Maren Ade – Favorite Films: Toni Erdmann (2016)

Tomas Alfredson – Favorite Films: Let The Right One In (2008), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

Woody Allen – Favorite Films: Annie Hall (1977), Manhattan (1979), Zelig (1983), Hannah And Her Sisters (1986), Bullets Over Broadway (1994), Celebrity (1998), Sweet And Lowdown (1999), Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), Midnight In Paris (2011), Blue Jasmine (2013), 

Robert Altman – Favorite Films: McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), The Long Goodbye (1973), California Split (1974), Nashville (1975), Buffalo Bill And The Indians, Or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson (1976), 3 Women (1977), The Player (1992), Short Cuts (1993), Gosford Park (2001)

Paul Thomas Anderson – Favorite Films: Hard Eight (1996), Boogie Nights (1997), Magnolia (1999), Punch-Drunk Love (2002), There Will Be Blood (2007), The Master (2012), Inherent Vice (2014), Phantom Thread (2017), Licorice Pizza (2021), One Battle After Another (2025)

Wes Anderson – Favorite Films: Bottle Rocket (1996), Rushmore (1998), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (2004), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), Moonrise Kingdom (2012), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Isle Of Dogs (2018), The French Dispatch (2021), Asteroid City (2023), The Phoenician Scheme (2025)

Michelangelo Antonioni – Favorite Films: L’Avventura (1960), La Notte (1961), Red Desert (1964), Blow-Up (1966), The Passenger (1975)

Darren Aronofsky – Favorite Films: Pi (1998), Requiem For A Dream (2000), The Fountain (2006), The Wrestler (2008), Black Swan (2010), mother! (2017)

Hal Ashby – Favorite Films: The Last Detail (1973), Shampoo (1975), Coming Home (1978), Being There (1979)

Ari Aster – Favorite Films: Hereditary (2018), Midsommar (2019)

Jacques Audiard – Favorite Films: The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005), A Prophet (2009), Rust And Bone (2012), Dheepan (2015)

Noah Baumbach – Favorite Films: Kicking And Screaming (1995), The Squid And The Whale (2005), Margot At The Wedding (2007), Greenberg (2010), Frances Ha (2012), The Meyerowitz Stories (New And Selected) (2017)

Ingmar Bergman – Favorite Films: Summer With Monika (1953), The Seventh Seal (1957), Wild Strawberries (1957), The Magician (1958), The Virgin Spring (1960), Through A Glass Darkly (1961), Winter Light (1963), The Silence (1963), Persona (1966), Hour Of The Wolf (1968), Shame (1968), The Passion Of Anna (1969), Face To Face (1976)

Kathryn Bigelow – Favorite Films: Point Break (1991), The Hurt Locker (2008), Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

James L. Brooks – Favorite Films: Terms Of Endearment (1983), Broadcast News (1987), As Good As It Gets (1997)

Tim Burton – Favorite Films: Beetlejuice (1988), Batman (1989), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Ed Wood (1994)

James Cameron – Favorite Films: The Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986), Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991), Titanic (1997), Avatar (2009)

Jane Campion – Favorite Films: An Angel At My Table (1990), In The Cut (2003), Bright Star (2009)

John Carpenter – Favorite Films: Halloween (1978), The Fog (1980), Escape From New York (1981), The Thing (1982), They Live (1988)

John Cassavetes – Favorite Films: Husbands (1970), Minnie And Moskowitz (1971), A Woman Under The Influence (1974), Opening Night (1977)

Lisa Cholodenko – Favorite Films: High Art (1998), Laurel Canyon (2002), The Kids Are All Right (2010), Olive Kitteridge (2014)

Sylvain Chomet – Favorite Films: The Triplets Of Belleville (2003), The Illusionist (2010)

Derek Cianfrance – Favorite Films: Blue Valentine (2010), The Place Beyond The Pines (2012)

George Clooney – Favorite Films: Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind (2002), Good Night, And Good Luck. (2005), The Ides Of March (2011)

Joel & Ethan Coen – Favorite Films: Blood Simple (1984), Raising Arizona (1987), Barton Fink (1991), The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1998), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), No Country For Old Men (2007), Burn After Reading (2008), A Serious Man (2009), True Grit (2010)

