Official website oscars.org Instituted 1929 | Country United States of America Category of Academy Awards | |
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Awarded for Excellence in Cinematic Direction Achievement First awarded 1929 (for direction in films released during the 1927/1928 film season) Presented by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Currently held by Alejandro González Iñárritu People also search for Academy Award for Best Picture Winners & Nominees Damien ChazelleLa La Land, Damien Chazelle, Winner, Mel GibsonHacksaw Ridge, Mel Gibson, Nominee, Barry JenkinsMoonlight, Barry Jenkins, Nominee, Kenneth LonerganManchester by the Sea, Kenneth Lonergan, Nominee, Denis VilleneuveArrival, Denis Villeneuve, Nominee, Alejandro González IñárrituThe Revenant, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Winner, George MillerMad Max: Fury Road, George Miller, Nominee, Adam McKayThe Big Short, Adam McKay, Nominee, Lenny AbrahamsonRoom, Lenny Abrahamson, Nominee, Tom McCarthySpotlight, Tom McCarthy, Nominee, Alejandro González IñárrituBirdman, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Winner, Morten TyldumThe Imitation Game, Morten Tyldum, Nominee, Bennett MillerFoxcatcher, Bennett Miller, Nominee, Richard LinklaterBoyhood, Richard Linklater, Nominee, Wes AndersonThe Grand Budapest Hotel, Wes Anderson, Nominee, Alfonso CuarónGravity, Alfonso Cuarón, Winner, David O RussellAmerican Hustle, David O Russell, Nominee, Martin ScorseseThe Wolf of Wall Street, Martin Scorsese, Nominee, Steve McQueen12 Years a Slave, Steve McQueen, Nominee, Alexander PayneNebraska, Alexander Payne, Nominee, Ang LeeLife of Pi, Ang Lee, Winner, Michael HanekeLove, Michael Haneke, Nominee, David O RussellSilver Linings Playbook, David O Russell, Nominee, Benh ZeitlinBeasts of the Southern Wild, Benh Zeitlin, Nominee, Steven SpielbergLincoln, Steven Spielberg, Nominee | ||
The Academy Award for Best Director (officially known as the Academy Award for Best Directing) is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of a film director who has exhibited outstanding directing while working in the film industry.
The 1st Academy Awards ceremony was held in 1929 with the award being split into "Dramatic" and "Comedy" categories; Frank Borzage and Lewis Milestone won for Seventh Heaven and Two Arabian Knights, respectively. However, these categories were merged for all subsequent ceremonies. Nominees are determined by single transferable vote within the directors branch of AMPAS; winners are selected by a plurality vote from the entire eligible voting members of the Academy.
For the first eleven years of the Academy Awards, directors were allowed to be nominated for multiple films in the same year. However, after the nomination of Michael Curtiz for two films, Angels with Dirty Faces and Four Daughters, at the 11th Academy Awards, the rules were revised so that an individual could only be nominated for one film at each ceremony. That rule has since been amended, although the only director who has received multiple nominations in the same year was Steven Soderbergh for Erin Brockovich and Traffic in 2000, winning the award for the latter. The Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture have been very closely linked throughout their history. Of the 89 films that have been awarded Best Picture, 63 have also been awarded Best Director. Since its inception, the award has been given to 69 directors or directing teams. John Ford has received the most awards in this category with four. William Wyler was nominated on twelve occasions, more than any other individual. As of the 2017 ceremony, Damien Chazelle is the most recent winner in this category for his work on La La Land. Two directing teams have shared the award; Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins for West Side Story in 1960 and Joel and Ethan Coen for No Country for Old Men in 2007. The Coen brothers are the only siblings to have won the award.
Winners and nominees
In the following table, the years are listed as per Academy convention, and generally correspond to the year of film release in Los Angeles County, California; the ceremonies are always held the following year. For the first five ceremonies, the eligibility period spanned twelve months from August 1 to July 31. For the 6th ceremony held in 1934, the eligibility period lasted from August 1, 1932 to December 31, 1933. Since the 7th ceremony held in 1935, the period of eligibility became the full previous calendar year from January 1 to December 31.