View source for Academy Award for Best Director

{{short description|Category of film award}}
{{featured list}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox award
| name = Academy Award for Best Director
| image = Sean Baker at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (cropped).jpg
| image_upright = 
| caption = The 2025<!--This year is in regards to the CEREMONY, not the year of films.--> recipient: [[Sean Baker]]
| awarded_for = Excellence in Cinematic Direction Achievement
| presenter = [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] (AMPAS)
| country = United States
| year = {{start date and age|1929|5|16}} (for films released during the [[1927 in film|1927]]/[[1928 in film|1928]] film season)
| holder_label = Most recent winner
| holder = [[Sean Baker]], ''[[Anora]]'' ([[97th Academy Awards|2024]])
| most_awards = [[John Ford]] (4)<!-- This # is for his Director wins ONLY. "How Green Was My Valley"'s Best Picture win doesn't count, especially since the Oscar win went to the studio, not him. -->
| most_nominations = [[William Wyler]] (12)<!-- These INCLUDE ALL THREE Best Director WINS as well. -->
| website = {{URL|oscars.org}}
}}
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 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 ''[[7th Heaven (1927 film)|7th Heaven]]'' and ''[[Two Arabian Knights]]'', respectively.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmsite.org/aa27.html|title=1927–28 Academy Awards Winners|publisher=[[AMC Networks|Rainbow Media]]|last=Dirks|first=Tim|access-date=November 20, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724204258/http://www.filmsite.org/aa27.html|archive-date=July 24, 2010}}</ref> However, these categories were merged for all subsequent ceremonies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmsite.org/oscars30.html|title=Academy Awards Winners (1927/8 – 1939)|publisher=[[AMC Networks|Rainbow Media]]|last=Dirks|first=Tim|access-date=November 20, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114184753/http://www.filmsite.org/oscars30.html|archive-date=January 14, 2016}}</ref> Nominees are determined by [[single transferable vote]] within the directors branch of AMPAS; winners are selected by a [[plurality (voting)|plurality vote]] from the entire eligible voting members of the academy.<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021054540/http://www.oscars.org/sites/default/files/87aa_rules.pdf |archive-date=October 21, 2014|url=http://www.oscars.org/sites/default/files/87aa_rules.pdf|title=87th Annual Academy Awards of Merit Rules|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|access-date=February 8, 2016 |pages=Rule 5.5 & Rule 10 |no-pp=y}}</ref><ref name="TheEnvelope">
{{cite news|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061017160343/http://theenvelope.latimes.com/awards/oscars/env-oscarvote7jan07%2C0%2C6919642%2Cprint.story?coll=env-home-headlines |archive-date=October 17, 2006 |url=http://theenvelope.latimes.com/awards/oscars/env-oscarvote7jan07,0,6919642,print.story?coll=env-home-headlines |title=Eight things every voter (and fan) should know about Oscar's decidedly unique nomination process. |first=Steve |last=Pond |access-date=2007-01-27 |date=January 7, 2006 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.ew.com/article/2011/01/27/oscar-voter-ballot-reader-poll-results |title=Oscars: The wacky way the Academy counts votes, and the results of our 'If You Were an Oscar Voter' poll |last=Young |first=John |date=January 27, 2011 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |access-date=February 29, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506042043/http://www.ew.com/article/2011/01/27/oscar-voter-ballot-reader-poll-results |archive-date=May 6, 2016}}</ref>

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 (1938 film)|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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.filmsite.org/aa38.html|title=1938 Academy Awards Winners and History|publisher=[[AMC Networks|Rainbow Media]]|last=Dirks|first=Tim|access-date=November 20, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151121060632/http://www.filmsite.org/aa38.html|archive-date=November 21, 2015}}</ref> 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 (film)|Erin Brockovich]]'' and ''[[Traffic (2000 film)|Traffic]]'' in [[73rd Academy Awards|2000]], winning the award for the latter.

The Academy Awards for Best Director and [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]] have been very closely linked throughout their history. Of the 91 films that won Best Picture and were also nominated for Best Director, 70 won the award.<ref name="awardsdatabase.oscars.org">{{cite web|url=http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/help/statistics/bestpixdirdiff.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113073946/http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/help/statistics/bestpixdirdiff.html|title=Picture/Director Not from Same Film|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|date=March 11, 2011|archive-date=January 13, 2012|access-date=February 8, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Academy Awards Best Director – Facts & Trivia |url=https://www.filmsite.org/bestdirs1.html |access-date=2022-04-05 |website=www.filmsite.org |archive-date=November 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111222402/https://www.filmsite.org/bestdirs1.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The award has been criticised in recent years for failing to recognise female directors.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Davis |first1=Clayton |title=#OscarsSoMale: Academy Awards Shut Out Women for Best Director |url=https://variety.com/2023/awards/awards/no-women-directors-nominated-oscars-1235496819/ |access-date=7 January 2025 |date=24 January 2023}}</ref> Of the 257 individual directors nominated in the history of the award, only 9 have been women;<ref>{{cite news |last1=Verhoeven |first1=Beatrice |title=Oscars: Coralie Fargeat Gets Sole Female Best Director Nod |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/women-best-director-nominations-oscars-2025-1236115056/ |access-date=24 January 2025 |publisher=The Hollywood Reporter |date=23 January 2025}}</ref> and only 3 of the 76 winners have been women.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wiese |first1=Jason |title=Academy Award For Best Director: How Many Women Have Ever Been Nominated Or Won? |url=https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2488534/academy-award-for-best-director-how-many-women-have-ever-been-nominated-or-won |access-date=7 January 2025 |publisher=CinemaBlend |date=24 February 2024}}</ref>

Since its inception, the award has been given to 74 different directors or directing teams. As of the [[97th Academy Awards]] ceremony, American filmmaker [[Sean Baker]] is the most recent winner in this category for his work on ''[[Anora]]''.

==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|Los Angeles County]], [[California]]; the ceremonies are always held the following year.<ref>{{harvnb|Crouse|2005|p=257}}</ref> For the first five ceremonies, the eligibility period spanned twelve months from August 1 to July 31.<ref name="Oscar eligibility">[[#Levy|Levy 2003]], page 52</ref> For the 6th ceremony held in 1934, the eligibility period lasted from August 1, 1932, to December 31, 1933.<ref name="Oscar eligibility" /> Since the [[7th Academy Awards|7th ceremony]] held in 1935, the period of eligibility became the full previous calendar year from January 1 to December 31.<ref name="Oscar eligibility" />

[[File:Frank Borzage 001 (re-cropped).JPG|thumb|125px|[[Frank Borzage]] won twice: "Dramatic director" at the [[1st Academy Awards|first ceremony]], for ''[[7th Heaven (1927 film)|7th Heaven]]'' (1927); & later, ''[[Bad Girl (1931 film)|Bad Girl]]'' (1931).]]
[[File:Milestone1 (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Lewis Milestone]] won twice: "Comedy director" at the [[1st Academy Awards|first ceremony]], for ''[[Two Arabian Knights]]'' (1927); & later, ''[[All Quiet on the Western Front (1930 film)|All Quiet on the Western Front]]'' (1930).]]
[[File:Frank Lloyd, Boxoffice Barometer, 1939 (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Frank Lloyd]] won twice, for ''[[The Divine Lady]]'' (1929) & ''[[Cavalcade (1933 film)|Cavalcade]]'' (1933).]]
[[File:Frank Capra (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Frank Capra]] won thrice, for ''[[It Happened One Night]]'' (1934), ''[[Mr. Deeds Goes to Town]]'' (1936), & ''[[You Can't Take It with You (film)|You Can't Take It with You]]'' (1938).]]
[[File:John Ford 1946 (zoom).jpg|thumb|125px|[[John Ford]] won [[List of superlative Academy Award winners and nominees#Best Director|a record four times]], for: ''[[The Informer (1935 film)|The Informer]]'' (1935), ''[[The Grapes of Wrath (film)|The Grapes of Wrath]]'' (1940), ''[[How Green Was My Valley (film)|How Green Was My Valley]]'' (1941), & ''[[The Quiet Man]]'' (1952).]]
[[File:Leo McCarey 1930s portrait photo (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Leo McCarey]] won twice, for ''[[The Awful Truth]]'' (1937) & ''[[Going My Way]]'' (1944).]]
[[File:Victor Fleming, Boxoffice Barometer, 1939 (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Victor Fleming]] won for ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]'' (1939).]]
[[File:William Wyler portrait (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[William Wyler]], with [[List of superlative Academy Award winners and nominees#Best Director|a record twelve nominations]], won thrice, for: ''[[Mrs. Miniver]]'' (1942), ''[[The Best Years of Our Lives]]'' (1946), & ''[[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|Ben-Hur]]'' (1959).]]
[[File:Curtiz 1928 portrait (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Michael Curtiz]] won for ''[[Casablanca (film)|Casablanca]]'' (1942).]]
[[File:Gloria Swanson & Billy Wilder - Sunset Blvd (zoom).JPG|thumb|125px|[[Billy Wilder]] (''right'', with [[Gloria Swanson]]) won twice, for ''[[The Lost Weekend]]'' (1945) & ''[[The Apartment]]'' (1960).]]
[[File:Elia Kazan (cropped).JPG|thumb|125px|[[Elia Kazan]] won twice, for ''[[Gentleman's Agreement]]'' (1947) & ''[[On the Waterfront]]'' (1954).]]
[[File:John Huston - publicity (cropped).JPG|thumb|125px|[[John Huston]] won for ''[[The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (film)|The Treasure of the Sierra Madre]]'' (1948).]]
[[File:Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1950) (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Joseph L. Mankiewicz]] won twice consecutively, for ''[[A Letter to Three Wives]]'' (1949) & ''[[All About Eve]]'' (1950).]]
[[File:George Stevens with Oscar for Giant (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[George Stevens]] won twice, for ''[[A Place in the Sun (1951 film)|A Place in the Sun]]'' (1951) & ''[[Giant (1956 film)|Giant]]'' (1956).]]
[[File:Fred Zinnemann 1940s (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Fred Zinnemann]] won twice, for ''[[From Here to Eternity]]'' (1953) & ''[[A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)|A Man for All Seasons]]'' (1966).]]
[[File:Lean-in-Joensuu-1965 CROPPED.jpg|thumb|125px|[[David Lean]] won twice, for ''[[The Bridge on the River Kwai]]'' (1957) & ''[[Lawrence of Arabia (film)|Lawrence of Arabia]]'' (1962).]]
[[File:Vincent Minelli - 1950s.jpg|thumb|125px|[[Vincente Minnelli]] won for ''[[Gigi (1958 film)|Gigi]]'' (1958).]]
[[File:Robert wise 1990 (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Robert Wise]] won twice: jointly with [[Jerome Robbins]] ([[List of Academy Award records#Academy Award Firsts|an Oscars first]]) for ''[[West Side Story (1961 film)|West Side Story]]'' (1961) & solo for ''[[The Sound of Music (film)|The Sound of Music]]'' (1965).]]
[[File:George Cukor - 1946 (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[George Cukor]] won for ''[[My Fair Lady (film)|My Fair Lady]]'' (1964).]]
[[File:Mike Nichols (cropped).png|thumb|125px|[[Mike Nichols]] won for ''[[The Graduate]]'' (1967).]]
[[File:Fillmregisseur Carol Reed (van de film The Third Man) in Amsterdam, Bestanddeelnr 903-7970 (cropped).png|thumb|125px|[[Carol Reed]] won for ''[[Oliver! (film)|Oliver!]]'' (1968).]]

