The 12 Directors Under 40 You Need To Know

The days of turning to Wes Anderson, Danny Boyle, and David Fincher for "indies" are long gone. Luckily, there is a whole new crop of names to know in cinema in 2013. Sure, we are all familiar with ingenue Lena Dunham, but she is only the tip of the indie iceberg. With the advent of digital, fan support via Kickstarter, and the festival circuit allowing more people to see smaller films, being a director doesn't have to require a long and hallowed career anymore.

These 12 directors, all of whom clock in under 40 years old, prove that helming a camera and having a vision can happen early on in a career — and that being an "auteur" can occur at any age.