Anemone’s Directorial Debut—Plus Five More First-Time Feature Filmmakers

In his debut feature Anemone, Ronan Day-Lewis cast Daniel Day-Lewis in a taut psychological drama that the filmmaker co-wrote with his father. Set in Northern England, the film follows a middle-aged man (Sean Bean) reconnected with his estranged brother (Day-Lewis) who lives a hermit-like existence in the woods. Over days, the two unravel the complex, troubling secret that has separated them for years.

From early on, Ronan Day-Lewis expressed his creative impulses. After studying art at Yale, he’s created an impressive array of paintings, sculpture, and short films. He told ArtNet, “I’m drawn to this idea of projecting human emotion onto landscapes and places.” In creating his first feature, Day-Lewis brings those artistic sensibilities to the big screen. “I’m drawn to narrative in painting, but you can explore narrative in such a deeper way in film. To be able to see the images move is so thrilling to me,” Day-Lewis explains in the film’s production notes. The Playlist writes, “An emotional powerhouse, this directorial debut is assured in both small details and grand gestures as it charts the path toward familial redemption against all odds.”

With Anemone in theaters, we are revisiting five other films which marked the emergence of an exciting new cinematic talent.

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Promising Young Woman | Emerald Fennell

“‘Promising’ is indeed the word for Emerald Fennell in the wake of her startling debut feature,” wroteThe Hollywood Reporter about the director of Promising Young Woman. Having previously acted in films like The Danish Girl and Anna Karenina and written for the hit TV series, Killing Eve, Fennell used all of her different talents to create her first feature. After a friend is assaulted in medical school, Cassie (Carey Mulligan) drops out, looking for a way to do justice to her memory, an effort that comes together when she runs into a former classmate (Bo Burnham). Collider writes, “I was absolutely floored by Promising Young Woman, not just because Fennell proves she's already a master of her craft with her first feature film, but because it's unapologetic in pointing out complicity.” Promising Young Woman was nominated for five Academy Awards®, including Best Picture, earning Fennell a Best Original Screenplay Oscar®.

Watch Promising Young Woman now on Apple TV or Amazon!

Dìdi (弟弟) | Sean Wang

In Dìdi (弟弟), writer-director Sean Wang makes good on the advice “write what you know.” In his debut feature, Wang brings a joyful authenticity to his coming-of-age tale of 13-year-old Chris Wang (Izaac Wang). Living with his devoted mother (Joan Chen), older sister (Shirley Chen), and grandmother (Chang Li Hua) in Fremont, California, Chris struggles to fit in, be it on Myspace or at the mall. Like the film’s protagonist, Wang started making videos and short films when he was a young skater, slowly honing a unique, thoughtful cinematic style that shows up in his debut. The Wrap writes, “This film marks the emergence of a potentially great dramatic filmmaker, and that makes sense. After all, this is a great film.” Nominated for four Independent Spirit Awards, Dìdi (弟弟) won for Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay. 

 Watch Dìdi (弟弟) now!

A Thousand and One | A.V. Rockwell

A.V. Rockwell’s debut feature A Thousand and One won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival for being what the jury called “a work that is real, full of pain, and fearless in its rigorous commitment to emotional truth born of oppressive circumstances,” reported The New York Times. After making a series of acclaimed short films, Rockwell put her personal history and heart into this story about Inez (Teyana Taylor), a fiercely loyal mother who kidnaps her son, Terry, from the foster care system and tries to carve out a future for him. Having grown up in New York City, Rockwell told IndieWire that the “two big ideas between the experiences of the city and the experiences of inner city Black women in particular really drove me forward.” Variety wrote, “Rockwell uses the full range of cinematic expressivity to turn a small, often tragic story of raw deals and rash decisions into an admiring portrait of survivorship, determination and resourcefulness.” A Thousand and One won the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature.

Watch A Thousand and One  now on Apple TV or Amazon!

Polite Society | Nida Manzoor

Having risen to fame with her acclaimed TV series, We Are Lady Parts, Nida Manzoor found a unique way to mix her cinematic interests and personal life with her debut film Polite Society. When Ria (Priya Kansara), a teenager with dreams of becoming a stunt woman, learns that her sister, Lena (Ritu Arya), is marrying a man who doesn’t deserve her, she fights to get her back. “It was drawn a lot from my own relationship with my sister,” Manzoor tells Celebrity Wire. “Such a close, intimate, and loving relationship, but then when you fight with your sibling, that kind of fighting can be the most brutal.” The New York Times writes, “It’s a delight that borrows from everything—westerns, musicals, heist capers, horror, Jane Austen and James Bond—to build its writer and director, Nida Manzoor, into a promising new thing: a first-time filmmaker impatient to evolve cultural representation from the last few years of self-conscious vitamins into crowd-pleasing candy.” Polite Society won Manzoor Best Debut Screenwriter at the British Independent Film Awards.

Watch Polite Society now on Apple TV or Amazon!

Brick | Rian Johnson

Before creating blockbuster mysteries like Knives Out, writer-director Rian Johnson showed off his talent with his debut film, Brick. High school student Brendan Frye (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) dons the mantle of hardboiled detective to investigate the mysterious death of his ex-girlfriend. Enamored of Dashiell Hammett’s language and characters, Johnson found a way to transform noir’s shadowy milieu to suit the student cliques and adolescent romances of a So-Cal high school. Slate writes, “Like the best noirs, Brick is a triumph of attitude, and there's no arguing that its brand of deadpan cool is precisely unique.” For Rolling Stone, “Debuting director and screenwriter Rian Johnson stakes his claim to a potent future in film based on the passion and craft he pours into Brick.” 

Watch Brick now on Apple TV or Amazon!