World Cinema's Greatest Living Directors

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Lucrecia Martel - Argentina

Think of Central and South American film directors and the likes of Walter Salles (Central Station), Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men) and Fernando Meirelles (City of God) spring to mind. But 35-year-old Lucrecia Martel is arguably the most exciting new talent on the continent. Despite attending film school, Martel professes to being self-taught, and her first film, 2001's The Swamp, received rapturous reviews around the world, with many critics citing it as a landmark film in Latin American cinema. She followed this up with The Holy Girl in 2004 - again it was a huge festival success and it marked Martel out as an idiosyncratic stylist. Her latest film, The Headless Woman (pictured), deals with the aftermath of a car crash, and its explorations of the psychological impact of an accident have won the director new plaudits.

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