[[File:Franklin J. Schaffner (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Franklin J. Schaffner]] won for ''Patton'' (1970).]]
[[File:William Friedkin making The Exorcist in the streets of Georgetown (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[William Friedkin]] won for ''[[The French Connection (film)|The French Connection]]'' (1971).]]
[[File:Bob Fosse 1963 (trimmed).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Bob Fosse]] won for ''[[Cabaret (1972 film)|Cabaret]]'' (1972).]]
[[File:Francis Ford Coppola -1976 (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Francis Ford Coppola]] won for ''[[The Godfather Part II]]'' (1974).]]
[[File:Milos Forman.jpg|thumb|125px|[[Miloš Forman]] won twice, for ''[[One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (film)|One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest]]'' (1975) & ''[[Amadeus (film)|Amadeus]]'' (1984).]]

[[File:Woody Allen - Kup (cropped).JPG|thumb|125px|[[Woody Allen]] won for ''[[Annie Hall]]'' (1977).]]
[[File:Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here – Robert Redford photo (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Robert Redford]] won for ''[[Ordinary People]]'' (1980).]]
[[File:Warren Beatty, 1961 (trim).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Warren Beatty]] won for ''[[Reds (film)|Reds]]'' (1981).]]
[[File:Richard Attenborough.jpg|thumb|125px|[[Richard Attenborough]] won for ''[[Gandhi (film)|Gandhi]]'' (1982).]]
[[File:Jameslbrooks.jpg|thumb|125px|[[James L. Brooks]] won for ''[[Terms of Endearment]]'' (1983).]]
[[File:Sydney Pollack (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Sydney Pollack]] won for ''[[Out of Africa (film)|Out of Africa]]'' (1985).]]
[[File:Oliver Stone by Gage Skidmore (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Oliver Stone]] won twice, for ''[[Platoon (film)|Platoon]]'' (1986) & ''[[Born on the Fourth of July (film)|Born on the Fourth of July]]'' (1989).]]
[[File:Bernardo Bertolucci (trimz).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Bernardo Bertolucci]] won for ''[[The Last Emperor]]'' (1987).]]
[[File:Barry Levinson Shankbone 2009 Tribeca (cropped) (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Barry Levinson]] won for ''[[Rain Man]]'' (1988).]]
[[File:Kevin Costner DF-SD-05-08959trim).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Kevin Costner]] won for ''[[Dances With Wolves]]'' (1990).]]
[[File:Jonathan Demme May 2015.jpg|thumb|120px|[[Jonathan Demme]] won for ''[[The Silence of the Lambs (film)|The Silence of the Lambs]]'' (1991).]]
[[File:ClintEastwoodCannesMay08 (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Clint Eastwood]] won twice, for ''[[Unforgiven]]'' (1992) & ''[[Million Dollar Baby]]'' (2004)—latter, at 74, rendered him [[List of superlative Academy Award winners and nominees#Best Director|the oldest winner]].]]
[[File:Steven Spielberg (36057844341) (cropped) (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Steven Spielberg]] won twice, for ''[[Schindler's List]]'' (1993) & ''[[Saving Private Ryan]]'' (1998).]]
[[File:Robert Zemeckis by David Shankbone (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Robert Zemeckis]] won for ''[[Forrest Gump]]'' (1994).]]
[[File:Mel Gibson 1990 (re-cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Mel Gibson]] won for ''[[Braveheart]]'' (1995).]]
[[File:James Cameron (28003289954) Cropped.png|thumb|125px|[[James Cameron]] won for ''[[Titanic (1997 film)|Titanic]]'' (1997).]]
[[File:Sam Mendes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, 2013 (cropped) (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Sam Mendes]] won for ''[[American Beauty (1999 film)|American Beauty]]'' (1999).]]
[[File:Steven Soderbergh zoom-in.jpg|thumb|125px|[[Steven Soderbergh]] won for ''[[Traffic (2000 film)|Traffic]]'' (2000).]]
[[File:Ron Howard (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Ron Howard]] won for ''[[A Beautiful Mind (film)|A Beautiful Mind]]'' (2001).]]
[[File:Roman Polanski Cannes 2013 (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Roman Polanski]] won for ''[[The Pianist (2002 film)|The Pianist]]'' (2002).]]
[[File:Peter Jackson SDCC 2014 (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Peter Jackson]] won for ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]'' (2003).]]
[[File:Ang Lee - Festival (trim crop).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Ang Lee]] won twice, for ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]'' (2005) & ''[[Life of Pi (film)|Life of Pi]]'' (2012); first [[List of Asian Academy Award winners and nominees#Best Director|Asian winner]].]]
[[File:Martin Scorsese Berlinale (trim).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Martin Scorsese]] won for ''[[The Departed]]'' (2006).]]
[[File:COEN Brothers (cannesPH).jpg|thumb|125px|The [[Coen brothers]] won for ''[[No Country for Old Men]]'' (2007).]]
[[File:Danny Boyle May 2019 (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Danny Boyle]] won for ''[[Slumdog Millionaire]]'' (2008).]]
[[File:Kathryn Bigelow via David Shankbone.jpg|thumb|125px|[[Kathryn Bigelow]] won for ''[[The Hurt Locker]]'' (2009); [[List of female Academy Award winners and nominees for non-gendered categories#Best Director|first woman to win]].]]
[[File:TomHopper10TIFF.jpg|thumb|125px|[[Tom Hooper]] won for ''[[The King's Speech]]'' (2010).]]
[[File:Michel Hazanavicius Cannes 2015.jpg|thumb|125px|[[Michel Hazanavicius]] won for ''[[The Artist (film)|The Artist]]'' (2011).]]
[[File:Alfonso Cuarón (2013) trim.jpg|thumb|125px|[[Alfonso Cuarón]] won twice, for ''[[Gravity (2013 film)|Gravity]]'' (2013) & ''[[Roma (2018 film)|Roma]]'' (2018); first [[List of Mexican Academy Award winners and nominees#Best Director|Mexican winner]].]]
[[File:Alejandro González Iñárritu with a camera in production cropped.jpg|thumb|125px|[[Alejandro González Iñárritu|Alejandro G. Iñárritu]] won twice consecutively, for ''[[Birdman (film)|Birdman]]'' (2014) & ''[[The Revenant (2015 film)|The Revenant]]'' (2015).]]
[[File:Damien Chazelle (cropped) (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Damien Chazelle]] won for ''[[La La Land]]'' (2016); [[List of superlative Academy Award winners and nominees#Best Director|youngest winner]], at age 32.]]
[[File:Guillermo del Toro in 2017 (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Guillermo del Toro]] won for ''[[The Shape of Water]]'' (2017).]]
[[File:Bong Joon-ho 2017 (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Bong Joon-ho]] won for ''[[Parasite (2019 film)|Parasite]]'' (2019); first to direct a [[List of Asian Academy Award winners and nominees#Best Picture|foreign-language (Korean) winner for Best Picture]].]]
[[File:Chloezhao (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Chloé Zhao]] won for ''[[Nomadland]]'' (2020); first [[List of female Academy Award winners and nominees for non-gendered categories#Best Director|woman of color]] to win.]]
[[File:Jane Campion (croopped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Jane Campion]] won for ''[[The Power of the Dog (film)|The Power of the Dog]]'' (2021); first woman [[List of Academy Award records#Academy Award Firsts|to be nominated twice]].]]
[[File:Swiss Army Man Interview with Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan (cropped).jpg|thumb|125px|[[Daniels (directors)|Daniels]] won for ''[[Everything Everywhere All at Once]]'' (2022).]]
[[File:Christopher Nolan Cannes 2018.jpg|thumb|125px|[[Christopher Nolan]] won for ''[[Oppenheimer (film)|Oppenheimer]]'' (2023).]]
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Table key
|-
| height:20px; width:20px" | {{legend|#FAEB86|Indicates the winner}} 
|}

=== 1920s ===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
!scope="col" style="width:8%;"| Year
!scope="col" style="width:30%;"| Director(s)
!scope="col" style="width:30%;"| Film
!scope="col" style="width:2%;" class="unsortable"|{{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
! scope="row" rowspan=6 style="text-align:center;" | [[1927 in film|1927]]/[[1928 in film|28]] <br />{{small|[[1st Academy Awards|(1st)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Borzage|[[Frank Borzage]]}}{{small| (Dramatic Picture)}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[7th Heaven (1927 film)|7th Heaven]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars1">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1929|title=The 1st Academy Awards (1929) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402003037/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1929|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Brenon|[[Herbert Brenon]]}}{{small| (Dramatic Picture)}}
|''[[Sorrell and Son (1927 film)|Sorrell and Son]]''
|-
|{{sort|Vidor|[[King Vidor]]}}{{small| (Dramatic Picture)}}
|''{{sort|Crowd|[[The Crowd (1928 film)|The Crowd]]}}''
|-
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Milestone|[[Lewis Milestone]]}}{{small| (Comedy Picture)}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Two Arabian Knights]]'''''
|-
|{{sort|Wilde|[[Ted Wilde]]}}{{small| (Comedy Picture)}}
|''[[Speedy (film)|Speedy]]''
|-
| {{sort|Chaplin|[[Charlie Chaplin]]}}{{small| (Comedy Picture)}}
| ''[[The Circus (1928 film)|The Circus]]''{{efn|name=circus|''[[The Circus (1928 film)|The Circus]]'' originally received a nomination for Best Director (Comedy Picture), as well as nominations for Best Actor and Best Writing (Original Story), all for [[Charlie Chaplin]]. However, the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|Academy]] subsequently decided to remove Chaplin's name from the competitive award categories and instead to confer upon him a [[Academy Honorary Award|Special Award]] "for acting, writing, directing and producing ''The Circus''".}}
|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/05/16/the-first-oscars-what-happened-in-1929/|first=Martin|last=Chilton|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|title=The first Oscars: what happened in 1929|access-date=February 25, 2021|url-access=subscription|date=May 16, 2016|url-status=live|archive-date=May 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160519015239/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/05/16/the-first-oscars-what-happened-in-1929/}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" rowspan=7 "style=text-align:center;" | [[1928 in film|1928]]/[[1929 in film|29]]<br />{{small|[[2nd Academy Awards|(2nd)]]}}<br />{{efn|name=2nd|The 2nd Academy Awards is the only ceremony for which there were no official nominees. Subsequent research by AMPAS has resulted in a list of unofficial or ''de facto'' nominees, based on records of which films were evaluated by the judges. While Frank Lloyd won for ''The Divine Lady'', his other two nominated films are considered to be a single combined nomination.}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Lloyd|[[Frank Lloyd]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''{{sort|Divine|[[The Divine Lady]]}}'''''
|rowspan="7"|<ref name="Oscars2">{{cite news |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1930 |title=The 2nd Academy Awards Nominees and Winners |access-date=August 27, 2013 |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402002823/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1930 |archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Barrymore|[[Lionel Barrymore]]}}
|''[[Madame X (1929 film)|Madame X]]''
|-
|{{sort|Beaumont|[[Harry Beaumont]]}}
|{{sort|Broadway|''[[The Broadway Melody]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Cummings|[[Irving Cummings]]}}
|''[[In Old Arizona]]''
|-
|rowspan="2"|{{sort|Lloyd|Frank Lloyd}}
|''[[Drag (film)|Drag]]''
|-
|''[[Weary River]]''
|-
|{{sort|Lubitsch|[[Ernst Lubitsch]]}}
|''{{sort|Patriot|[[The Patriot (1928 film)|The Patriot]]}}''
|}