Francis Ford Coppola – Favorite Films: The Godfather (1972), The Godfather: Part II (1974), The Conversation (1974), Apocalypse Now (1979), The Outsiders (1983), The Godfather: Part III (1990)

Sofia Coppola – Favorite Films: The Virgin Suicides (1999), Lost In Translation (2003), Somewhere (2010), The Bling Ring (2013), Priscilla (2023)

David Cronenberg – Favorite Films: Rabid (1977), The Brood (1979), The Dead Zone (1983), Crash (1996), Existenz (1999), Spider (2002), A History Of Violence (2005), Eastern Promises (2007), A Dangerous Method (2011)

Cameron Crowe – Favorite Films: Say Anything… (1989), Jerry Maguire (1996), Almost Famous (2000), Vanilla Sky (2001)

Frank Darabont – Favorite Films: The Shawshank Redemption (1994), The Green Mile (1999)

Brian De Palma – Favorite Films: Hi, Mom! (1970), Carrie (1976), Blow Out (1981), Mission: Impossible (1996)

Jonathan Demme – Favorite Films: Stop Making Sense (1984), The Silence Of The Lambs (1991), Philadelphia (1993), Rachel Getting Married (2008)

Andrew Dominik – Favorite Films: Chopper (2000), The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (2007)

Clint Eastwood – Favorite Films: Breezy (1973), Bird (1988), Unforgiven (1992), Mystic River (2003), Million Dollar Baby (2004), Gran Torino (2008)

Robert Eggers – Favorite Films: The Witch (2015), Nosferatu (2024)

Victor Erice – Favorite Films: The Spirit Of The Beehive (1973), El Sur (1983)

Rainer Werner Fassbinder – Favorite Films: Whity (1971), The Bitter Tears Of Petra Von Kant (1972), The Merchant Of Four Seasons (1972), Ali: Fear Eats The Soul (1974), Fox And His Friends (1975), Fear Of Fear (1975), Chinese Roulette (1976)

Federico Fellini – Favorite Films: La Strada (1954), Il Bidone (1955), Nights Of Cabiria (1957), La Dolce Vita (1960), 8 1/2 (1963), Juliet Of The Spirits (1965), Fellini Satyricon (1969), City Of Women (1980)

David Fincher – Favorite Films: Seven (1995), The Game (1997), Fight Club (1999),, Panic Room (2002), Zodiac (2007), The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button (2008), The Social Network (2010), The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011), Gone Girl (2014)

Ryan Fleck – Favorite Films: Half Nelson (2006), Mississippi Grind (2015)

Milos Forman – Favorite Films: The Firemen’s Ball (1967), One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), The People Vs. Larry Flynt (1996), Man On The Moon (1999)

Bill Forsyth – Favorite Films: Gregory’s Girl (1980), Local Hero (1983), Housekeeping (1987)

Stephen Frears – Favorite Films: Dangerous Liaisons (1988), The Grifters (1990), High Fidelity (2000)

William Friedkin – Favorite Films: The French Connection (1971), The Exorcist (1973), Sorcerer (1977), Bug (2006)

Terry Gilliam – Favorite Films: Brazil (1985), The Fisher King (1991), 12 Monkeys (1995), Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas (1998)

Jonathan Glazer – Favorite Films: Sexy Beast (2000), Birth (2004), Under The Skin (2013), The Zone Of Interest (2023)

Jean-Luc Godard – Favorite Films: Breathless (1960), Contempt (1963), Goodbye To Language (2014)

Michel Gondry – Favorite Films: Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004), The Science Of Sleep (2006)

James Gray – Favorite Films: Little Odessa (1994), The Yards (2000), We Own The Night (2007), Two Lovers (2008)

David Gordon Green – Favorite Films: George Washington (2000), All The Real Girls (2003), Joe (2013), Manglehorn (2014)

Debra Granik – Favorite Films: Winter’s Bone (2010), Leave No Trace (2018)

Paul Greengrass – Favorite Films: The Bourne Supremacy (2004), Captain Phillips (2013)

Luca Guadagnino – Favorite Films: I Am Love (2009), Call Me By Your Name (2017)

Michael Haneke – The Piano Teacher (2001), Cache (2005), The White Ribbon (2009)

