The Academy Award for Best Director, officially known as the Academy Award of Merit for Directing, is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It honors a film director who has exhibited outstanding directing while working in the film industry. The award is traditionally presented by the previous year's Best Director winner.
The award was first given out at the 1st Academy Awards ceremony in 1929, when it was presented in two categories: Best Director for a Drama and Best Director for a Comedy. However, the two categories were merged into a single award for Best Director in 1930.
The Academy Award for Best Director is one of the most prestigious awards in the film industry. It is often considered to be one of the most difficult to win, as it requires the director to have demonstrated exceptional skill and artistry in all aspects of filmmaking, from storytelling to acting to technical execution.
Some of the most famous directors who have won the Academy Award for Best Director include:
- John Ford (4 wins)
- Steven Spielberg (3 wins)
- William Wyler (3 wins)
- Alfred Hitchcock (2 wins)
- Clint Eastwood (2 wins)
- Frank Capra (3 wins)
- Kathryn Bigelow (1 win)
- Chloé Zhao (1 win)
- Jane Campion (1 win)
The most recent winner of the Academy Award for Best Director is Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for their work on the 2022 film Everything Everywhere All at Once.
History
The Academy Award for Best Director is presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is one of the most prestigious awards in the film industry, recognizing outstanding achievement in directing.
The history of the Academy Award for Best Director dates back to the first Oscars ceremony, which took place on May 16, 1929. The award was among the original categories presented at that inaugural event. The first winner of the Best Director Oscar was Frank Borzage for his work on the film Seventh Heaven (1927) and Bad Girl (1931). Initially, the award honored directors for their work in a single year, regardless of the number of films they directed.
Over the years, the category has seen various changes and developments. In the early years, the award was sometimes split into two categories: one for comedy direction and one for dramatic direction. However, this practice was discontinued after the 7th Academy Awards in 1935.
Notable moments in the history of the Best Director category include Kathryn Bigelow becoming the first woman to win the award for her work on The Hurt Locker in 2009. Additionally, in 2017, Damien Chazelle became the youngest winner in the category for his direction of "La La Land."
The Best Director category has witnessed the recognition of many iconic filmmakers who have left an indelible mark on the history of cinema. Directors such as John Ford, Frank Capra, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, and Martin Scorsese are among those who have received the prestigious honor.
The Academy Award for Best Director continues to be a highly anticipated and closely watched category during the annual Oscars ceremony, showcasing and celebrating the talent and artistry of directors in the film industry.
List of Academy Award Winners for Best Director
(# - did not win Best Picture)
| Year of Award | Best Director | Film Honored |
|---|---|---|
| 1927-28 | Frank Borzage | Seventh Heaven (Dramatic Picture) # |
| 1927-28 | Lewis Milestone | Two Arabian Knights (Comedy Picture) # |
| 1928-29 | Frank Lloyd | The Divine Lady # |
| 1929-30 | Lewis Milestone | All Quiet on the Western Front |
| 1930-31 | Norman Taurog | Skippy # |
| 1931-32 | Frank Borzage | Bad Girl # |
| 1932-33 | Frank Lloyd | Cavalcade |
| 1934 | Frank Capra | It Happened One Night |
| 1935 | John Ford | The Informer # |
| 1936 | Frank Capra | Mr. Deeds Goes to Town # |
| 1937 | Leo McCarey | The Awful Truth # |
