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Claire Denis--
Pushing the boundaries of filmmaking by de-emphasizing dialogue. There is a strain of colonialism running through her work which extends to her emphasis on boundaries and bodies ("the other"). Bold work: Trouble Every Day ("horror") and L'intrus (a mind-fuck as many people would say, but it's not as complicated as many think it is). Vendredi Soir has silent film aesthetics and uses French Impressionist film techniques. Her editing and narrative structure is not driven by cause-and-effect. Understands that film is not just a visual medium, it's an auditory one. Her frequent collaborator cinematographer Agnes Godard is one of the world's best.
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne--
I've seen 6 of their films and they're batting 1.000. MASTERPIECES: Rosetta and The Son. Really great: The Kid With a Bike, L'enfant, and La promesse. Their stuff makes you reflect on who you are.
Hou Hsiao-hsien--
Hasn't made a film since 2007, but is working on a martial arts film. I liked The Red Balloon, but that's kinda middling compared to Millenium Mambo and Three Times if we're talking Hou since 2000. He already cemented himself in the 90s as one of the world's greatest.
Jia Zhang-ke--
Documentarian of China (and in a way, the world) working in fictional narrative. Though, he's made some documentaries, too. Platform is one of the greatest films of all time.
Hirokazu Kore-eda--
Must-sees: Still Walking and Nobody Knows. Bae Doo-na's best work is in Air Doll. Also see her in Yamashita's Linda Linda Linda.
Tsai Ming-liang--
Like Wong Kar-wai, a master of alienation and loneliness. Like Claire Denis, he de-emphasizes dialogue. Uses space masterfully by not moving his camera. Funny. NSFW: do a Google search of Wayward Cloud Tsai lol.
Hong Sang-soo--
LOL this guy shits on men. Love it. Lots of alcohol, fucking, and talking in his films but he plays narrative games as well in both large and small ways. I prefer his early narrative experiments like in Virgin Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, Turning Gate, and Power of Kangwon Province, but he's maintained his playfulness with storytelling throughout his career. His films have gotten lighter and funnier.
Abdellatif Kechiche--
Like everyone else I can't wait to see Blue is the Warmest Color, but I've been a fan of his for a while now. Nominated Secret of the Grain in some Spilled Latte categories and had it as one of my faves of the past decade. Games of Love and Chance is a great youth film, and Frank, you should watch that shit because part of the plot deals with a high school play. There was a GD post about his Sarah Baartman film Black Venus. Tough watch.
Nuri Bilge Ceylan--
I detect a little mannerism but what can I say, he's a talent. Watch Climates and Distant. Three Monkeys was shot on digital, and it looks great.
Aki Kaurismak--
Deadpan, humanistic approach to stories of the working class.
I also really like:
Jacques Audiard, Andrey Zvyagintsev, Cristian Mungiu, Corneliu Porumboiu, Celine Sciamma, Cheang Pou-Soi (action), Dante Lam (action), Bahman Ghobadi, Lynne Ramsay, Mia Hansen-Love, Christian Petzold, Mahmoud Rasoulof, Jafar Panahi, Jiang Wen, Ursula Meier, Lucrecia Martel, Lisandro Alonso, Elia Suleiman, Jane Campion, Im Sang-soo, Amos Gitai, Nobuhiro Yamashita, Fernando Eimbcke, Angela Schanelec, Ann Hui, and others already mentioned by other OKPs in this post.
Not a fan but will still watch his films: Sion Sono
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