Curtis Hanson – Favorite Films: L.A. Confidential (1997), Wonder Boys (2000), 8 Mile (2002)

Ed Harris – Favorite Films: Pollock (2000), Appaloosa (2008)

Todd Haynes – Favorite Films: I’m Not There (2007), Carol (2015), Dark Waters (2019), May December (2023)

Alfred Hitchcock – Favorite Films: Rear Window (1954), To Catch A Thief (1955), Vertigo (1958), Psycho (1960), Torn Curtain (1966)

Dennis Hopper – Favorite Films: Easy Rider (1969), Out Of The Blue (1980)

Ron Howard – Favorite Films: Apollo 13 (1995), A Beautiful Mind (2001), Cinderella Man (2005), Frost/Nixon (2008)

John Hughes – Favorite Films: Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), Weird Science (1985), Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987), Uncle Buck (1989)

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu – Favorite Films: Amores Perros (2000), 21 Grams (2003), Babel (2006), Biutiful (2010), Birdman (2014), The Revenant (2015)

James Ivory – Favorite Films: Howards End (1992), The Remains Of The Day (1993)

Peter Jackson – Favorite Films: The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (2001), The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (2002), The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (2003), King Kong (2005)

Jim Jarmusch – Favorite Films: Down By Law (1986), Mystery Train (1989), Dead Man (1995), Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai (1999), Coffee And Cigarettes (2003), Broken Flowers (2005), Only Lovers Left Alive (2013), Paterson (2016)

Spike Jonze – Favorite Films: Being John Malkovich (1999), Adaptation (2002), Where The Wild Things Are (2009), Her (2013)

Aki Kaurismaki – Favorite Films: Shadows In Paradise (1986), Ariel (1988), The Bohemian Life (1992), The Man Without A Past (2002), Lights In The Dusk (2006), Le Havre (2011), The Other Side Of Hope (2017), Fallen Leaves (2023)

Krzysztof Kieślowski – Favorite Films: The Double Life Of Veronique (1991), Three Colors: Blue (1993), Three Colors: Red (1994)

Stanley Kubrick – Favorite Films: The Killing (1956), Spartacus (1960), Lolita (1962), Dr. Strangelove (1964), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), A Clockwork Orange (1971), Barry Lyndon (1975), The Shining (1980), Full Metal Jacket (1987), Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Akira Kurosawa – Favorite Films: Stray Dog (1949), Rashomon (1950), Dersu Uzala (1975)

John Landis – Favorite Films: Animal House (1978), The Blues Brothers (1980), An American Werewolf In London (1981), Trading Places (1983)

Yorgos Lanthimos – Favorite Films: The Lobster (2015), The Favourite (2018)

Ang Lee – Favorite Films: The Ice Storm (1997), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Spike Lee – Favorite Films: Do The Right Thing (1989), Mo’ Better Blues (1990), Clockers (1995), He Got Game (1998), Summer Of Sam (1999), 25th Hour (2002)

Barry Levinson – Favorite Films: Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Rain Man (1988), Wag The Dog (1997)

Doug Liman – Swingers (1996), Go (1999), The Bourne Identity (2002)

Richard Linklater – Favorite Films: It’s Impossible To Learn To Plow By Reading Books (1988), Slacker (1990), Dazed And Confused (1993), Before Sunrise (1995), Waking Life (2001), Tape (2001), Before Sunset (2004), A Scanner Darkly (2006), Before Midnight (2013), Boyhood (2014), Everybody Wants Some!! (2016), Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood (2022), Hit Man (2023), Nouvelle Vague (2025)

Kenneth Lonergan – Favorite Films: You Can Count On Me (2000), Margaret (2011), Manchester By The Sea (2016)

Sidney Lumet – Favorite Films: 12 Angry Men (1957), The Fugitive Kind (1960), Serpico (1973), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Network (1976), The Verdict (1982), Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007)

David Lynch – Favorite Films: Eraserhead (1977), The Elephant Man (1980), Blue Velvet (1986), Twin Peaks (1990), The Straight Story (1999), Mulholland Drive (2001), Dumbland (2002), Inland Empire (2006)

Terrence Malick – Favorite Films: Badlands (1973), Days Of Heaven (1978), The Thin Red Line (1998), The New World (2005), The Tree Of Life (2011), Knight Of Cups (2015)