=== 1930s ===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
!scope="col" style="width:8%;"| Year
!scope="col" style="width:30%;"| Director(s)
!scope="col" style="width:30%;"| Film
!scope="col" style="width:2%;" class="unsortable"|{{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=6 "style="text-align:center;" | [[1929 in film|1929]]/[[1930 in film|30]]<br />{{small|[[3rd Academy Awards|(3rd)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Milestone|[[Lewis Milestone]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[All Quiet on the Western Front (1930 film)|All Quiet on the Western Front]]'''''
|rowspan="6"|<ref name="Oscars3">{{cite news |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1931 |title=The 3rd Academy Awards (1930) Nominees and Winners |access-date=August 27, 2013 |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802115930/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1931 |archive-date=August 2, 2016}}</ref>
|-
|rowspan=2| {{sort|Brown|[[Clarence Brown]]}}{{efn|name=clarence|According to the Oscars.org database, Brown's directing nomination counts as one singular, joint, cumulative nomination for two films. This same recognition was applicable to all nominees, such as to [[Greta Garbo]]'s acting nominations from the same respective films; as well as acting winners, [[Norma Shearer]] and [[George Arliss]]. No explanation was given for why the latter two were nominated with two films, yet only awarded for one each.}}
|''[[Anna Christie (1930 English-language film)|Anna Christie]]''
|-
|''[[Romance (1930 film)|Romance]]''
|-
|{{sort|Leonard|[[Robert Z. Leonard]]}}
|''{{sort|Divorcee|[[The Divorcee]]}}''
|-
|{{sort|Lubitsch|[[Ernst Lubitsch]]}}
|''{{sort|Love|[[The Love Parade]]}}''
|-
|{{sort|Vidor|[[King Vidor]]}}
|''[[Hallelujah (film)|Hallelujah!]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1930 in film|1930]]/[[1931 in film|31]]<br />{{small|[[4th Academy Awards|(4th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Taurog|[[Norman Taurog]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Skippy (film)|Skippy]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars4">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1932|title=The 4th Academy Awards (1931) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161102114813/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1932|archive-date=November 2, 2016}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Brown|[[Clarence Brown]]}}
|''{{sort|Free|[[A Free Soul]]}}''
|-
|{{sort|Milestone|[[Lewis Milestone]]}}
|''{{sort|Front|[[The Front Page (1931 film)|The Front Page]]}}''
|-
|{{sort|Ruggles|[[Wesley Ruggles]]}}
|''[[Cimarron (1931 film)|Cimarron]]''
|-
|{{sort|Sternberg|[[Josef von Sternberg]]}}
|''[[Morocco (film)|Morocco]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=3 style="text-align:center;" | [[1931 in film|1931]]/[[1932 in film|32]]<br />{{small|[[5th Academy Awards|(5th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Borzage|[[Frank Borzage]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Bad Girl (1931 film)|Bad Girl]]'''''
|rowspan="3"|<ref name="Oscars5">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1933|title=The 5th Academy Awards (1932) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402003113/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1933|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Vidor|[[King Vidor]]}}
|''{{sort|Champ|[[The Champ (1931 film)|The Champ]]}}''
|-
|{{sort|Sternberg|[[Josef von Sternberg]]}}
|''[[Shanghai Express (film)|Shanghai Express]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=3 style="text-align:center;" | [[1932 in film|1932]]/[[1933 in film|33]]<br />{{small|[[6th Academy Awards|(6th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Lloyd|[[Frank Lloyd]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Cavalcade (1933 film)|Cavalcade]]'''''
|rowspan="3"|<ref name="Oscars6">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1934|title=The 6th Academy Awards (1933) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170201231924/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1934|archive-date=February 1, 2017}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Capra|[[Frank Capra]]}}
|''[[Lady for a Day]]''
|-
|{{sort|Cukor|[[George Cukor]]}}
|''[[Little Women (1933 film)|Little Women]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=3 style="text-align:center;" | [[1934 in film|1934]]<br />{{small|[[7th Academy Awards|(7th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Capra|[[Frank Capra]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[It Happened One Night]]'''''
|rowspan="3"|<ref name="Oscars7">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1935|title=The 7th Academy Awards (1935) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702160154/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1935|archive-date=July 2, 2016}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Schertzinger|[[Victor Schertzinger]]}}
|''[[One Night of Love]]''
|-
|{{sort|Van Dyke|[[W. S. Van Dyke]]}}
|''{{sort|Thin|[[The Thin Man (film)|The Thin Man]]}}''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=4 style="text-align:center;" | [[1935 in film|1935]]<br />{{small|[[8th Academy Awards|(8th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Ford|[[John Ford]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''{{sort|Informer|[[The Informer (1935 film)|The Informer]]}}'''''
|rowspan="4"|<ref name="Oscars8">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1936|title=The 8th Academy Awards (1936) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141111071955/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1936|archive-date=November 11, 2014}}</ref><ref name="capblood">{{Cite magazine |title=A Surprise 1936 Oscar Win Banned Write-in Campaigns Forever |date=2019-02-22 |magazine=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |url=https://www.vulture.com/2019/02/a-surprise-1936-oscar-win-banned-write-in-campaigns-forever.html |last=Hunt |first=Kristin |access-date=2023-10-19 |editor-last=Moss |editor-first=Adam |editor-link=Adam Moss |issn=0028-7369 |quote=The effort nearly pushed Paul Muni and Michael Curtiz to respective wins in Best Actor and Best Director, despite their absences from the ballot. |via=[[Vulture (website)|Vulture]] |archive-date=November 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129233512/https://www.vulture.com/2019/02/a-surprise-1936-oscar-win-banned-write-in-campaigns-forever.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Hathaway|[[Henry Hathaway]]}}
|''{{sort|Lives|[[The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (film)|The Lives of a Bengal Lancer]]}}''
|-
|{{sort|Lloyd|[[Frank Lloyd]]}}
|''[[Mutiny on the Bounty (1935 film)|Mutiny on the Bounty]]''
|-
|{{sort|Curtiz|[[Michael Curtiz]]}} <small>(Write-in)</small>{{efn|name=write-in|Michael Curtiz was not on the original ballot of nominees. However, after the year prior with [[Bette Davis]]'s omission for ''[[Of Human Bondage (1934 film)|Of Human Bondage]]'', the resulting furor led to a write-in campaign determined to secure her a nomination. Thus, the Academy relaxed their rules and allowed her performance to be amongst the competition. They permitted this once more, prompting further submissions: Curtiz; [[Paul Muni]] for ''[[Black Fury (film)|Black Fury]]''; and several other categories, including [[Hal Mohr]] for ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935 film)|A Midsummer Night's Dream]]''. Ultimately, Mohr became the only person to win an Oscar as a result of this process. The Academy discontinued this option from the next ceremony forward to prevent any recurrence.}}
|''[[Captain Blood (1935 film)|Captain Blood]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1936 in film|1936]]<br />{{small|[[9th Academy Awards|(9th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Capra|[[Frank Capra]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Mr. Deeds Goes to Town]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars9">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1937|title=The 9th Academy Awards (1937) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702160200/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1937|archive-date=July 2, 2016}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|La Cava|[[Gregory La Cava]]}}
|''[[My Man Godfrey]]''
|-
|{{sort|Leonard|[[Robert Z. Leonard]]}}
|''{{sort|Great|[[The Great Ziegfeld]]}}''
|-
|{{sort|Van Dyke|[[W. S. Van Dyke]]}}
|''[[San Francisco (1936 film)|San Francisco]]''
|-
|{{sort|Wyler|[[William Wyler]]}}
|''[[Dodsworth (film)|Dodsworth]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1937 in film|1937]]<br />{{small|[[10th Academy Awards|(10th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|McCarey|[[Leo McCarey]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''{{sort|Awful|[[The Awful Truth]]}}'''''
|rowspan=5|<ref name="Oscars10">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1938|title=The 10th Academy Awards (1938) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321113206/http://oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1938|archive-date=March 21, 2016}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Dieterle|[[William Dieterle]]}}
|''{{sort|Life|[[The Life of Emile Zola]]}}''
|-
|{{sort|Franklin|[[Sidney Franklin (director)|Sidney Franklin]]}}
|''{{sort|Good|[[The Good Earth (film)|The Good Earth]]}}''
|-
|{{sort|La Cava|[[Gregory La Cava]]}}
|''[[Stage Door]]''
|-
|{{sort|Wellman|[[William A. Wellman]]}}
|''{{sort|Star|[[A Star Is Born (1937 film)|A Star Is Born]]}}''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1938 in film|1938]]<br />{{small|[[11th Academy Awards|(11th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Capra|[[Frank Capra]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[You Can't Take It with You (film)|You Can't Take It with You]]'''''
|rowspan=5|<ref name="Oscars11">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1939|title=The 11th Academy Awards (1939) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702160206/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1939|archive-date=July 2, 2016}}</ref>
|-
|rowspan="2"|{{sort|Curtiz|[[Michael Curtiz]]}}
|''[[Angels with Dirty Faces]]''
|-
|''[[Four Daughters (1938 film)|Four Daughters]]''
|-
|{{sort|Taurog|[[Norman Taurog]]}}
|''[[Boys Town (film)|Boys Town]]''
|-
|{{sort|Vidor|[[King Vidor]]}}
|''{{sort|Citadel|[[The Citadel (1938 film)|The Citadel]]}}''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1939 in film|1939]]<br />{{small|[[12th Academy Awards|(12th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Fleming|[[Victor Fleming]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars12">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1940|title=The 12th Academy Awards (1940) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170128185131/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1940|archive-date=January 28, 2017}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Capra|[[Frank Capra]]}}
|''[[Mr. Smith Goes to Washington]]''
|-
|{{sort|Ford|[[John Ford]]}}
|''[[Stagecoach (1939 film)|Stagecoach]]''
|-
|{{sort|Wood|[[Sam Wood]]}}
|''[[Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939 film)|Goodbye, Mr. Chips]]''
|-
|{{sort|Wyler|[[William Wyler]]}}
|''[[Wuthering Heights (1939 film)|Wuthering Heights]]''
|}

