Academy Award for Best Director

The Academy Award for Best Directing (Best Director), usually known as the Best Director Oscar, is one of the Awards of Merit presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to directors for a movie.

Academy Award for Best Director
The 2021 recipient: Chloé Zhao
Awarded for	Excellence in Cinematic Direction Achievement
Country	United States
Presented by	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)
First awarded	1929 (for direction in films released during the 1927/1928 film season)
Most recent winner	Chloé Zhao Nomadland (2020)
Website	oscars.org

Nominations for Best Director are made by members in the academy's Directing branch. The award winners are selected by the academy membership as a whole.

Winners and nominees

1920s

In the first year only, the award was separated into Dramatic Direction and Comedy Direction.

Year	Winner film	Nominated
1927/28 (Dramatic)	Frank Borzage  – Seventh Heaven	Herbert Brenon – Sorrell and Son King Vidor – The Crowd
1927/28 (Comedy)	Lewis Milestone  – Two Arabian Knights	Ted Wilde – Speedy
1928/29	Frank Lloyd  – The Divine Lady	Lionel Barrymore – Madame X Harry Beaumont – The Broadway Melody Irving Cummings – In Old Arizona Frank Lloyd - Drag and Weary River Ernst Lubitsch – The Patriot
1929/30	Lewis Milestone  – All Quiet on the Western Front	Clarence Brown – Anna Christie and Romance Robert Z. Leonard – The Divorcée Ernst Lubitsch – The Love Parade King Vidor – Hallelujah

1930s

Year	Winner film	Nominated
1930/31	Norman Taurog  – Skippy	Clarence Brown – A Free Soul Lewis Milestone – The Front Page Wesley Ruggles – Cimarron Josef von Sternberg – Morocco
1931/32	Frank Borzage  – Bad Girl	King Vidor – The Champ Josef von Sternberg – Shanghai Express
1932/33	Frank Lloyd  – Cavalcade	Frank Capra – Lady for a Day George Cukor – Little Women (The academy also announced that Capra came in second, and Cukor last.)
1934	Frank Capra  – It Happened One Night	Victor Schertzinger – One Night of Love W. S. Van Dyke – The Thin Man (The academy also announced that Van Dyke came in second, and Schertzinger last.)
1935	John Ford  – The Informer	Henry Hathaway – The Lives of a Bengal Lancer Frank Lloyd – Mutiny on the Bounty (The academy also announced that write-in candidate Michael Curtiz, for Captain Blood, came in second, and Hathaway third.)
1936	Frank Capra  – Mr. Deeds Goes to Town	Gregory La Cava – My Man Godfrey Robert Z. Leonard – The Great Ziegfeld W. S. Van Dyke – San Francisco William Wyler – Dodsworth
1937	Leo McCarey  – The Awful Truth	William Dieterle – The Life of Emile Zola Sidney Franklin – The Good Earth Gregory La Cava – Stage Door William A. Wellman – A Star Is Born
1938	Frank Capra  – You Can't Take It with You	Michael Curtiz – Angels with Dirty Faces Michael Curtiz – Four Daughters Norman Taurog – Boys Town King Vidor – The Citadel
1939	Victor Fleming  – Gone with the Wind	Frank Capra – Mr. Smith Goes to Washington John Ford – Stagecoach Sam Wood – Goodbye, Mr. Chips William Wyler – Wuthering Heights

