Famous Mexican Directors

Guillermo del Toro is one of the most popular Mexican filmmakers of all time. Along with Alejandro Iñárritu and Alfonso Cuarón, he is known as one of the Three Amigos of Cinema. He also played a major role as a former special effects makeup artist. In 2018, he was named in Time's 100 most influential people in the world list.

Mexican filmmaker, Alejandro Gonzalez Inãrittu, is known internationally for his films about the human condition. Beginning his entertainment career as a radio host, he started composing music and producing films as the years went by. The recipient of many prestigious awards, he is the first Mexican filmmaker to win an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Diego Luna is a Mexican actor, singer, producer, and director. The son of a popular set designer, he was exposed to show business as a young boy. He started acting when he was just seven and appeared in many telenovelas. He then moved to films and has appeared in many hit films, including Open Range and The Terminal.  

Alfonso Cuarón is a Mexican filmmaker who works in a wide range of genres. He has multiple romantic, action, drama, and fantasy movies to his credit. The son of a doctor and a biochemist, he chose an unconventional profession for himself. After completing his studies, he began working as a director. He has received four Academy Awards. 

Luis Buñuel was a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker with a brilliant career spanning almost half a century. He worked in France, Mexico, and Spain and directed films spanning various genres. His filmmaking technique was strongly influenced by mise-en-scène. He was hailed as a leader of avant-garde surrealism and is considered one of the top directors of the 20th century.  

Hailing from Mexico, Salma Hayek moved to Hollywood and attained fame with films like Desperado, From Dusk till Dawn, Wild Wild West, Dogma, Tale of Tales, Grown Ups, and Grown Ups 2. Her breakthrough role was the film Frida in 2002 for which she received critical appreciation. She works to raise awareness about violence against women and discrimination against immigrants.

Ramon Novarro was a Mexican-American actor who went on to become one of the most bankable actors during the 1920s and early-1930s. Promoted as a Latin lover, Ramon Novarro was regarded as a sex symbol in Hollywood. His murder, which took place on October 30, 1968, inspired several works of art like short stories, songs, and TV series.

Alfonso Arau is a Mexican actor, singer, and filmmaker. A well-known name in both American and Mexican film industries, Arau has directed several successful films like A Walk in the Clouds and Like Water for Chocolate. Alfonso Arau has won five Ariel Awards and a BAFTA nomination so far in his career.

Bill Melendez was a character animator, voice actor, and film director. He is best known for working on the Peanuts animated specials. He began working for Disney in 1935. In an extensive career spanning over six decades, he won six Primetime Emmy Awards. He also had five Grammy Award nominations and one Academy Award nomination. 

Emilio Fernández was a Mexican film actor, director, and screenwriter. One of the most prolific directors of the 1940s and 1950s, Fernández is best remembered for his work in the 1944 romantic film María Candelaria, which won the prestigious Palme d'Or in the Cannes Film Festival in 1946.

Spanish-born Mexican actor Daniel Giménez Cacho has appeared in countless Mexican films, such as Solo con tu pareja and Cronos. Known for collaborating with popular Hispanic filmmakers such as Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuarón, the actor has also won an Ariel Award for his role in Profundo Carmesí.

Rolando Villazón is a Mexican opera director and operatic tenor. He achieved international recognition in 1999 when he became the runner up of the annual opera competition, Plácido Domingo's Operalia. Apart from performing at prominent opera houses, Rolando Villazón also records solo CDs.

Carlos Reygadas is a Mexican filmmaker whose movies feature spiritual journeys of his main characters. He is best known for creating art films renowned for their emotionally charged stories, long takes, and expressionistic cinematography. His 2007 film Silent Light is often counted among the best films of the decade.

Adan Jodorowsky is a French-Mexican actor, musician, and director. Apart from his work as a musician, Jodorowsky has earned fame as a director, winning critical appreciation and prestigious awards for his 2012 film The Voice Thief. In 2014, the movie was selected by Diane Pernet to compete at the world's first festival about fashion films, ASVOFF.

Eva Norvind was a Norwegian-born Mexican writer, actress, director, documentary producer, and sex therapist. After working as a Playboy Bunny at age 18, Norvind went on to develop interest in sexuality and erotic power exchange. Her life and career inspired the 1997 movie Didn't Do It For Love. Eva Norvind's last film Born Without (2007) won several posthumous honors.

Tatiana Huezo is a film director of Mexican and Salvadoran nationality. She gained international recognition for her first documentary film El lugar más pequeño, which is about the Salvadoran Civil War. In 2016, she received the Fénix Award for her documentary film Tempestad, which also won the prestigious Ariel Award for Best Director in 2017.

Alejandro Galindo was a Mexican film director and screenwriter best remembered for directing films like Espaldas Mojadas and Campeón sin corona. Many of his films were critically appreciated for the portrayal of its characters through which the complexities of modern urban life were explored. Alejandro Galindo boasts of an expansive filmography which includes horror, film noir, comedy, and drama.