===1940s===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
!scope="col" style="width:8%;"| Year
!scope="col" style="width:30%;"| Director(s)
!scope="col" style="width:30%;"| Film
!scope="col" style="width:2%;" class="unsortable"|{{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1940 in film|1940]]<br />{{small|[[13th Academy Awards|(13th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Ford|[[John Ford]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''{{sort|Grapes|[[The Grapes of Wrath (film)|The Grapes of Wrath]]}}'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars13">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1941|title=The 13th Academy Awards (1941) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321220635/http://oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1941|archive-date=March 21, 2016}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Cukor|[[George Cukor]]}}
|''{{sort|Philadelphia|[[The Philadelphia Story (film)|The Philadelphia Story]]}}''
|-
|{{sort|Hitchcock|[[Alfred Hitchcock]]}}
|''[[Rebecca (1940 film)|Rebecca]]''
|-
|{{sort|Wood|[[Sam Wood]]}}
|''[[Kitty Foyle (film)|Kitty Foyle]]''
|-
|{{sort|Wyler|[[William Wyler]]}}
|''{{sort|Letter|[[The Letter (1940 film)|The Letter]]}}''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1941 in film|1941]]<br />{{small|[[14th Academy Awards|(14th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Ford|[[John Ford]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[How Green Was My Valley (film)|How Green Was My Valley]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars14">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1942|title=The 14th Academy Awards (1942) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402003256/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1942|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Hall|[[Alexander Hall]]}}
|''[[Here Comes Mr. Jordan]]''
|-
|{{sort|Hawks|[[Howard Hawks]]}}
|''[[Sergeant York (film)|Sergeant York]]''
|-
|{{sort|Welles|[[Orson Welles]]}}
|''[[Citizen Kane]]''
|-
|{{sort|Wyler|[[William Wyler]]}}
|''{{sort|Little|[[The Little Foxes (film)|The Little Foxes]]}}''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1942 in film|1942]]<br />{{small|[[15th Academy Awards|(15th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Wyler|[[William Wyler]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Mrs. Miniver]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars15">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1943|title=The 15th Academy Awards (1943) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706093739/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/15th-winners.html|archive-date=July 6, 2011}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Curtiz|[[Michael Curtiz]]}}
|''[[Yankee Doodle Dandy]]''
|-
|{{sort|Farrow|[[John Farrow]]}}
|''[[Wake Island (film)|Wake Island]]''
|-
|{{sort|LeRoy|[[Mervyn LeRoy]]}}
|''[[Random Harvest (film)|Random Harvest]]''
|-
|{{sort|Wood|[[Sam Wood]]}}
|''[[Kings Row]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1943 in film|1943]]<br />{{small|[[16th Academy Awards|(16th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Curtiz|[[Michael Curtiz]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Casablanca (film)|Casablanca]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars16">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1944|title=The 16th Academy Awards (1944) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321095215/http://oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1944|archive-date=March 21, 2016}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Brown|[[Clarence Brown]]}}
|''{{sort|Human|[[The Human Comedy (film)|The Human Comedy]]}}''
|-
|{{sort|King|[[Henry King (director)|Henry King]]}}
|''{{sort|Song|[[The Song of Bernadette (film)|The Song of Bernadette]]}}''
|-
|{{sort|Lubitsch|[[Ernst Lubitsch]]}}
|''[[Heaven Can Wait (1943 film)|Heaven Can Wait]]''
|-
|{{sort|Stevens|[[George Stevens]]}}
|''{{sort|More|[[The More the Merrier]]}}''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1944 in film|1944]]<br />{{small|[[17th Academy Awards|(17th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|McCarey|[[Leo McCarey]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Going My Way]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars17">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1945|title=The 17th Academy Awards (1945) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702160225/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1945|archive-date=July 2, 2016}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Hitchcock|[[Alfred Hitchcock]]}}
|''[[Lifeboat (1944 film)|Lifeboat]]''
|-
|{{sort|King|[[Henry King (director)|Henry King]]}}
|''[[Wilson (1944 film)|Wilson]]''
|-
|{{sort|Preminger|[[Otto Preminger]]}}
|''[[Laura (1944 film)|Laura]]''
|-
|{{sort|Wilder|[[Billy Wilder]]}}
|''[[Double Indemnity]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1945 in film|1945]]<br />{{small|[[18th Academy Awards|(18th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Wilder|[[Billy Wilder]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''{{sort|Lost|[[The Lost Weekend]]}}'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars18">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1946|title=The 18th Academy Awards (1946) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402003401/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1946|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Brown|[[Clarence Brown]]}}
|''[[National Velvet (film)|National Velvet]]''
|-
|{{sort|Hitchcock|[[Alfred Hitchcock]]}}
|''[[Spellbound (1945 film)|Spellbound]]''
|-
|{{sort|McCarey|[[Leo McCarey]]}}
|''{{sort|Bells|[[The Bells of St. Mary's]]}}''
|-
|{{sort|Renoir|[[Jean Renoir]]}}
|''{{sort|Southerner|[[The Southerner (film)|The Southerner]]}}''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1946 in film|1946]]<br />{{small|[[19th Academy Awards|(19th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Wyler|[[William Wyler]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''{{sort|Best|[[The Best Years of Our Lives]]}}'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars19">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1947|title=The 19th Academy Awards (1947) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402003414/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1947|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Brown|[[Clarence Brown]]}}
|''{{sort|Yearling|[[The Yearling (1946 film)|The Yearling]]}}''
|-
|{{sort|Capra|[[Frank Capra]]}}
|''[[It's a Wonderful Life]]''
|-
|{{sort|Lean|[[David Lean]]}}
|''[[Brief Encounter]]''
|-
|{{sort|Siodmak|[[Robert Siodmak]]}}
|''{{sort|Killers|[[The Killers (1946 film)|The Killers]]}}''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1947 in film|1947]]<br />{{small|[[20th Academy Awards|(20th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Kazan|[[Elia Kazan]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Gentleman's Agreement]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars20">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1948|title=The 20th Academy Awards (1948) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702160236/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1948|archive-date=July 2, 2016}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Cukor|[[George Cukor]]}}
|{{sort|Double|''[[A Double Life (1947 film)|A Double Life]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Dmytryk|[[Edward Dmytryk]]}}
|''[[Crossfire (film)|Crossfire]]''
|-
|{{sort|Koster|[[Henry Koster]]}}
|{{sort|Bishop|''[[The Bishop's Wife]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Lean|[[David Lean]]}}
|''[[Great Expectations (1946 film)|Great Expectations]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1948 in film|1948]]<br />{{small|[[21st Academy Awards|(21st)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Huston|[[John Huston]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Treasure|''[[The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (film)|The Treasure of the Sierra Madre]]''}}'''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars21">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1949|title=The 21st Academy Awards (1949) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141111072021/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1949|archive-date=November 11, 2014}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Litvak|[[Anatole Litvak]]}}
|{{sort|Snake|''[[The Snake Pit]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Negulesco|[[Jean Negulesco]]}}
|''[[Johnny Belinda (1948 film)|Johnny Belinda]]''
|-
|{{sort|Olivier|[[Laurence Olivier]]}}
|''[[Hamlet (1948 film)|Hamlet]]''
|-
|{{sort|Zinnemann|[[Fred Zinnemann]]}}
|{{sort|Search|''[[The Search (1948 film)|The Search]]''}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1949 in film|1949]]<br />{{small|[[22nd Academy Awards|(22nd)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Mankiewicz|[[Joseph L. Mankiewicz]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Letter|''[[A Letter to Three Wives]]''}}'''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars22">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1950|title=The 22nd Academy Awards (1950) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402002854/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1950|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Reed|[[Carol Reed]]}}
|{{sort|Fallen|''[[The Fallen Idol (film)|The Fallen Idol]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Rossen|[[Robert Rossen]]}}
|''[[All the King's Men (1949 film)|All the King's Men]]''
|-
|{{sort|Wellman|[[William A. Wellman]]}}
|''[[Battleground (film)|Battleground]]''
|-
|{{sort|Wyler|[[William Wyler]]}}
|{{sort|Heiress|''[[The Heiress (film)|The Heiress]]''}}
|}