1940s

Year	Winner film	Nominated
1940	John Ford  – The Grapes of Wrath	George Cukor – The Philadelphia Story Alfred Hitchcock – Rebecca Sam Wood – Kitty Foyle William Wyler – The Letter
1941	John Ford  – How Green Was My Valley	Alexander Hall – Here Comes Mr. Jordan Howard Hawks – Sergeant York Orson Welles – Citizen Kane William Wyler – The Little Foxes
1942	William Wyler  – Mrs. Miniver	Michael Curtiz – Yankee Doodle Dandy John Farrow – Wake Island Mervyn LeRoy – Random Harvest Sam Wood – Kings Row
1943	Michael Curtiz  – Casablanca	Clarence Brown – The Human Comedy Henry King – The Song of Bernadette Ernst Lubitsch – Heaven Can Wait George Stevens – The More the Merrier
1944	Leo McCarey  – Going My Way	Alfred Hitchcock – Lifeboat Henry King – Wilson Otto Preminger – Laura Billy Wilder – Double Indemnity
1945	Billy Wilder  – The Lost Weekend	Clarence Brown – National Velvet Alfred Hitchcock – Spellbound Leo McCarey – The Bells of St. Mary's Jean Renoir – The Southerner
1946	William Wyler  – The Best Years of Our Lives	Clarence Brown – The Yearling Frank Capra – It's a Wonderful Life David Lean – Brief Encounter Robert Siodmak – The Killers
1947	Elia Kazan  – Gentleman's Agreement	George Cukor – A Double Life Edward Dmytryk – Crossfire Henry Koster – The Bishop's Wife David Lean – Great Expectations
1948	John Huston  – The Treasure of the Sierra Madre	Anatole Litvak – The Snake Pit Jean Negulesco – Johnny Belinda Laurence Olivier – Hamlet Fred Zinnemann – The Search
1949	Joseph L. Mankiewicz  – A Letter to Three Wives	Carol Reed – The Fallen Idol Robert Rossen – All the King's Men William A. Wellman – Battleground William Wyler – The Heiress

1950s

Year	Winner film	Nominated
1950	Joseph L. Mankiewicz  – All About Eve	George Cukor – Born Yesterday John Huston – The Asphalt Jungle Carol Reed – The Third Man Billy Wilder – Sunset Boulevard
1951	George Stevens  – A Place in the Sun	John Huston – The African Queen Elia Kazan – A Streetcar Named Desire Vincente Minnelli – An American in Paris William Wyler – Detective Story
1952	John Ford  – The Quiet Man	Cecil B. DeMille – The Greatest Show on Earth John Huston – Moulin Rouge Joseph L. Mankiewicz – 5 Fingers Fred Zinnemann – High Noon
1953	Fred Zinnemann  – From Here to Eternity	George Stevens – Shane Charles Walters – Lili Billy Wilder – Stalag 17 William Wyler – Roman Holiday
1954	Elia Kazan  – On the Waterfront	Alfred Hitchcock – Rear Window George Seaton – The Country Girl William A. Wellman – The High and the Mighty Billy Wilder – Sabrina
1955	Delbert Mann  – Marty	Elia Kazan – East of Eden David Lean – Summertime Joshua Logan – Picnic John Sturges – Bad Day at Black Rock
1956	George Stevens  – Giant	Michael Anderson – Around the World in 80 Days Walter Lang – The King and I King Vidor – War and Peace William Wyler – Friendly Persuasion
1957	David Lean  – The Bridge on the River Kwai	Joshua Logan – Sayonara Sidney Lumet – 12 Angry Men Mark Robson – Peyton Place Billy Wilder – Witness for the Prosecution
1958	Vincente Minnelli  – Gigi	Richard Brooks – Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Stanley Kramer – The Defiant Ones Mark Robson – The Inn of the Sixth Happiness Robert Wise – I Want to Live!
1959	William Wyler  – Ben-Hur	Jack Clayton – Room at the Top George Stevens – The Diary of Anne Frank Billy Wilder – Some Like It Hot Fred Zinnemann – The Nun's Story

