5. Lena Dunham

A divisive filmmaker who I almost want to believe has more strength as a writer than a director. She actually seems to have learned a lot from Ephron‘s films, while taking those lessons and applying it to (what I can only imagine) is her own life experiences and understanding of what the real world is like in 2012. With Tiny Furniture and her hit HBO TV show, Girls, she’s the name in comedy filmmaking that seems to be on the top of the world right now and I’m happy for that.

4. Sarah Polley

Her films are pretty much the film I’d most expect when watching a female perspective on relationships. However, it never strikes me as anything less than brilliant. Take This Waltz is my favourite film of 2012 thus far, and I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us next.

3. Lynne Ramsay

While she’s released three feature films: Ratcatcher. Morvern Callar and We Need To Talk About Kevin, I’ve actually only seen her latest movie (We Need to Talk About Kevin). Her filmmaking is quite possibly some of the most visually satisfying work that I’ve seen of all the other filmmakers mentioned in this list. She knows how to utilize contrast alongside jumping around the timeline of the story and making sure that the reality in which this film exists remains one of the thickest and most interesting one thanks to the characters that reside in it.

2. Kelly Reichardt

While Lynne Ramsay has the title of best DP of the list, I’d be happy to put Kelly Reichardt as the most subversive filmmaker of them all. Her films are the most simplistic narrative-wise, but thematically are so rich and beautiful. While Wendy and Lucy didn’t hit me for a homerun on it’s first run through it did show me that no matter how small a story it is the stakes can be bigger than ever.

1. Sofia Coppola

I’m not sure if people out there try to dismiss Sofia Coppola for reasons of nepotism, but that doesn’t mean that a great filmmaker can’t be made even if that happened. We all need someone to help us grow and it’s the result that matters a lot more than the means by which it occurs (at least 90% of the time).

Sofia’s films are some of the most beautiful touching films I’ve ever had the joy of experiencing. I even love more that when I first encountered her movies, Lost in Translation was the first film of hers I saw, and I was in high school I wasn’t the biggest fan. It felt like a lot of nothing really happening. However, as I grew older and more interested in these kind of stories and a bit more knowledgeable about life, the film made more sense to me (not to say I am not still learning about life). All of her films have struck me as movies that mature with you as a viewer and they reward you for keeping them around to revisit and enjoy.

Which filmmakers did I leave out we should keep an eye on?