(Sorry, I must've turned off the notifications in HN, because I never know when someone replies to a comment I've made.)

Rather than recommending films, which can turn into a long list since I'd find it difficult to decide which deserves more attention, I've shorlisted a number of highly respected and influential directors that I've closely followed (not in a social media kind of way)

* Majid Majidi

* Abbas Kiarostami

* The Makhmalbaf family (https://www.makhmalbaf.com)

* Dariush Mehrjui

* Bahman Ghobadi

* Jafar Panahi

* Bahram Beizai

* Asghar Farhadi

Most of these managed to create amazing films despite being closely watched and heavily censored by the authorities.