1960s

Year	Winner film	Nominated
1960	Billy Wilder  – The Apartment	Jack Cardiff – Sons and Lovers Jules Dassin – Never on Sunday Alfred Hitchcock – Psycho Fred Zinnemann – The Sundowners
1961	Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins  – West Side Story	Federico Fellini – La Dolce Vita Stanley Kramer – Judgment at Nuremberg Robert Rossen – The Hustler J. Lee Thompson – The Guns of Navarone
1962	David Lean  – Lawrence of Arabia	Pietro Germi – Divorce, Italian Style Robert Mulligan – To Kill a Mockingbird Arthur Penn – The Miracle Worker Frank Perry – David and Lisa
1963	Tony Richardson  – Tom Jones	Federico Fellini – 8½ Elia Kazan – America, America Otto Preminger – The Cardinal Martin Ritt – Hud
1964	George Cukor  – My Fair Lady	Michael Cacoyannis – Zorba the Greek Peter Glenville – Becket Stanley Kubrick – Dr. Strangelove Robert Stevenson – Mary Poppins
1965	Robert Wise  – The Sound of Music	David Lean – Doctor Zhivago John Schlesinger – Darling Hiroshi Teshigahara – The Woman in the Dunes William Wyler – The Collector
1966	Fred Zinnemann  – A Man for All Seasons	Michelangelo Antonioni – Blowup Richard Brooks – The Professionals Claude Lelouch – A Man and a Woman Mike Nichols – Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
1967	Mike Nichols  – The Graduate	Richard Brooks – In Cold Blood Norman Jewison – In the Heat of the Night Stanley Kramer – Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Arthur Penn – Bonnie and Clyde
1968	Carol Reed  – Oliver!	Anthony Harvey – The Lion in Winter Stanley Kubrick – 2001: A Space Odyssey Gillo Pontecorvo – The Battle of Algiers Franco Zeffirelli – Romeo and Juliet
1969	John Schlesinger  – Midnight Cowboy	Costa Gavras – Z George Roy Hill – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Arthur Penn – Alice's Restaurant Sydney Pollack – They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

1970s

Year	Winner film	Nominated
1970	Franklin J. Schaffner  – Patton	Robert Altman – MASH Federico Fellini – Satyricon Arthur Hiller – Love Story Ken Russell – Women in Love
1971	William Friedkin  – The French Connection	Peter Bogdanovich – The Last Picture Show Norman Jewison – Fiddler on the Roof Stanley Kubrick – A Clockwork Orange John Schlesinger – Sunday Bloody Sunday
1972	Bob Fosse  – Cabaret	John Boorman – Deliverance Francis Ford Coppola – The Godfather Joseph L. Mankiewicz – Sleuth Jan Troell – The Emigrants
1973	George Roy Hill  – The Sting	Ingmar Bergman – Cries and Whispers Bernardo Bertolucci - Last Tango in Paris William Friedkin - The Exorcist George Lucas – American Graffiti
1974	Francis Ford Coppola  – The Godfather Part II	John Cassavetes – A Woman Under the Influence Bob Fosse – Lenny Roman Polanski – Chinatown François Truffaut – Day for Night
1975	Miloš Forman  – One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest	Robert Altman – Nashville Federico Fellini – Amarcord Stanley Kubrick – Barry Lyndon Sidney Lumet – Dog Day Afternoon
1976	John G. Avildsen  – Rocky	Ingmar Bergman – Face to Face Sidney Lumet – Network Alan J. Pakula – All the President's Men Lina Wertmüller – Seven Beauties
1977	Woody Allen  – Annie Hall	George Lucas – Star Wars Herbert Ross – The Turning Point Steven Spielberg – Close Encounters of the Third Kind Fred Zinnemann – Julia
1978	Michael Cimino  – The Deer Hunter	Woody Allen – Interiors Hal Ashby – Coming Home Warren Beatty & Buck Henry – Heaven Can Wait Alan Parker – Midnight Express
1979	Robert Benton  – Kramer vs. Kramer	Francis Ford Coppola – Apocalypse Now Bob Fosse – All That Jazz Édouard Molinaro – La Cage aux Folles Peter Yates – Breaking Away

