6 of AUNZ's Best Up-and-Coming Directors

Little Black Book
22 May 2026
Lilya Murray

Directors are the backbone of the production industry -- turning good ideas into great work, and ensuring those ideas reach their full potential. And across Australia and New Zealand, a pool of up-and-coming talent is bubbling.

In January, LBB wrote about the best breakthrough directors and why it was important the industry prioritised their work. The consensus was that without them, the industry risked being an "echo chamber".

Now, AUNZ production companies point out why agencies should turn their attention to  up-and-comers, who have already worked for clients such as Qantas, Uber Eats, and Coopers.

Mitch J. Green

Breaking through rarely happens overnight. It happens when persistence meets the right moment.

Mitch came up through documentary and writing, which means he's always looking for the truth inside the brief rather than just the execution on top of it. That instinct gives his commercial work something most generic advertising lacks.

His epic cinematic anthem for Toohey's is still being sung across footy stadiums, while his anti-vaping campaign for NSW health heralded a shift in the look and feel of government messaging and campaigns for Newscorp show his ability to craft a more comedic performance.

For Mitch it's not a stylistic choice, it's just how he works. He finds the human detail that makes a scene feel lived in rather than constructed.

Read the article in its entirety on Little Black Book.