===1950s===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!scope="col" style="width:8%;"| Year
!scope="col" style="width:30%;"| Director(s)
!scope="col" style="width:30%;"| Film
!scope="col" style="width:2%;", class=unsortable|{{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1950 in film|1950]]<br />{{small|[[23rd Academy Awards|(23rd)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Mankiewicz|[[Joseph L. Mankiewicz]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[All About Eve]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars23">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1951|title=The 23rd Academy Awards (1951) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170128185155/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1951|archive-date=January 28, 2017}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Cukor|[[George Cukor]]}}
|''[[Born Yesterday (1950 film)|Born Yesterday]]''
|-
|{{sort|Huston|[[John Huston]]}}
|{{sort|Asphalt|''[[The Asphalt Jungle]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Reed|[[Carol Reed]]}}
|{{sort|Man|''[[The Third Man]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Wilder|[[Billy Wilder]]}}
|''[[Sunset Boulevard (film)|Sunset Boulevard]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1951 in film|1951]]<br />{{small|[[24th Academy Awards|(24th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Stevens|[[George Stevens]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Place|''[[A Place in the Sun (1951 film)|A Place in the Sun]]''}}'''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars24">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1952|title=The 24th Academy Awards (1952) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402003505/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1952|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Huston|[[John Huston]]}}
|{{sort|African|''[[The African Queen (film)|The African Queen]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Kazan|[[Elia Kazan]]}}
|{{sort|Streetcar|''[[A Streetcar Named Desire (1951 film)|A Streetcar Named Desire]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Minnelli|[[Vincente Minnelli]]}}
|{{sort|American|''[[An American in Paris (film)|An American in Paris]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Wyler|[[William Wyler]]}}
|''[[Detective Story (1951 film)|Detective Story]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1952 in film|1952]]<br />{{small|[[25th Academy Awards|(25th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Ford|[[John Ford]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Quiet|''[[The Quiet Man]]''}}'''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars25">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1953|title=The 25th Academy Awards (1953) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141111074417/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1953|archive-date=November 11, 2014}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|DeMille|[[Cecil B. DeMille]]}}
|{{sort|Greatest|''[[The Greatest Show on Earth (film)|The Greatest Show on Earth]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Huston|[[John Huston]]}}
|''[[Moulin Rouge (1952 film)|Moulin Rouge]]''
|-
|{{sort|Mankiewicz|[[Joseph L. Mankiewicz]]}}
|''[[5 Fingers]]''
|-
|{{sort|Zinnemann|[[Fred Zinnemann]]}}
|''[[High Noon]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1953 in film|1953]]<br />{{small|[[26th Academy Awards|(26th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Zinnemann|[[Fred Zinnemann]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[From Here to Eternity]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars26">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1954|title=The 26th Academy Awards (1954) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402003527/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1954|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Stevens|[[George Stevens]]}}
|''[[Shane (film)|Shane]]''
|-
|{{sort|Walters|[[Charles Walters]]}}
|''[[Lili (1953 film)|Lili]]''
|-
|{{sort|Wilder|[[Billy Wilder]]}}
|''[[Stalag 17]]''
|-
|{{sort|Wyler|[[William Wyler]]}}
|''[[Roman Holiday]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1954 in film|1954]]<br />{{small|[[27th Academy Awards|(27th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Kazan|[[Elia Kazan]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[On the Waterfront]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars27">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1955|title=The 27th Academy Awards (1955) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220053716/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1955|archive-date=December 20, 2014}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Hitchcock|[[Alfred Hitchcock]]}}
|''[[Rear Window]]''
|-
|{{sort|Seaton|[[George Seaton]]}}
|{{sort|Country|''[[The Country Girl (1954 film)|The Country Girl]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Wellman|[[William A. Wellman]]}}
|{{sort|High|''[[The High and the Mighty (film)|The High and the Mighty]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Wilder|[[Billy Wilder]]}}
|''[[Sabrina (1954 film)|Sabrina]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1955 in film|1955]]<br />{{small|[[28th Academy Awards|(28th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Mann|[[Delbert Mann]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Marty (film)|Marty]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars28">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1956|title=The 28th Academy Awards (1956) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141111073646/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1956|archive-date=November 11, 2014}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Kazan|[[Elia Kazan]]}}
|''[[East of Eden (film)|East of Eden]]''
|-
|{{sort|Lean|[[David Lean]]}}
|''[[Summertime (1955 film)|Summertime]]''
|-
|{{sort|Logan|[[Joshua Logan]]}}
|''[[Picnic (1955 film)|Picnic]]''
|-
|{{sort|Sturges|[[John Sturges]]}}
|''[[Bad Day at Black Rock]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"| [[1956 in film|1956]]<br />{{small|[[29th Academy Awards|(29th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Stevens|[[George Stevens]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Giant (1956 film)|Giant]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars29">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1957|title=The 29th Academy Awards (1957) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402003615/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1957|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Anderson|[[Michael Anderson (director)|Michael Anderson]]}}
|''[[Around the World in 80 Days (1956 film)|Around the World in 80 Days]]''
|-
|{{sort|Lang|[[Walter Lang]]}}
|{{sort|King|''[[The King and I (1956 film)|The King and I]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Vidor|[[King Vidor]]}}
|''[[War and Peace (1956 film)|War and Peace]]''
|-
|{{sort|Wyler|[[William Wyler]]}}
|''[[Friendly Persuasion (1956 film)|Friendly Persuasion]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1957 in film|1957]]<br />{{small|[[30th Academy Awards|(30th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Lean|[[David Lean]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Bridge|''[[The Bridge on the River Kwai]]''}}'''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars30">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1958|title=The 30th Academy Awards (1958) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402003629/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1958|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Logan|[[Joshua Logan]]}}
|''[[Sayonara]]''
|-
|{{sort|Lumet|[[Sidney Lumet]]}}
|''[[12 Angry Men (1957 film)|12 Angry Men]]''
|-
|{{sort|Robson|[[Mark Robson (film director)|Mark Robson]]}}
|''[[Peyton Place (film)|Peyton Place]]''
|-
|{{sort|Wilder|[[Billy Wilder]]}}
|''[[Witness for the Prosecution (1957 film)|Witness for the Prosecution]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1958 in film|1958]]<br />{{small|[[31st Academy Awards|(31st)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Minnelli|[[Vincente Minnelli]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Gigi (1958 film)|Gigi]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars31">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1959|title=The 31st Academy Awards (1959) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402003640/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1959|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Brooks|[[Richard Brooks]]}}
|''[[Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958 film)|Cat on a Hot Tin Roof]]''
|-
|{{sort|Kramer|[[Stanley Kramer]]}}
|{{sort|Defiant|''[[The Defiant Ones]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Robson|[[Mark Robson (film director)|Mark Robson]]}}
|{{sort|Inn|''[[The Inn of the Sixth Happiness]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Wise|[[Robert Wise]]}}
|''[[I Want to Live!]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1959 in film|1959]]<br />{{small|[[32nd Academy Awards|(32nd)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Wyler|[[William Wyler]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|Ben-Hur]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars32">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1960|title=The 32nd Academy Awards (1960) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160908182807/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1960|archive-date=September 8, 2016}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Clayton|[[Jack Clayton]]}}
|''[[Room at the Top (1959 film)|Room at the Top]]''
|-
|{{sort|Stevens|[[George Stevens]]}}
|{{sort|Diary|''[[The Diary of Anne Frank (1959 film)|The Diary of Anne Frank]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Wilder|[[Billy Wilder]]}}
|''[[Some Like It Hot]]''
|-
|{{sort|Zinnemann|[[Fred Zinnemann]]}}
|{{sort|Nun's|''[[The Nun's Story (film)|The Nun's Story]]''}}
|}

===1960s===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!scope="col" style="width:8%;"| Year
!scope="col" style="width:30%;"| Director(s)
!scope="col" style="width:30%;"| Film
!scope="col" style="width:2%;" class="unsortable"|{{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1960 in film|1960]]<br />{{small|[[33rd Academy Awards|(33rd)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Wilder|[[Billy Wilder]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Apartment|''[[The Apartment]]''}}'''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars33">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1961|title=The 33rd Academy Awards (1961) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402003651/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1961|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Cardiff|[[Jack Cardiff]]}}
|''[[Sons and Lovers (film)|Sons and Lovers]]''
|-
|{{sort|Dassin|[[Jules Dassin]]}}
|''[[Never on Sunday]]''
|-
|{{sort|Hitchcock|[[Alfred Hitchcock]]}}
|''[[Psycho (1960 film)|Psycho]]''
|-
|{{sort|Zinnemann|[[Fred Zinnemann]]}}
|{{sort|Sundowners|''[[The Sundowners (1960 film)|The Sundowners]]''}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1961 in film|1961]]<br />{{small|[[34th Academy Awards|(34th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Wise|[[Robert Wise]]}} & {{sort|Robbins|[[Jerome Robbins]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[West Side Story (1961 film)|West Side Story]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars34">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1962|title=The 34th Academy Awards (1962) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402003704/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1962|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Fellini|[[Federico Fellini]]}}
|''[[La Dolce Vita]]''
|-
|{{sort|Kramer|[[Stanley Kramer]]}}
|''[[Judgment at Nuremberg]]''
|-
|{{sort|Rossen|[[Robert Rossen]]}}
|{{sort|Hustler|''[[The Hustler]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Thompson|[[J. Lee Thompson]]}}
|{{sort|Guns|''[[The Guns of Navarone (film)|The Guns of Navarone]]''}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1962 in film|1962]]<br />{{small|[[35th Academy Awards|(35th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Lean|[[David Lean]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Lawrence of Arabia (film)|Lawrence of Arabia]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars35">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1963|title=The 35th Academy Awards (1963) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702160340/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1963|archive-date=July 2, 2016}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Germi|[[Pietro Germi]]}}
|''[[Divorce Italian Style]]''
|-
|{{sort|Mulligan|[[Robert Mulligan]]}}
|''[[To Kill a Mockingbird (film)|To Kill a Mockingbird]]''
|-
|{{sort|Penn|[[Arthur Penn]]}}
|{{sort|Miracle|''[[The Miracle Worker (1962 film)|The Miracle Worker]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Perry|[[Frank Perry]]}}
|''[[David and Lisa]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1963 in film|1963]]<br />{{small|[[36th Academy Awards|(36th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Richardson|[[Tony Richardson]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Tom Jones (1963 film)|Tom Jones]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars36">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1964|title=The 36th Academy Awards (1964) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402003742/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1964|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Fellini|[[Federico Fellini]]}}
|''[[8½]]''
|-
|{{sort|Kazan|[[Elia Kazan]]}}
|''[[America America]]''
|-
|{{sort|Preminger|[[Otto Preminger]]}}
|{{sort|Cardinal|''[[The Cardinal]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Ritt|[[Martin Ritt]]}}
|''[[Hud (1963 film)|Hud]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1964 in film|1964]]<br />{{small|[[37th Academy Awards|(37th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Cukor|[[George Cukor]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[My Fair Lady (film)|My Fair Lady]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars37">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1965|title=The 37th Academy Awards (1965) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402003759/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1965|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Cacoyannis|[[Michael Cacoyannis]]}}
|''[[Zorba the Greek (film)|Zorba the Greek]]''
|-
|{{sort|Glenville|[[Peter Glenville]]}}
|''[[Becket (1964 film)|Becket]]''
|-
|{{sort|Kubrick|[[Stanley Kubrick]]}}
|''[[Dr. Strangelove]]''
|-
|{{sort|Stevenson|[[Robert Stevenson (filmmaker)|Robert Stevenson]]}}
|''[[Mary Poppins (film)|Mary Poppins]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1965 in film|1965]]<br />{{small|[[38th Academy Awards|(38th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Wise|[[Robert Wise]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Sound|''[[The Sound of Music (film)|The Sound of Music]]''}}'''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars38">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1966|title=The 38th Academy Awards (1966) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402003812/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1966|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Lean|[[David Lean]]}}
|''[[Doctor Zhivago (film)|Doctor Zhivago]]''
|-
|{{sort|Schlesinger|[[John Schlesinger]]}}
|''[[Darling (1965 film)|Darling]]''
|-
|{{sort|Teshigahara|[[Hiroshi Teshigahara]]}}
|{{sort|Woman|''[[Woman in the Dunes]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Wyler|[[William Wyler]]}}
|{{sort|Collector|''[[The Collector (1965 film)|The Collector]]''}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1966 in film|1966]]<br />{{small|[[39th Academy Awards|(39th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Zinnemann|[[Fred Zinnemann]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Man|''[[A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)|A Man for All Seasons]]''}}'''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars39">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1967|title=The 39th Academy Awards (1967) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402003824/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1967|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Antonioni|[[Michelangelo Antonioni]]}}
|''[[Blowup]]''
|-
|{{sort|Brooks|[[Richard Brooks]]}}
|{{sort|Professionals|''[[The Professionals (1966 film)|The Professionals]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Lelouch|[[Claude Lelouch]]}}
|{{sort|Man|''[[A Man and a Woman]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Nichols|[[Mike Nichols]]}}
|''[[Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (film)|Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1967 in film|1967]]<br />{{small|[[40th Academy Awards|(40th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Nichols|[[Mike Nichols]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Graduate|''[[The Graduate]]''}}'''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars40">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1968|title=The 40th Academy Awards (1968) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402003842/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1968|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Brooks|[[Richard Brooks]]}}
|''[[In Cold Blood (film)|In Cold Blood]]''
|-
|{{sort|Jewison|[[Norman Jewison]]}}
|''[[In the Heat of the Night (film)|In the Heat of the Night]]''
|-
|{{sort|Kramer|[[Stanley Kramer]]}}
|''[[Guess Who's Coming to Dinner]]''
|-
|{{sort|Penn|[[Arthur Penn]]}}
|''[[Bonnie and Clyde (film)|Bonnie and Clyde]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"| [[1968 in film|1968]]<br />{{small|[[41st Academy Awards|(41st)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Reed|[[Carol Reed]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Oliver! (film)|Oliver!]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars41">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1969|title=The 41st Academy Awards (1969) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402003856/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1969|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Harvey|[[Anthony Harvey]]}}
|{{sort|Lion|''[[The Lion in Winter (1968 film)|The Lion in Winter]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Kubrick|[[Stanley Kubrick]]}}
|''[[2001: A Space Odyssey]]''
|-
|{{sort|Pontecorvo|[[Gillo Pontecorvo]]}}
|{{sort|Battle|''[[The Battle of Algiers]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Zeffirelli|[[Franco Zeffirelli]]}}
|''[[Romeo and Juliet (1968 film)|Romeo and Juliet]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1969 in film|1969]]<br />{{small|[[42nd Academy Awards|(42nd)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Schlesinger|[[John Schlesinger]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Midnight Cowboy]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars42">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1970|title=The 42nd Academy Awards (1970) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402002922/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1970|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Gavras|[[Costa-Gavras]]}}
|''[[Z (1969 film)|Z]]''
|-
|{{sort|Hill|[[George Roy Hill]]}}
|''[[Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid]]''
|-
|{{sort|Penn|[[Arthur Penn]]}}
|''[[Alice's Restaurant (film)|Alice's Restaurant]]''
|-
|{{sort|Pollack|[[Sydney Pollack]]}}
|''[[They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (film)|They Shoot Horses, Don't They?]]''
|}