1980s

Year	Winner film	Nominated
1980	Robert Redford  – Ordinary People	David Lynch – The Elephant Man Roman Polanski – Tess Richard Rush – The Stunt Man Martin Scorsese – Raging Bull
1981	Warren Beatty  – Reds	Hugh Hudson – Chariots of Fire Louis Malle – Atlantic City Mark Rydell – On Golden Pond Steven Spielberg – Raiders of the Lost Ark
1982	Richard Attenborough  – Gandhi	Sidney Lumet – The Verdict Wolfgang Petersen – Das Boot Sydney Pollack – Tootsie Steven Spielberg – E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
1983	James L. Brooks  – Terms of Endearment	Bruce Beresford – Tender Mercies Ingmar Bergman – Fanny and Alexander Mike Nichols – Silkwood Peter Yates – The Dresser
1984	Miloš Forman  – Amadeus	Woody Allen – Broadway Danny Rose Robert Benton – Places in the Heart Roland Joffé – The Killing Fields David Lean – A Passage to India
1985	Sydney Pollack  – Out of Africa	Héctor Babenco – Kiss of the Spider Woman John Huston – Prizzi's Honor Akira Kurosawa – Ran Peter Weir – Witness
1986	Oliver Stone  – Platoon	Woody Allen – Hannah and Her Sisters James Ivory – A Room with a View Roland Joffé – The Mission David Lynch – Blue Velvet
1987	Bernardo Bertolucci  – The Last Emperor	John Boorman – Hope and Glory Lasse Hallström – My Life as a Dog Norman Jewison – Moonstruck Adrian Lyne – Fatal Attraction
1988	Barry Levinson  – Rain Man	Charles Crichton – A Fish Called Wanda Mike Nichols – Working Girl Alan Parker – Mississippi Burning Martin Scorsese – The Last Temptation of Christ
1989	Oliver Stone  – Born on the Fourth of July	Woody Allen – Crimes and Misdemeanors Kenneth Branagh – Henry V Jim Sheridan – My Left Foot Peter Weir – Dead Poets Society

1990s

Year	Winner film	Nominated
1990	Kevin Costner  – Dances with Wolves	Francis Ford Coppola – The Godfather Part III Stephen Frears – The Grifters Barbet Schroeder – Reversal of Fortune Martin Scorsese – Goodfellas
1991	Jonathan Demme  – The Silence of the Lambs	Barry Levinson – Bugsy Ridley Scott – Thelma & Louise John Singleton – Boyz n the Hood Oliver Stone – JFK
1992	Clint Eastwood  – Unforgiven	Robert Altman – The Player Martin Brest – Scent of a Woman James Ivory – Howards End Neil Jordan – The Crying Game
1993	Steven Spielberg  – Schindler's List	Robert Altman – Short Cuts Jane Campion – The Piano James Ivory – The Remains of the Day Jim Sheridan – In the Name of the Father
1994	Robert Zemeckis  – Forrest Gump	Woody Allen – Bullets Over Broadway Krzysztof Kieślowski – Three Colors: Red Robert Redford – Quiz Show Quentin Tarantino – Pulp Fiction
1995	Mel Gibson  – Braveheart	Mike Figgis – Leaving Las Vegas Chris Noonan – Babe Michael Radford – Il Postino Tim Robbins – Dead Man Walking
1996	Anthony Minghella  – The English Patient	Joel Coen – Fargo Miloš Forman – The People vs. Larry Flynt Scott Hicks – Shine Mike Leigh – Secrets & Lies
1997	James Cameron  – Titanic	Peter Cattaneo – The Full Monty Atom Egoyan – The Sweet Hereafter Curtis Hanson – L.A. Confidential Gus Van Sant – Good Will Hunting
1998	Steven Spielberg  – Saving Private Ryan	Roberto Benigni – Life Is Beautiful John Madden – Shakespeare in Love Terrence Malick – The Thin Red Line Peter Weir – The Truman Show
1999	Sam Mendes  – American Beauty	Lasse Hallström – The Cider House Rules Spike Jonze – Being John Malkovich Michael Mann – The Insider M. Night Shyamalan – The Sixth Sense