Louis Malle – Favorite Films: Atlantic City (1980), Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987), Damage (1992)

James Mangold – Favorite Films: Cop Land (1997), Walk The Line (2005), 3:10 To Yuma (2007)

Michael Mann – Favorite Films: Manhunter (1986), Heat (1995), The Insider (1999), Ali (2001), Collateral (2004), Public Enemies (2009)

Penny Marshall – Favorite Films: Big (1988), Awakenings (1990), A League Of Their Own (1992)

Sam Mendes – Favorite Films: American Beauty (1999), Road To Perdition (2002), Revolutionary Road (2008), Away We Go (2009), Skyfall (2012)

Bennett Miller – Favorite Films: Capote (2005), Moneyball (2011), Foxcatcher (2014)

Anthony Minghella – Favorite Films: The English Patient (1996), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Cold Mountain (2003), Breaking And Entering (2006)

Hayao Miyazaki – Favorite Films: Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind (1984), My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Princess Mononoke (1997), Spirited Away (2001), Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), The Wind Rises (2013)

Oren Moverman – Favorite Films: The Messenger (2009), Time Out Of Mind (2014)

Mike Nichols – Favorite Films: The Graduate (1967), Carnal Knowledge (1971), Silkwood (1983), Wolf (1994), The Birdcage (1996), Closer (2004), Charlie Wilson’s War (2007)

Christopher Nolan – Favorite Films: Following (1998), Memento (2000), Insomnia (2002), Batman Begins (2005), The Prestige (2006), The Dark Knight (2008), Inception (2010), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Interstellar (2014)

Alan J. Pakula – Favorite Films: Klute (1971), The Parallax View (1974), All The President’s Men (1976)

Alexander Payne – Favorite Films: Election (1999), About Schmidt (2002), Sideways (2004), The Descendants (2011), Nebraska (2013)

Sean Penn – Favorite Films: The Pledge (2001), Into The Wild (2007)

Christian Petzold – Favorite Films: Barbara (2012), Phoenix (2014), Undine (2020)

Maurice Pialat – Favorite Films: Police (1985), Van Gogh (1991)

Roman Polanski – Favorite Films: Knife In The Water (1962), Rosemary’s Baby (1968), Chinatown (1974), The Tenant (1976), Tess (1979), The Pianist (2002), The Ghost Writer (2010)

Sydney Pollack – Favorite Films: The Yakuza (1974), Three Days Of The Condor (1975),  Absence Of Malice (1981), The Firm (1993)

Bob Rafelson – Favorite Films: Five Easy Pieces (1970), The King Of Marvin Gardens (1972)

Harold Ramis – Favorite Films: Caddyshack (1980), National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983), Groundhog Day (1993), Bedazzled (2000), The Ice Harvest (2005)

Kelly Reichardt – Favorite Films: Wendy And Lucy (2008), Night Moves (2013), Certain Women (2016)

Rob Reiner – Favorite Films: The Princess Bride (1987), A Few Good Men (1992)

Jacques Rivette – Favorite Films: Celine And Julie Go Boating (1974), La Belle Noiseuse (1991)

Nicolas Roeg – Favorite Films: Don’t Look Now (1973), The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976)

Mark Romanek – Favorite Films: One Hour Photo (2002), Never Let Me Go (2010)

David O. Russell – Favorite Films: Flirting With Disaster (1996), Three Kings (1999), I Heart Huckabees (2004), The Fighter (2010), Silver Linings Playbook (2012), American Hustle (2013)

Julian Schnabel – Favorite Films: Basquiat (1996), Before Night Falls (2000), The Diving Bell And The Butterfly (2007), At Eternity’s Gate (2018)

Jane Schoenbrun – Favorite Films: We’re All Going To The World’s Fair (2021), I Saw The TV Glow (2024)

Paul Schrader – Favorite Films: Hardcore (1979), Affliction (1997), First Reformed (2017)