===1970s===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!scope="col" style="width:8%;"| Year
!scope="col" style="width:30%;"| Director(s)
!scope="col" style="width:30%;"| Film
!scope="col" style="width:2%;", class=unsortable |{{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1970 in film|1970]]<br />{{small|[[43rd Academy Awards|(43rd)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Schaffner|[[Franklin J. Schaffner]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Patton (film)|Patton]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars43">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1971|title=The 43rd Academy Awards (1971) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402003910/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1971|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Altman|[[Robert Altman]]}}
|''[[M*A*S*H (film)|M*A*S*H]]''
|-
|{{sort|Fellini|[[Federico Fellini]]}}
|''[[Fellini Satyricon]]''
|-
|{{sort|Hiller|[[Arthur Hiller]]}}
|''[[Love Story (1970 film)|Love Story]]''
|-
|{{sort|Russell|[[Ken Russell]]}}
|''[[Women in Love (film)|Women in Love]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1971 in film|1971]]<br />{{small|[[44th Academy Awards|(44th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Friedkin|[[William Friedkin]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|French|''[[The French Connection (film)|The French Connection]]''}}'''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars44">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1972|title=The 44th Academy Awards (1972) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402003926/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1972|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Bogdanovich|[[Peter Bogdanovich]]}}
|{{sort|Last|''[[The Last Picture Show]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Jewison|[[Norman Jewison]]}}
|''[[Fiddler on the Roof (film)|Fiddler on the Roof]]''
|-
|{{sort|Kubrick|[[Stanley Kubrick]]}}
|{{sort|Clockwork|''[[A Clockwork Orange (film)|A Clockwork Orange]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Schlesinger|[[John Schlesinger]]}}
|''[[Sunday Bloody Sunday (film)|Sunday Bloody Sunday]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1972 in film|1972]]<br />{{small|[[45th Academy Awards|(45th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Fosse|[[Bob Fosse]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Cabaret (1972 film)|Cabaret]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars45">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1973|title=The 45th Academy Awards (1973) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402003938/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1973|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Boorman|[[John Boorman]]}}
|''[[Deliverance]]''
|-
|{{sort|Coppola|[[Francis Ford Coppola]]}}
|{{sort|Godfather|''[[The Godfather]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Mankiewicz|[[Joseph L. Mankiewicz]]}}
|''[[Sleuth (1972 film)|Sleuth]]''
|-
|{{sort|Troell|[[Jan Troell]]}}
|{{sort|Emigrants|''[[The Emigrants (film)|The Emigrants]]''}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1973 in film|1973]]<br />{{small|[[46th Academy Awards|(46th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Hill|[[George Roy Hill]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Sting|''[[The Sting]]''}}'''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars46">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1974|title=The 46th Academy Awards (1974) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402003953/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1974|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Bergman|[[Ingmar Bergman]]}}
|''[[Cries and Whispers]]''
|-
|{{sort|Bertolucci|[[Bernardo Bertolucci]]}}
|''[[Last Tango in Paris]]''
|-
|{{sort|Friedkin|[[William Friedkin]]}}
|{{sort|Exorcist|''[[The Exorcist]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Lucas|[[George Lucas]]}}
|''[[American Graffiti]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1974 in film|1974]]<br />{{small|[[47th Academy Awards|(47th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Coppola|[[Francis Ford Coppola]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Godfather|''[[The Godfather Part II]]''}}'''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars47">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1975|title=The 47th Academy Awards (1975) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004005/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1975|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Cassavetes|[[John Cassavetes]]}}
|{{sort|Woman|''[[A Woman Under the Influence]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Fosse|[[Bob Fosse]]}}
|''[[Lenny (film)|Lenny]]''
|-
|{{sort|Polanski|[[Roman Polanski]]}}
|''[[Chinatown (1974 film)|Chinatown]]''
|-
|{{sort|Truffaut|[[François Truffaut]]}}
|''[[Day for Night (film)|Day for Night]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1975 in film|1975]]<br />{{small|[[48th Academy Awards|(48th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Forman|[[Miloš Forman]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (film)|One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars48">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1976|title=The 48th Academy Awards (1976) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004018/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1976|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Altman|[[Robert Altman]]}}
|''[[Nashville (film)|Nashville]]''
|-
|{{sort|Fellini|[[Federico Fellini]]}}
|''[[Amarcord]]''
|-
|{{sort|Kubrick|[[Stanley Kubrick]]}}
|''[[Barry Lyndon]]''
|-
|{{sort|Lumet|[[Sidney Lumet]]}}
|''[[Dog Day Afternoon]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1976 in film|1976]]<br />{{small|[[49th Academy Awards|(49th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Avildsen|[[John G. Avildsen]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Rocky]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars49">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1977|title=The 49th Academy Awards (1977) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004041/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1977|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Bergman|[[Ingmar Bergman]]}}
|''[[Face to Face (1976 film)|Face to Face]]''
|-
|{{sort|Lumet|[[Sidney Lumet]]}}
|''[[Network (1976 film)|Network]]''
|-
|{{sort|Pakula|[[Alan J. Pakula]]}}
|''[[All the President's Men (film)|All the President's Men]]''
|-
|{{sort|Wertmüller|[[Lina Wertmüller]]}}
|''[[Seven Beauties]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1977 in film|1977]]<br />{{small|[[50th Academy Awards|(50th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Allen|[[Woody Allen]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Annie Hall]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars50">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1978|title=The 50th Academy Awards (1978) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004056/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1978|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Lucas|[[George Lucas]]}}
|''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]''
|-
|{{sort|Ross|[[Herbert Ross]]}}
|{{sort|Turning|''[[The Turning Point (1977 film)|The Turning Point]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Spielberg|[[Steven Spielberg]]}}
|''[[Close Encounters of the Third Kind]]''
|-
|{{sort|Zinnemann|[[Fred Zinnemann]]}}
|''[[Julia (1977 film)|Julia]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1978 in film|1978]]<br />{{small|[[51st Academy Awards|(51st)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Cimino|[[Michael Cimino]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Deer|''[[The Deer Hunter]]''}}'''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars51">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1979|title=The 51st Academy Awards (1979) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004111/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1979|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Allen|[[Woody Allen]]}}
|''[[Interiors]]''
|-
|{{sort|Ashby|[[Hal Ashby]]}}
|''[[Coming Home (1978 film)|Coming Home]]''
|-
|{{sort|Beatty|[[Warren Beatty]]}} & {{sort|Henry|[[Buck Henry]]}}
|''[[Heaven Can Wait (1978 film)|Heaven Can Wait]]''
|-
|{{sort|Parker|[[Alan Parker]]}}
|''[[Midnight Express (film)|Midnight Express]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1979 in film|1979]]<br />{{small|[[52nd Academy Awards|(52nd)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Benton|[[Robert Benton]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Kramer vs. Kramer]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars52">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1980|title=The 52nd Academy Awards (1980) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402002939/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1980|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Coppola|[[Francis Ford Coppola]]}}
|''[[Apocalypse Now]]''
|-
|{{sort|Fosse|[[Bob Fosse]]}}
|''[[All That Jazz (film)|All That Jazz]]''
|-
|{{sort|Molinaro|[[Édouard Molinaro]]}}
|''[[La Cage aux Folles (film)|La Cage aux Folles]]''
|-
|{{sort|Yates|[[Peter Yates]]}}
|''[[Breaking Away]]''
|}

