Great Debuts

Wes Anderson's debut ditches kitsch in favour of surprisingly subtle comedy, in this tale of a criminally inept gang led by Owen Wilson.

A seductive neo-noir and cult classic centring on lesbian desire in dangerous circumstances.

Alejandro González Iñárritu's (Birdman, The Revenant) gripping debut feature is a savagely brilliant triptych around the theme of animalistic desires.

The importance of human connection lies at the heart of this powerful, nuanced portrait of a young Portuguese warehouse employee in Scotland.

Christopher Nolan’s gritty neo-noir first feature about a young London writer who gets drawn into a criminal underworld.

Guillermo del Toro’s Cannes prize-winning directorial debut offers a unique take on the classic vampire story.

A British-Palestinian drag performer catches the eye of a strait-laced white man in Amrou Al-Kadhi’s stunning, semi-autobiographical debut.

A philosophy professor and an artist reach a crisis point in their marriage, in Kathleen Collins’ groundbreaking masterpiece.

Kathleen Collins’ debut feature about three brothers tasked with renovating an elderly woman’s mansion so she can host one last party before she dies.

Ayoka Chenzira’s vital coming-of-age comedy about three Black women living in Brooklyn learning to embrace life and exercise their agency.

Soulful story of the love and war between a queer woman and her mother, spanning across decades and continents.

A troubled young sheep farmer falls for a hired hand in this stunning debut from Francis Lee.

All We Imagine as Light director Payal Kapadia’s bold and distinctive feature debut explores the political climate of contemporary India.

A woman’s blindness sharpens her capacity for imagination and fantasy in the Eskil Vogt’s inventive debut.

Bridgett M. Davis’s comedy about an aspiring young Black actress who lands her first major role, but there’s a big problem: it requires a nude scene.

Akerman’s debut feature, with its 10-minute lesbian sex scene, revealed its maker to be a radical and uncompromising force in cinema.

Old sins refuse to be forgotten in Romola Garai’s gothic horror and hauntingly atmospheric debut feature.

Mathieu Kassovitz’s landmark mid-90s drama throws a cinematic Molotov cocktail at structural racism, police brutality and media manipulation.

A distinctly bold and sensual reclaiming of gay history, Jarman here tells the sexually intense story of the 4th-century martyr.

A ferocious dystopian nightmare, this was the first film directed by a Black British woman to receive a UK theatrical release.

Dash’s groundbreaking Daughters of the Dust remains urgent and poetic and continues to resonate, inspiring Beyoncé’s iconic visual album Lemonade.

Chantal Akerman’s plays a manic heroine in her early, incendiary critique of domesticity and conformity.

In this knockout feature debut from Aleem Khan, Bafta-winner Joanna Scanlan is the woman who discovers her late husband’s secrets.

Andrea Arnold’s highly acclaimed film, winner of top prizes at Cannes and the BFI London Film Festival, is a haunting drama about a woman confronting past demons.

Clio Barnard's film about Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar mixes reconstruction, interviews (performed by actors) and scenes from the plays.

A recently married couple find their lives turning upside down as a result of the husband’s nocturnal behaviour.

Hailed as Britain's first black feature film, Pressure is a hard-hitting, honest document of the plight of disenchanted black youths in 1970s London.

Campbell X's debut feature is a sexy, young and cool gay romance taking a unique look at a slice of British urban life.

Thomas Clay’s unflinching story of teen drugs and violence scandalised the British film industry 20 years ago, but is arguably ripe for rehabilitation

The Queen's Silver Jubilee beats to the sounds of Funkadelic, Sylvester and the O'Jays in Isaac Julien’s feature debut.

Justin Kurzel's shocking dramatisation of Australia's most notorious serial killings.

Sally El Hosaini's feature debut tells of the love and disenchantment of two British-Egyptian brothers as gangs, drugs and sexuality come between them.

Terence Davies' debut feature is a remarkable evocation of working-class family life in the 40s and 50s and a visionary exploration of memory.

Billie Piper stars in her own directorial debut, a no-holds-barred, Fleabag-esque anti-romcom about a modern woman’s struggles in work and love.

Queer sisterhood and collective power lie at the heart of this arresting Brazilian debut, in which a promising volleyball player faces an unwanted pregnancy.

A coming-of-age tale about a father-son relationship that might just be out of this world.

Andrew Kötting takes a terrific, twisting coastal tour of the UK with his family.

Tilda Swinton narrates this visually stunning lament for humanity by acclaimed composer Jóhann Jóhannsson (Sicario, Arrival).

Kurosawa’s assured debut film about a young man’s spiritual journey through the study and practice of judo.

A lifelong friendship is tested by tragedy in this atmospheric and intense first feature from acclaimed British shorts director Fyzal Boulifa.

Three expectant mothers on a maternity ward recall their personal and sexual experiences in Mai Zetterling’s bold, subversive debut.

Nominated for two Oscars (Best Actress – Melissa Leo - and Best Original Screenplay) Frozen River is a riveting thriller that raises questions about the borders we construct, between countries, communities and each other.

Taxi zum Klo is a refreshingly guilt-free gay movie from West Germany about a promiscuous teacher, played by director Frank Ripploh.

Riotous urban comedy adapted from the hit Royal Court play, about a Peckham teen affronted by the arrival of his long-lost Nigerian sibling.

Carine Adler’s sexy and dark debut, starring Samantha Morton in her first major feature film role.

A deliciously dark comedy about social paranoia that will have you joyfully squirming in your seat.

A traditional rite of passage ritual forms the backdrop for this tough and complex tale of closeted sexuality in South Africa.

Blistering thriller of a teen groomed to work for a brutal, organised drugs network.

Florence Pugh shines in this exceptional British debut of a young wife's need for freedom, whatever the cost.

In his brutal directorial debut, ‘Beat' Takeshi Kitano plays a renegade cop who frequently resorts to violence and unethical methods to get results.

An evil and enigmatic entity throws a family into turmoil in Lindsey C. Vickers' much sought-after cult horror.

The passengers on an interstellar space-liner are thrown into turmoil when their mission goes off course, in this compassionate and thought-provoking sci-fi drama.

This strange, enigmatic and engrossing thriller finds a troubled young man returning to his hometown in the wake of his mother’s disappearance.

The troubled lives of four desperate people unfold over the course of a single day, in this melancholy masterpiece about the human condition.

Desiree Akhavan directs and stars in this clever, razor-sharp and fearless comedy following the sexual misadventures of a Brooklynite.

A haunting blend of edgy mystery story and existential road movie.