Martin Scorsese – Favorite Films: Who’s That Knocking At My Door (1967), Mean Streets (1973), Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974), Taxi Driver (1976), The Last Waltz (1978), Raging Bull (1980), The King Of Comedy (1982), The Color Of Money (1986), The Last Temptation Of Christ (1988), Goodfellas (1990), Cape Fear (1991), Casino (1995), A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995), Bringing Out The Dead (1999), My Voyage To Italy (1999), The Aviator (2004), No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (2005), The Departed (2006), Shine A Light (2008), Shutter Island (2010), George Harrison: Living In The Material World (2011), The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013), Silence (2016), The Irishman (2019), Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story By Martin Scorsese (2019), Killers Of The Flower Moon (2023)

Ridley Scott – Favorite Films: The Duellists (1977), Alien (1979), Blade Runner (1982), Gladiator (2000), Hannibal (2001), Matchstick Men (2003), A Good Year (2006), American Gangster (2007)

Tony Scott – Favorite Films: Top Gun (1986), True Romance (1993), Crimson Tide (1995), Spy Game (2001), Man On Fire (2004), Unstoppable (2010)

Masahiro Shinoda – Favorite Films: With Beauty And Sorrow (1965), The Scandalous Adventures Of Buraikan (1970), Under The Blossoming Cherry Trees (1975), Ballad Of Orin (1977)

M. Night Shyamalan – Favorite Films: The Sixth Sense (1999), Unbreakable (2000), Signs (2002), The Village (2004)

Steven Soderbergh – Favorite Films: Sex, Lies And Videotape (1989), Gray’s Anatomy (1996), Out Of Sight (1998), The Limey (1999), Traffic (2000), Erin Brockovich (2000), Ocean’s Eleven (2001), Solaris (2002), Ocean’s Twelve (2004), Ocean’s Thirteen (2007), Che (2008), The Informant! (2009), And Everything Is Going Fine (2010), Contagion (2011), Magic Mike (2012), Logan Lucky (2017)

Paolo Sorrentino – Favorite Films: Il Divo (2008), This Must Be The Place (2011), The Great Beauty (2013)

Steven Spielberg – Favorite Films: Jaws (1975), Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977), Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981), E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom (1984), Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade (1989), Schindler’s List (1993), Jurassic Park (1993), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Catch Me If You Can (2002), Minority Report (2002), Munich (2005), The Adventures Of Tintin (2011), Bridge Of Spies (2015)

Oliver Stone – Favorite Films: Platoon (1986), Wall Street (1987), Born On The Fourth Of July (1989), The Doors (1991), JFK (1991), Natural Born Killers (1994), Nixon (1995), U Turn (1997), Any Given Sunday (1999), W. (2008), The Untold History Of The United States (2012)

Quentin Tarantino – Favorite Films: Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004), Death Proof (2007), Inglourious Basterds (2009), Django Unchained (2012), Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood (2019)

Andrei Tarkovsky – Favorite Films: Ivan’s Childhood (1962), Andrei Rublev (1966), Solaris (1972), The Mirror (1975), Stalker (1979)

Jacques Tati – Favorite Films: M. Hulot’s Holiday (1953), Mon Oncle (1958)

Gus Van Sant – Favorite Films: Drugstore Cowboy (1989), My Own Private Ryan (1991), Good Will Hunting (1997), Gerry (2002), Elephant (2003), Milk (2008)

Denis Villeneuve – Favorite Films: Enemy (2013), Sicario (2015), Arrival (2016)

Peter Weir – Favorite Films: Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975), Witness (1985), Dead Poets Society (1989), The Truman Show (1998), Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World (2003)

Orson Welles – Favorite Films: Citizen Kane (1941), The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), F For Fake (1973), The Other Side Of The Wind (2018)

Wim Wenders – Favorite Films: The American Friend (1977), Room 666 (1982), Paris, Texas (1984), Wings Of Desire (1987)

Wong Kar Wai – Favorite Films: In The Mood For Love (2000), 2046 (2004)

Edgar Wright – Favorite Films: Shaun Of The Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007), The World’s End (2013)

Joe Wright – Favorite Films: Pride & Prejudice (2005), Atonement (2007), Hanna (2011)

Robert Zemeckis – Favorite Films: Back To The Future (1985), Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988), Back To The Future Part II (1989), Forrest Gump (1994), Cast Away (2000), Flight (2012)

Terry Zwigoff – Favorite Films: Crumb (1994), Ghost World (2001)