2000s

Year	Winner film	Nominated
2000	Steven Soderbergh  – Traffic	Stephen Daldry – Billy Elliot Ang Lee – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Ridley Scott – Gladiator Steven Soderbergh – Erin Brockovich
2001	Ron Howard  – A Beautiful Mind	Robert Altman – Gosford Park Peter Jackson – The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring David Lynch – Mulholland Drive Ridley Scott – Black Hawk Down
2002	Roman Polanski  – The Pianist	Pedro Almodóvar – Talk to Her Stephen Daldry – The Hours Rob Marshall – Chicago Martin Scorsese – Gangs of New York
2003	Peter Jackson  – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	Sofia Coppola – Lost in Translation Clint Eastwood – Mystic River Fernando Meirelles – City of God Peter Weir – Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
2004	Clint Eastwood  – Million Dollar Baby	Taylor Hackford – Ray Mike Leigh – Vera Drake Alexander Payne – Sideways Martin Scorsese – The Aviator
2005	Ang Lee  – Brokeback Mountain	George Clooney – Good Night, and Good Luck. Paul Haggis – Crash Bennett Miller – Capote Steven Spielberg – Munich
2006	Martin Scorsese  – The Departed	Clint Eastwood – Letters from Iwo Jima Stephen Frears – The Queen Alejandro González Iñárritu – Babel Paul Greengrass – United 93
2007	Joel & Ethan Coen  – No Country for Old Men	Paul Thomas Anderson – There Will Be Blood Tony Gilroy – Michael Clayton Jason Reitman – Juno Julian Schnabel – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
2008	Danny Boyle  – Slumdog Millionaire	Stephen Daldry – The Reader David Fincher – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Ron Howard – Frost/Nixon Gus Van Sant – Milk
2009	Kathryn Bigelow  – The Hurt Locker	James Cameron – Avatar Lee Daniels – Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire Jason Reitman – Up in the Air Quentin Tarantino – Inglourious Basterds

2010s

Year	Winner film	Nominated
2010	Tom Hooper  – The King's Speech	Darren Aronofsky – Black Swan Joel & Ethan Coen – True Grit David Fincher – The Social Network David O. Russell – The Fighter
2011	Michel Hazanavicius  -The Artist	Woody Allen – Midnight in Paris Terrence Malick – The Tree of Life Alexander Payne – The Descendants Martin Scorsese – Hugo

International presence

As the Academy Awards are based in the United States and are centered on the Hollywood film industry, the majority of Academy Award winners have been Americans. Nonetheless, there is significant international presence at the awards, as evidenced by the following list of winners of the Academy Award for Best Director.

• Australia: Mel Gibson, Tom Hooper (Gibson, a U.S. citizen, moved with his family to Australia at the age of 12. Hooper, born in the U.K., is a dual citizen of Australia and the United Kingdom as his mother was born in Australia.)
• Austria: Billy Wilder, Fred Zinnemann (Both Wilder and Zinnemann moved to America in their twenties and became naturalized U.S. citizens.)
• Canada: James Cameron (Cameron was applying to become a U.S. citizen.)
• Czech Republic: Miloš Forman (naturalized U.S. citizen since 1977)
• France: Michel Hazanavicius
• Germany: William Wyler, Mike Nichols (After moving to America in 1921, Wyler became a naturalized U.S. citizen in his twenties. Wyler was born in Alsace which was part of the German Empire then, but now is part of France. Nichols' family moved from Germany when he was eight-years old, and he became a naturalized U.S. citizen five years later.)
• Italy: Bernardo Bertolucci
• New Zealand: Peter Jackson
• Poland: Roman Polanski (French citizenship)
• Taiwan: Ang Lee (naturalized U.S. citizen who has lived in America since the early 1980s.)
• United Kingdom: Richard Attenborough, Danny Boyle, David Lean, Sam Mendes, Anthony Minghella, Carol Reed, Tony Richardson, John Schlesinger, and Tom Hooper

However, no director has won for a film that is entirely in a foreign language.

There have been 20 directors nominated for films entirely or significantly in a foreign (non-English) language.