| 1938 | Frank Capra | You Can't Take It With You |
| 1939 | Victor Fleming | Gone With The Wind |
| 1940 | John Ford | The Grapes of Wrath # |
| 1941 | John Ford | How Green Was My Valley |
| 1942 | William Wyler | Mrs. Miniver |
| 1943 | Michael Curtiz | Casablanca |
| 1944 | Leo McCarey | Going My Way |
| 1945 | Billy Wilder | The Lost Weekend |
| 1946 | William Wyler | The Best Years of Our Lives |
| 1947 | Elia Kazan | Gentleman's Agreement |
| 1948 | John Huston | The Treasure of the Sierra Madre # |
| 1949 | Joseph Mankiewicz | A Letter to Three Wives # |
| 1950 | Joseph Mankiewicz | All About Eve |
| 1951 | George Stevens | A Place in the Sun # |
| 1952 | John Ford | The Quiet Man # |
| 1953 | Fred Zinnemann | From Here to Eternity |
| 1954 | Elia Kazan | On The Waterfront |
| 1955 | Delbert Mann | Marty |
| 1956 | George Stevens | Giant # |
| 1957 | David Lean | The Bridge On The River Kwai |
| 1958 | Vincente Minnelli | Gigi |
| 1959 | William Wyler | Ben-Hur |
| 1960 | Billy Wilder | The Apartment |
| 1961 | Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise | West Side Story |
| 1962 | David Lean | Lawrence of Arabia |
| 1963 | Tony Richardson | Tom Jones |
| 1964 | George Cukor | My Fair Lady |
| 1965 | Robert Wise | The Sound of Music |
| 1966 | Fred Zinnemann | A Man for All Seasons |
| 1967 | Mike Nichols | The Graduate # |
| 1968 | Carol Reed | Oliver! |
| 1969 | John Schlesinger | Midnight Cowboy |
| 1970 | Franklin Schaffner | Patton |
| 1971 | William Friedkin | The French Connection |
| 1972 | Bob Fosse | Cabaret # |
| 1973 | George Roy Hill | The Sting |
| 1974 | Francis Ford Coppola | The Godfather, Part II |
| 1975 | Milos Forman | One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest |
| 1976 | John Avildsen | Rocky |
| 1977 | Woody Allen | Annie Hall |
| 1978 | Michael Cimino | The Deer Hunter |
| 1979 | Robert Benton | Kramer vs. Kramer |
| 1980 | Robert Redford | Ordinary People |
| 1981 | Warren Beatty | Reds # |
| 1982 | Richard Attenborough | Gandhi |
| 1983 | James L. Brooks | Terms of Endearment |
| 1984 | Milos Forman | Amadeus |
| 1985 | Sydney Pollack | Out of Africa |
| 1986 | Oliver Stone | Platoon |
| 1987 | Bernardo Bertolucci | The Last Emperor |
| 1988 | Barry Levinson | Rain Man |
| 1989 | Oliver Stone | Born on the Fourth of July # |
| 1990 | Kevin Costner | Dances With Wolves |
| 1991 | Jonathan Demme | The Silence of the Lambs |
| 1992 | Clint Eastwood | Unforgiven |
| 1993 | Steven Spielberg | Schindler's List |
| 1994 | Robert Zemeckis | Forrest Gump |
| 1995 | Mel Gibson | Braveheart |
| 1996 | Anthony Minghella | The English Patient |
| 1997 | James Cameron | Titanic |
| 1998 | Steven Spielberg | Saving Private Ryan # |
| 1999 | Sam Mendes | American Beauty |
| 2000 | Steven Soderbergh | Traffic # |
| 2001 | Ron Howard | A Beautiful Mind |
| 2002 | Roman Polanski | The Pianist # |
| 2003 | Peter Jackson | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King |
| 2004 | Clint Eastwood | Million Dollar Baby |
| 2005 | Ang Lee | Brokeback Mountain # |
| 2006 | Martin Scorsese | The Departed |
| 2007 | Joel and Ethan Coen | No Country for Old Men |
| 2008 | Danny Boyle | Slumdog Millionaire |
| 2009 | Kathryn Bigelow | The Hurt Locker |
| 2010 | Tom Hooper | The King's Speech |
| 2011 | Michel Hazanavicius | The Artist |
| 2012 | Ang Lee | Life of Pi # |
| 2013 | Alfonso Cuarón | Gravity # |
| 2014 | Alejandro González Iñárritu | Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) |
| 2015 | Alejandro González Iñárritu | The Revenant # |
| 2016 | Damien Chazelle | La La Land # |
| 2017 | Guillermo del Toro | The Shape of Water |
| 2018 | Alfonso Cuarón | Roma # |
| 2019 | Bong Joon Ho | Parasite |
| 2020 | Chloe Zhao | Nomadland |
| 2021 | Jane Campion | The Power of the Dog # |
| 2022 | Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert | Everything Everywhere All at Once |