===1980s===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!scope="col" style="width:8%;"| Year
!scope="col" style="width:30%;"| Director(s)
!scope="col" style="width:30%;"| Film
!scope="col" style="width:2%;", class=unsortable |{{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1980 in film|1980]]<br />{{small|[[53rd Academy Awards|(53rd)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Redford|[[Robert Redford]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Ordinary People]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars53">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1981|title=The 53rd Academy Awards (1981) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004127/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1981|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Lynch|[[David Lynch]]}}
|{{sort|Elephant|''[[The Elephant Man (1980 film)|The Elephant Man]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Polanski|[[Roman Polanski]]}}
|''[[Tess (1979 film)|Tess]]''
|-
|{{sort|Rush|[[Richard Rush (director)|Richard Rush]]}}
|{{sort|Stunt|''[[The Stunt Man]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Scorsese|[[Martin Scorsese]]}}
|''[[Raging Bull]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1981 in film|1981]]<br />{{small|[[54th Academy Awards|(54th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Beatty|[[Warren Beatty]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Reds (film)|Reds]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars54">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1982|title=The 54th Academy Awards (1982) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004138/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1982|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Hudson|[[Hugh Hudson]]}}
|''[[Chariots of Fire]]''
|-
|{{sort|Malle|[[Louis Malle]]}}
|''[[Atlantic City (1980 film)|Atlantic City]]''
|-
|{{sort|Rydell|[[Mark Rydell]]}}
|''[[On Golden Pond (1981 film)|On Golden Pond]]''
|-
|{{sort|Spielberg|[[Steven Spielberg]]}}
|''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1982 in film|1982]]<br />{{small|[[55th Academy Awards|(55th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Attenborough|[[Richard Attenborough]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Gandhi (film)|Gandhi]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars55">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1983 |title=The 55th Academy Awards (1983) Nominees and Winners |access-date=August 27, 2013 |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120905/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/55th-winners.html |archive-date=September 5, 2012 }}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Lumet|[[Sidney Lumet]]}}
|{{sort|Verdict|''[[The Verdict]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Petersen|[[Wolfgang Petersen]]}}
|''[[Das Boot]]''
|-
|{{sort|Pollack|[[Sydney Pollack]]}}
|''[[Tootsie]]''
|-
|{{sort|Spielberg|[[Steven Spielberg]]}}
|''[[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1983 in film|1983]]<br />{{small|[[56th Academy Awards|(56th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Brooks|[[James L. Brooks]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Terms of Endearment]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars56">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1984|title=The 56th Academy Awards (1984) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004202/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1984|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Beresford|[[Bruce Beresford]]}}
|''[[Tender Mercies]]''
|-
|{{sort|Bergman|[[Ingmar Bergman]]}}
|''[[Fanny and Alexander]]''
|-
|{{sort|Nichols|[[Mike Nichols]]}}
|''[[Silkwood]]''
|-
|{{sort|Yates|[[Peter Yates]]}}
|{{sort|Dresser|''[[The Dresser (1983 film)|The Dresser]]''}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1984 in film|1984]]<br />{{small|[[57th Academy Awards|(57th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Forman|[[Miloš Forman]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Amadeus (film)|Amadeus]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars57">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1985|title=The 57th Academy Awards (1985) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004214/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1985|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Allen|[[Woody Allen]]}}
|''[[Broadway Danny Rose]]''
|-
|{{sort|Benton|[[Robert Benton]]}}
|''[[Places in the Heart]]''
|-
|{{sort|Joffé|[[Roland Joffé]]}}
|{{sort|Killing|''[[The Killing Fields (film)|The Killing Fields]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Lean|[[David Lean]]}}
|{{sort|Passage|''[[A Passage to India (film)|A Passage to India]]''}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1985 in film|1985]]<br />{{small|[[58th Academy Awards|(58th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Pollack|[[Sydney Pollack]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Out of Africa (film)|Out of Africa]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars58">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1986|title=The 58th Academy Awards (1986) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004226/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1986|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Babenco|[[Héctor Babenco]]}}
|''[[Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985 film)|Kiss of the Spider Woman]]''
|-
|{{sort|Huston|[[John Huston]]}}
|''[[Prizzi's Honor]]''
|-
|{{sort|Kurosawa|[[Akira Kurosawa]]}}
|''[[Ran (film)|Ran]]''
|-
|{{sort|Weir|[[Peter Weir]]}}
|''[[Witness (1985 film)|Witness]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"| [[1986 in film|1986]]<br />{{small|[[59th Academy Awards|(59th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Stone|[[Oliver Stone]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Platoon (film)|Platoon]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars59">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1987|title=The 59th Academy Awards (1987) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004243/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1987|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Allen|[[Woody Allen]]}}
|''[[Hannah and Her Sisters]]''
|-
|{{sort|Ivory|[[James Ivory]]}}
|{{sort|Room|''[[A Room with a View (1985 film)|A Room with a View]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Joffé|[[Roland Joffé]]}}
|{{sort|Mission|''[[The Mission (1986 film)|The Mission]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Lynch|[[David Lynch]]}}
|''[[Blue Velvet (film)|Blue Velvet]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1987 in film|1987]]<br />{{small|[[60th Academy Awards|(60th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Bertolucci|[[Bernardo Bertolucci]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Emperor|''[[The Last Emperor]]''}}'''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars60">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1988|title=The 60th Academy Awards (1988) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004300/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1988|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Boorman|[[John Boorman]]}}
|''[[Hope and Glory (film)|Hope and Glory]]''
|-
|{{sort|Hallström|[[Lasse Hallström]]}}
|''[[My Life as a Dog]]''
|-
|{{sort|Jewison|[[Norman Jewison]]}}
|''[[Moonstruck]]''
|-
|{{sort|Lyne|[[Adrian Lyne]]}}
|''[[Fatal Attraction]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1988 in film|1988]]<br />{{small|[[61st Academy Awards|(61st)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Levinson|[[Barry Levinson]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Rain Man]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars61">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1989|title=The 61st Academy Awards (1989) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706095646/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/61st-winners.html|archive-date=July 6, 2011}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Crichton|[[Charles Crichton]]}}
|{{sort|Fish|''[[A Fish Called Wanda]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Nichols|[[Mike Nichols]]}}
|''[[Working Girl]]''
|-
|{{sort|Parker|[[Alan Parker]]}}
|''[[Mississippi Burning]]''
|-
|{{sort|Scorsese|[[Martin Scorsese]]}}
|{{sort|Last|''[[The Last Temptation of Christ (film)|The Last Temptation of Christ]]''}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1989 in film|1989]]<br />{{small|[[62nd Academy Awards|(62nd)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Stone|[[Oliver Stone]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Born on the Fourth of July (film)|Born on the Fourth of July]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars62">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1990|title=The 62nd Academy Awards (1990) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402002952/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1990|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Allen|[[Woody Allen]]}}
|''[[Crimes and Misdemeanors]]''
|-
|{{sort|Branagh|[[Kenneth Branagh]]}}
|''[[Henry V (1989 film)|Henry V]]''
|-
|{{sort|Sheridan|[[Jim Sheridan]]}}
|''[[My Left Foot]]''
|-
|{{sort|Weir|[[Peter Weir]]}}
|''[[Dead Poets Society]]''
|}

