohsen Makhmalbaf

محسن مخملباف

The Cyclist ("Bicycleran" - بايسيكل‌ران) (1987)
Once Upon a Time, Cinema (Naser al-din Shah, Actor of Cinema - ناصرالدین‌شاه آکتور سینما) (1992)
Hello Cinema ("Salaam Cinema" - سلام سینما) (1995)
Gabbeh (گبه) (1996)
A Moment of Innocence ("Nūn o Goldūn" - نون و گلدون) (1996)
The Silence ("Sokut" - سکوت) (1998)
Kandahar (قندهار) (2001)
The Gardener ("Bāghbān" - باغبان) (2012)

Samira Makhmalbaf

سمیرا مخملباف

Blackboards ("Textê Reş" - تەختێ رەش ; "Takhté siah" - تخته سیاه) (2000)
At Five in the Afternoon ("Panj é asr" - پنج عصر) (2003)

Haifaa Al-Mansour

هيفاء المنصور

Wadjda (وجدة) (2012)

Samuel Maoz

שמואל מעוז

Lebanon ("Levanon" - לבנון) (2009)
Foxtrot (פוקסטרוט) (2017)

Mai Masri

مي المصري

Children of Shatila ( (1998)
Frontiers of Dreams and Fears ( (2001)
3000 Nights (٣٠٠٠ ليلة) (2015)

Rani Massalha

راني مصالحة

Giraffada (زرافاضة) (2013)

Dariush Mehrjui

داریوش مهرجویی

The Cow ("Gāv" - گاو) (1969)
The Cycle ("Dayereh-ye Mina" - Mina's Circle - دایرهٔ مینا) (1975)
Hamoun (هامون) (1989)
Sara (سارا) (1993)
Pari (پری) (1995)
Leila (لیلا) (1997)
The Pear Tree ("Derakht-e-Golabi" - درخت گلابی) (1998)
The Music Man (AKA Santouri) (سنتوری) (2007)

Amir Naderi

امیر نادری

Goodbye Friend ("Khodahafez Rafigh" - خداحافظ رفیق) (1971)
Tangna (Impasse - تنگنا) (1973)
Harmonica ("Saz Dahani" - ساز دهانی) (1974)
The Search ("Josteejo" - جستجو) (1980)
The Runner ("Davandeh" - دونده) (1984)

Najwa Najjar

نجوى نجار

Pomegranates and Myrrh ("al-Muru wa'al-Rumaan" - المر والرمان) (2008)
Eyes of a Thief ("Aiyun al-Haramiya" - عيون الحرامية) (2014)

Ameen Nayfeh

أمين نايفه

The Crossing ("Al-'Ubur" - العبور) (2017)
200 Metres (٢٠٠ متر) (2020)

Laszlo Nemes

Son of Saul (2015)

Kazım Öz

The Storm (Bahoz ; Fırtına) (2008)
The White Sycamore (Çinara Sipî ; Beyaz Çınar) (2016)
Zer (2017)

Jafar Panahi

جعفر پناهی

The White Balloon ("Badkonake sefid" - بادکنک سفيد) (1995)
The Mirror ("Ayneh" - آینه) (1997)
The Circle ("Dâyere" - دایره) (2000)
Crimson Gold ("Talâ-ye Sorkh" - طلای سرخ) (2003)
Offside (آفساید) (2006)
This Is Not a Film ("In film nist" - این فیلم نیست) (2011)
Closed Curtain ("Pardeh" - پرده) (2013)
Taxi (تاکسی) (2016)
No Bears ("Khers Nist" - خرس نیست) (2022)
It Was Just An Accident ("Yek tasādof-e sāde" - یک تصادف ساده) (2025)

Mohammad Rasoulof

محمد رسول‌اف

Iron Island ("Jazire-ye Ahani" - جزیره آهنی) (2005)
The White Meadows ("Keshtzarhaye sepid" - کشتزارهای سپید) (2009)
Goodbye ("Be omid e didār" - Hope to see you - به امید دیدار) (2011)
Manuscripts Don't Burn ("Dast-Neveshtehaa Nemisoozand" - دست‌نوشته‌ها نمی‌سوزند) (2013)
A Man Of Integrity ("Lerd" - لِرد) (2017)
There Is No Evil ("Sheytân vojūd nadârad" - Shaitan Doesn't Exist - شیطان وجود ندارد) (2020)
The Seed of the Sacred Fig ("Dāne-ye anjīr-e ma'ābed" - دانه‌ی انجیر معابد) (2024)

Eran Riklis

ערן ריקליס

Cup Final ("Gmar Gavi'a" - גמר גביע) (1991)
The Syrian Bride ("HaKala HaSurit" - הכלה הסורית ; "al-Arus al-Suriya" - العروس السورية) (2004)
Lemon Tree ("Etz Limon" - עץ לימון ; "Shajaret Leimoun" - شجرة ليمون) (2008)
The Human Resources Manager ("Shliḥuto shel Ha'Memuneh al Mash'abey Enosh" - שליחותו של הממונה על משאבי אנוש) (2010)
A Borrowed Identity ("Zehut She'ula" - זהות שאולה ; "al-Arab al-Raqisun" - The Dancing Arabs -العرب الراقصون) (2014)
Spider in the Web (2019)
Reading Lolita in Tehran ("Lolita khani dar taharan" - لولیتا خوانی در تهران) (2023)

Saeed Roustayi

سعید روستایی

Life and a Day ("Abad-o Yek Rouz" - ابد و یک روز) (2016)
Just 6.5 (AKA Law of Tehran) ("Metri Shesh-o Nim" - Six and a Half per Metre - متری شیش و نیم) (2020)
Leila's Brothers ("Barādarān-e Leilā" - برادران لیلا) (2022)

Mahmoud Sabbagh

مَحْمُود صباغ

Barakah Meets Barakah ("Baraka yuqabil Baraka" - بركة يقابل بركة) (2016)

Hiner Saleem
(Huner Selîm)

حونەر سەلیم

Vodka Lemon (2003)
My Sweet Pepper Land ("Wilatê Tijê Şîrînêkem" - وڵاتە تیژە شیرینەکەم) (2013)

Darin J Sallam

دارين سلام

Farha (فرحة) (2021)

Avishai Sivan

אבישי סיון

Tikkun (Repair - תיקון) (2015)

Elia Suleiman

إيليا سليمان

Chronicle of a Disappearance ("Sajal ai-Khtifa'an" - سجل اختفاء) (1996)
Divine Intervention ("Yad 'iilahiat" - Divine Hand - يد إلهية) (2002)
The Time That Remains ("al-Zaman al-Baqi" - الزمن الباقي) (2009)
It Must Be Heaven ("'in shit kama fi alsama'" - If you wish, as in heaven - إن شئت كما في السماء) (2019)