From motherhood to an immigrant’s journey from humble roots to stardom, our 2026 Creative 100 class of directors turned their lenses on overlooked struggles. They made ordinary people the main characters, and showed how deeply human stories can resonate in a world increasingly hungry for authenticity.
Justyna Obasi
Anorak Film, Love Song
Taking it all in: Polish-Nigerian director Justyna Obasi has long defied anyone who would try to stereotype her. Having grown up across the world, Obasi is a keen observer of life who tells character-driven stories full of warmth, evident in both her film and advertising work.
Advertising with heart: Since breaking out in 2022 with a short film commissioned by Facebook called Skate Nation Ghana—which earned a Silver Lion and five D&AD Pencils—she’s on a run of emotionally rich work, from a flirty married couple rediscovering their spark in a Valentine’s Day ad for Tiffany & Co. to Ikea’s celebration of home.
Kleber Mendonça Filho
Bringing Recife to the world: A film critic turned director and screenwriter, Kleber Mendonça Filho has put his hometown of Recife, Brazil on the global stage. From his 2013 breakout film Neighborhood Sounds to 2025’s Oscars darling The Secret Agent, he’s continually exploring the lives of Recife’s people in the context of broader social and political upheaval in the country.
Giving back: Mendonça Filho has been honored with over 120 awards, appearing at film festivals including Cannes and Tribeca. But he always comes back home, notably as a curator with the Joaquim Nabuco Foundation, a social and educational organization dedicated to preserving the abolitionist’s work.
Maggie Kang & Chris Appelhans
All the awards: No piece of media had a bigger 2025 than Netflix’s most watched original film ever, KPop Demon Hunters. Co-directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans’ breakout hit about three demon-slaying pop stars collected every major industry award, from “Golden” becoming the first K-pop song to win a Grammy to the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.
Korean culture goes mainstream: The film even broke streaming containment with a sing-along theatrical release and fully brought the K-pop trend to the U.S. Its stars performed at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and McDonald’s created not one but two collaboration meals.
Watch this space: The authenticity and originality of Kang and Appelhans’ vision have landed the duo a long-term development deal with Netflix.
Mary Bronstein
Uncomfortable truth: The mainstream concept of motherhood got a reality check in 2025, led by Mary Bronstein’s comedy-drama (in the truly “if I weren’t laughing, I’d be crying” sense) If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. Unflinchingly honest about the stress put on mothers, Bronstein directed, wrote, and had a small part in the movie inspired by her own real-life experience caring for her medically complex child.
Back in the chair: If I Had Legs I’d Kick You is Bronstein’s first film as a director since 2008’s Yeast. It won a pile of awards for lead actress Rose Byrne, and was dubbed “Uncut Gems for moms” by Time magazine for its frenetic pace and cascading disasters (so a regular Tuesday for parents).
Quinn Katherman
ArtClass
Best in class: The mom at the heart of Quinn Katherman’s ad for SmartyPants vitamins did not come to make friends. Rejecting the “everyone’s a winner” concept of modern kids’ events, she came to actually win with trash talk and wellness tips—a refreshingly honest look at today’s hypercompetitive parenting scene.
Meet Tami: Because it’s time we stopped being too serious—without getting too coy—in ads for period products, agency Grey trusted Katherman to bring to life Tampax’s new spokesperson, Tami.
Modern sensibility: From Cardi B’s Super Bowl plug for Nyx Duck Plump to a hit Progressive commercial that didn’t feature Flo, Katherman’s sense of humor spares no one while feeling like sharing a laugh with a friend.
Rodrigo Inada
Partizan
Revealing portraits: When you need a world built that feels real but also just a little bit different from reality, you turn to Rodrigo Inada. The Japanese-Brazilian director likes to challenge ordinary moments through camerawork and technical wizardry to reveal the surreal lying just beneath.
Another world: Inada is a landscape artist, both in crafting dreamy settings for Spanish lager Cruzcampo and delving into inner worlds, like the glimpse of tennis star Coco Gauff’s off-court life for Ray Ban Meta AI glasses and Arlo Parks’ creative process for Dazed x Converse.
Breakout moment: With creative partner Nono Ayuso, Inada traced the epic trek from Nigeria to Greece to the U.S. of NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo for Whatsapp. The 12-minute documentary film, Naija Odyssey, was released on Amazon Prime in 2022 and won three bronze Clios.
Ryan Coogler
Genre master: Boasting a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes is a feat for any film, but Sinners is a supernatural thriller that also brought in gangsters, blues music, and racism in the Mississippi Delta. The film notably made 20% of its ticket sales on IMAX screens, helping to revive interest in large-format production.
Keeping it reel: Coogler shot Sinners on 65mm Ektachrome film, which had to be specially made by Kodak. A branded video for the manufacturer featuring Coogler’s deeply niche presentation of various film and theater formats has ticked past 1 million views on YouTube.
Hamish Hamilton
Done + Dusted
Doing it all: The only director ever to achieve the quadruple feat of filming the Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, and Super Bowl—directing 16 consecutive Halftime Shows—Hamish Hamilton is the eye through which we experience the biggest live cultural moments. He’s been recognized with multiple Bafta and Emmy awards over more than three decades, with a career spanning over 200 major broadcast events from the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show to the MTV Music Awards.
Rare vision: It was Hamilton behind the lens for Bad Bunny’s history-making Super Bowl 60 performance, as well as Netflix’s BTS The Comeback Live show, showcasing his skills at translating a stadium event into an intimate story. And he’ll do it again for the first-ever FIFA World Cup Halftime Show this summer.
JJ Adler
Ruckus Films
A new perspective: Since getting her start on The Onion News Network, JJ Adler has founded her own commercial production company in 2020 and racked up Cannes Lions, Clios, Webbys, and even a Peabody for her ad work.
Laughing matter: After winning Jalopnik’s nod as “the best car to have sex in,” the Jeep Grand Wagoneer put Adler at the helm of its 2025 tongue-in-cheek short “The Family SUV.” She also brought the entire “12 Days of Christmas” song to life for a harrowing Ikea holiday ad.
Question everything: Adler’s latest short film The Oracle, featuring a psychiatrist who gets a message from the beyond, debuted at Sundance and inspired a spiritual journey of her own.
William Stefan Smith
Biscuit Filmworks
With feeling: When comedy needs to tug at the heartstrings, the one to call is Bafta-winning director William Stefan Smith. Known for Netflix’s The Vince Staples Show and Top Boy, he brings a working class sensibility, a former standup comic’s timing, and arthouse skills to craft memorable moments.
Prolific ad man: Smith put his mark on this year’s Super Bowl with Uber Eats’ star-studded commercial, corralling the likes of Matthew McConaughey and Amelia Dimoldenberg. He’s also worked with Sprite, which is in the midsts of a Gen Z charm offensive, on campaigns starring NBA icons Kevin Garnett and Anthony Edwards.
This story appeared in the May 5, 2026, issue of ADWEEK magazine. Click here to subscribe.
This story appeared in the May 5, 2026, issue of ADWEEK magazine. Click here to subscribe.