• Federico Fellini (nominated for 4 films, which were all in Italian)
• Ingmar Bergman (nominated for 3 films, which were all in Swedish)
• Pietro Germi (Italian)
• Hiroshi Teshigahara (Japanese)
• Claude Lelouch (French)
• Gillo Pontecorvo (Italian-born director nominated for The Battle of Algiers, which was in French and Arabic)
• Costa Gavras (Greek-born director nominated for French-language film Z.)
• Jan Troell (Swedish)
• François Truffaut (French)
• Lina Wertmuller (Italian)
• Edouard Molinaro (French)
• Wolfgang Petersen (German)
• Akira Kurosawa (Japanese)
• Lasse Hallström (Swedish. He was also nominated for the English-language film The Cider House Rules.)
• Krzysztof Kieslowski (Polish-born director nominated for French-language film Three Colours: Red)
• Michael Radford (an English-born director nominated for the Italian-language film Il Postino.)
• Roberto Benigni (Italian)
• Ang Lee (Taiwanese-born director nominated for the Mandarin-language film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. He would later win for the English-language film Brokeback Mountain.)
• Pedro Almodóvar (Spanish)
• Fernando Meirelles (Brazilian Portuguese)
• Clint Eastwood (an American director nominated for the Japanese-language film Letters from Iwo Jima, which has a few brief scenes in English).
• Julian Schnabel (an American director nominated for the French-language film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.)

Ironically, internationally known filmmakers Jean Renoir (for The Southerner), Michelangelo Antonioni (for Blowup) and Louis Malle (for Atlantic City) were nominated for films that were in English and not their native language.

Nominations for films primarily in English with some scenes (of a notable length) in a foreign language includes:

• Jules Dassin for Never on Sunday (Greek)
• Bernardo Bertolucci for Last Tango in Paris (French)
• Francis Coppola for The Godfather Part II (Italian) (Winner)
• Kevin Costner for Dances with Wolves (Lakota and Pawnee) (Winner)
• Steven Soderbergh for Traffic (Spanish) (Winner)
• Alejandro González Iñárritu for Babel (Spanish, Arabic, French, Japanese, Japanese Sign Language, Berber)
• Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire (Hindi) (Winner)
• Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds (French, German and Italian)

Several international nominees (regardless of the language used in their respective films) include:

• Australia: Bruce Beresford, Scott Hicks, Chris Noonan and Peter Weir
• Austria: Otto Preminger, Josef von Sternberg
• Brazil: Héctor Babenco, Fernando Meirelles
• Canada: Atom Egoyan, Arthur Hiller, Norman Jewison and Jason Reitman
• Cyprus: Michael Cacoyannis
• France: Michel Hazanavicius, Claude Lelouch, Louis Malle and François Truffaut
• Germany: William Dieterle, Ernst Lubitsch and Wolfgang Petersen
• Greece: Costa Gavras
• India: M. Night Shyamalan
• Ireland: Jim Sheridan, Neil Jordan and Kenneth Branagh
• Italy: Roberto Benigni, Federico Fellini, Pietro Germi, Gillo Pontecorvo, Lina Wertmüller, Franco Zeffirelli and Michelangelo Antonioni
• Japan: Akira Kurosawa and Hiroshi Teshigahara
• Mexico: Alejandro González Iñárritu
• New Zealand: Jane Campion
• Poland: Krzysztof Kieślowski
• Spain: Pedro Almodóvar
• Sweden: Ingmar Bergman, Lasse Hallström and Jan Troell
• United Kingdom: Alfred Hitchcock, John Boorman, Peter Cattaneo, Charles Crichton, Stephen Daldry, Stephen Frears, Laurence Olivier, Paul Greengrass, Roland Joffé, Mike Leigh, Adrian Lyne, Hugh Hudson, Alan Parker and Ridley Scott

Related pages

• Golden Globe Award for Best Director
• BAFTA Award for Best Direction

Other websites

• Oscars.org (official Academy site)