===1990s===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!scope="col" style="width:8%;"| Year
!scope="col" style="width:30%;"| Director(s)
!scope="col" style="width:30%;"| Film
!scope="col" style="width:2%;", class=unsortable |{{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1990 in film|1990]]<br />{{small|[[63rd Academy Awards|(63rd)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''{{sort|Costner|[[Kevin Costner]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Dances With Wolves]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars63">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1991|title=The 63rd Academy Awards (1991) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004341/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1991|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Coppola|[[Francis Ford Coppola]]}}
|{{sort|Godfather|''[[The Godfather Part III]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Frears|[[Stephen Frears]]}}
|{{sort|Grifters|''[[The Grifters (film)|The Grifters]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Schroeder|[[Barbet Schroeder]]}}
|''[[Reversal of Fortune]]''
|-
|{{sort|Scorsese|[[Martin Scorsese]]}}
|''[[Goodfellas]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1991 in film|1991]]<br />{{small|[[64th Academy Awards|(64th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Demme|[[Jonathan Demme]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Silence|''[[The Silence of the Lambs (film)|The Silence of the Lambs]]''}}'''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars64">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1992|title=The 64th Academy Awards (1992) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004405/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1992|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Levinson|[[Barry Levinson]]}}
|''[[Bugsy]]''
|-
|{{sort|Scott|[[Ridley Scott]]}}
|''[[Thelma & Louise]]''
|-
|{{sort|Singleton|[[John Singleton]]}}
|''[[Boyz n the Hood]]''
|-
|{{sort|Stone|[[Oliver Stone]]}}
|''[[JFK (film)|JFK]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1992 in film|1992]]<br />{{small|[[65th Academy Awards|(65th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Eastwood|[[Clint Eastwood]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''''[[Unforgiven]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars65">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1993|title=The 65th Academy Awards (1993) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004418/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1993|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Altman|[[Robert Altman]]}}
|{{sort|Player|''[[The Player (1992 film)|The Player]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Brest|[[Martin Brest]]}}
|''[[Scent of a Woman (1992 film)|Scent of a Woman]]''
|-
|{{sort|Ivory|[[James Ivory]]}}
|''[[Howards End (film)|Howards End]]''
|-
|{{sort|Jordan|[[Neil Jordan]]}}
|{{sort|Crying|''[[The Crying Game]]''}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1993 in film|1993]]<br />{{small|[[66th Academy Awards|(66th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Spielberg|[[Steven Spielberg]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''''[[Schindler's List]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars66">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1994|title=The 66th Academy Awards (1994) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004432/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1994|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Altman|[[Robert Altman]]}}
|''[[Short Cuts]]''
|-
|{{sort|Campion|[[Jane Campion]]}}
|{{sort|Piano|''[[The Piano]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Ivory|[[James Ivory]]}}
|{{sort|Remains|''[[The Remains of the Day (film)|The Remains of the Day]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Sheridan|[[Jim Sheridan]]}}
|''[[In the Name of the Father]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1994 in film|1994]]<br />{{small|[[67th Academy Awards|(67th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Zemeckis|[[Robert Zemeckis]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''''[[Forrest Gump]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars67">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1995|title=The 67th Academy Awards (1995) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004445/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1995|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Allen|[[Woody Allen]]}}
|''[[Bullets Over Broadway]]''
|-
|{{sort|Kieślowski|[[Krzysztof Kieślowski]]}}
|''[[Three Colours: Red]]''
|-
|{{sort|Redford|[[Robert Redford]]}}
|''[[Quiz Show (film)|Quiz Show]]''
|-
|{{sort|Tarantino|[[Quentin Tarantino]]}}
|''[[Pulp Fiction]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1995 in film|1995]]<br />{{small|[[68th Academy Awards|(68th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Gibson|[[Mel Gibson]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''''[[Braveheart]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars68">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1996|title=The 68th Academy Awards (1996) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004458/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1996|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Figgis|[[Mike Figgis]]}}
|''[[Leaving Las Vegas]]''
|-
|{{sort|Noonan|[[Chris Noonan]]}}
|''[[Babe (film)|Babe]]''
|-
|{{sort|Radford|[[Michael Radford]]}}
|''[[Il Postino: The Postman]]''
|-
|{{sort|Robbins|[[Tim Robbins]]}}
|''[[Dead Man Walking (film)|Dead Man Walking]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1996 in film|1996]]<br />{{small|[[69th Academy Awards|(69th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Minghella|[[Anthony Minghella]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|English|''[[The English Patient (film)|The English Patient]]''}}'''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars69">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1997|title=The 69th Academy Awards (1997) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004512/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1997|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Coen|[[Coen brothers|Joel Coen]]}}
|''[[Fargo (1996 film)|Fargo]]''
|-
|{{sort|Forman|[[Miloš Forman]]}}
|{{sort|People|''[[The People vs. Larry Flynt]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Hicks|[[Scott Hicks (director)|Scott Hicks]]}}
|''[[Shine (film)|Shine]]''
|-
|{{sort|Leigh|[[Mike Leigh]]}}
|''[[Secrets & Lies (film)|Secrets & Lies]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1997 in film|1997]]<br />{{small|[[70th Academy Awards|(70th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Cameron|[[James Cameron]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''''[[Titanic (1997 film)|Titanic]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars70">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1998|title=The 70th Academy Awards (1998) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004523/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1998|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Cattaneo|[[Peter Cattaneo]]}}
|{{sort|Monty|''[[The Full Monty]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Egoyan|[[Atom Egoyan]]}}
|{{sort|Sweet|''[[The Sweet Hereafter (film)|The Sweet Hereafter]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Hanson|[[Curtis Hanson]]}}
|''[[L.A. Confidential (film)|L.A. Confidential]]''
|-
|{{sort|Van Sant|[[Gus Van Sant]]}}
|''[[Good Will Hunting]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1998 in film|1998]]<br />{{small|[[71st Academy Awards|(71st)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Spielberg|[[Steven Spielberg]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''''[[Saving Private Ryan]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars71">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1999|title=The 71st Academy Awards (1999) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004536/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1999|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Benigni|[[Roberto Benigni]]}}
|''[[Life Is Beautiful]]''
|-
|{{sort|Madden|[[John Madden (director)|John Madden]]}}
|''[[Shakespeare in Love]]''
|-
|{{sort|Malick|[[Terrence Malick]]}}
|{{sort|Thin|''[[The Thin Red Line (1998 film)|The Thin Red Line]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Weir|[[Peter Weir]]}}
|{{sort|Truman|''[[The Truman Show]]''}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[1999 in film|1999]]<br />{{small|[[72nd Academy Awards|(72nd)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Mendes|[[Sam Mendes]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''''[[American Beauty (1999 film)|American Beauty]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars72">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2000|title=The 72nd Academy Awards (2000) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402003006/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2000|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Hallström|[[Lasse Hallström]]}}
|{{sort|Cider|''[[The Cider House Rules (film)|The Cider House Rules]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Jonze|[[Spike Jonze]]}}
|''[[Being John Malkovich]]''
|-
|{{sort|Mann|[[Michael Mann]]}}
|{{sort|Insider|''[[The Insider (film)|The Insider]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Shyamalan|[[M. Night Shyamalan]]}}
|{{sort|Sixth|''[[The Sixth Sense]]''}}
|}

===2000s===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!scope="col" style="width:8%;"| Year
!scope="col" style="width:30%;"| Director(s)
!scope="col" style="width:30%;"| Film
!scope="col" style="width:2%;", class=unsortable |{{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align;center;" | [[2000 in film|2000]]<br />{{small|[[73rd Academy Awards|(73rd)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Soderbergh|[[Steven Soderbergh]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''''[[Traffic (2000 film)|Traffic]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars73">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2001|title=The 73rd Academy Awards (2001) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004546/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2001|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Daldry|[[Stephen Daldry]]}}
|''[[Billy Elliot]]''
|-
|{{sort|Lee|[[Ang Lee]]}}
|''[[Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon]]''
|-
|{{sort|Scott|[[Ridley Scott]]}}
|''[[Gladiator (2000 film)|Gladiator]]''
|-
|{{sort|Soderbergh|Steven Soderbergh}}
|''[[Erin Brockovich (film)|Erin Brockovich]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[2001 in film|2001]]<br />{{small|[[74th Academy Awards|(74th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Howard|[[Ron Howard]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Beautiful|''[[A Beautiful Mind (film)|A Beautiful Mind]]''}}'''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars74">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2002|title=The 74th Academy Awards (2002) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004559/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2002|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Altman|[[Robert Altman]]}}
|''[[Gosford Park]]''
|-
|{{sort|Jackson|[[Peter Jackson]]}}
|{{sort|Lord|''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Lynch|[[David Lynch]]}}
|''[[Mulholland Drive (film)|Mulholland Drive]]''
|-
|{{sort|Scott|[[Ridley Scott]]}}
|''[[Black Hawk Down (film)|Black Hawk Down]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[2002 in film|2002]]<br />{{small|[[75th Academy Awards|(75th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Polanski|[[Roman Polanski]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Pianist|''[[The Pianist (2002 film)|The Pianist]]''}}'''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars75">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2003|title=The 75th Academy Awards (2003) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004617/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2003|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Almodóvar|[[Pedro Almodóvar]]}}
|''[[Talk to Her]]''
|-
|{{sort|Daldry|[[Stephen Daldry]]}}
|{{sort|Hours|''[[The Hours (film)|The Hours]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Marshall|[[Rob Marshall]]}}
|''[[Chicago (2002 film)|Chicago]]''
|-
|{{sort|Scorsese|[[Martin Scorsese]]}}
|''[[Gangs of New York]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[2003 in film|2003]]<br />{{small|[[76th Academy Awards|(76th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Jackson|[[Peter Jackson]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Lord|''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]''}}'''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars76">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2004|title=The 76th Academy Awards (2004) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004632/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2004|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Coppola|[[Sofia Coppola]]}}
|''[[Lost in Translation (film)|Lost in Translation]]''
|-
|{{sort|Eastwood|[[Clint Eastwood]]}}
|''[[Mystic River (film)|Mystic River]]''
|-
|{{sort|Meirelles|[[Fernando Meirelles]]}}
|''[[City of God (2002 film)|City of God]]''
|-
|{{sort|Weir|[[Peter Weir]]}}
|''[[Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[2004 in film|2004]]<br />{{small|[[77th Academy Awards|(77th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Eastwood|[[Clint Eastwood]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''''[[Million Dollar Baby]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars77">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2005|title=The 77th Academy Awards (2005) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170502002335/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2005|archive-date=May 2, 2017}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Hackford|[[Taylor Hackford]]}}
|''[[Ray (film)|Ray]]''
|-
|{{sort|Leigh|[[Mike Leigh]]}}
|''[[Vera Drake]]''
|-
|{{sort|Payne|[[Alexander Payne]]}}
|''[[Sideways]]''
|-
|{{sort|Scorsese|[[Martin Scorsese]]}}
|{{sort|Aviator|''[[The Aviator (2004 film)|The Aviator]]''}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[2005 in film|2005]]<br />{{small|[[78th Academy Awards|(78th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Lee|[[Ang Lee]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''''[[Brokeback Mountain]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars78">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2006|title=The 78th Academy Awards (2006) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109220946/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2006|archive-date=November 9, 2014}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Clooney|[[George Clooney]]}}
|''[[Good Night, and Good Luck]]''
|-
|{{sort|Haggis|[[Paul Haggis]]}}
|''[[Crash (2004 film)|Crash]]''
|-
|{{sort|Miller|[[Bennett Miller]]}}
|''[[Capote (film)|Capote]]''
|-
|{{sort|Spielberg|[[Steven Spielberg]]}}
|''[[Munich (2005 film)|Munich]]''
|- 
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[2006 in film|2006]]<br />{{small|[[79th Academy Awards|(79th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Scorsese|[[Martin Scorsese]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Departed|''[[The Departed]]''}}'''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars79">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2007|title=The 79th Academy Awards (2007) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004711/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2007|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Eastwood|[[Clint Eastwood]]}}
|''[[Letters from Iwo Jima]]''
|-
|{{sort|Frears|[[Stephen Frears]]}}
|{{sort|Queen|''[[The Queen (2006 film)|The Queen]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Greengrass|[[Paul Greengrass]]}}
|''[[United 93 (film)|United 93]]''
|-
|{{sort|Iñárritu|[[Alejandro González Iñárritu]]}}
|''[[Babel (film)|Babel]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[2007 in film|2007]]<br />{{small|[[80th Academy Awards|(80th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Coen|[[Coen brothers|Joel Coen and Ethan Coen]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''''[[No Country for Old Men]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars80">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2008|title=The 80th Academy Awards (2008) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004725/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2008|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Anderson|[[Paul Thomas Anderson]]}}
|''[[There Will Be Blood]]''
|-
|{{sort|Gilroy|[[Tony Gilroy]]}}
|''[[Michael Clayton]]''
|-
|{{sort|Reitman|[[Jason Reitman]]}}
|''[[Juno (film)|Juno]]''
|-
|{{sort|Schnabel|[[Julian Schnabel]]}}
|{{sort|Diving|''[[The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (film)|The Diving Bell and the Butterfly]]''}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[2008 in film|2008]]<br />{{small|[[81st Academy Awards|(81st)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Boyle|[[Danny Boyle]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''''[[Slumdog Millionaire]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars81">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2009|title=The 81st Academy Awards (2009) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110111206/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2009|archive-date=November 10, 2014}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Daldry|[[Stephen Daldry]]}}
|{{sort|Reader|''[[The Reader (2008 film)|The Reader]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Fincher|[[David Fincher]]}}
|{{sort|Curious|''[[The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (film)|The Curious Case of Benjamin Button]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Howard|[[Ron Howard]]}}
|''[[Frost/Nixon (film)|Frost/Nixon]]''
|-
|{{sort|Van Sant|[[Gus Van Sant]]}}
|''[[Milk (2008 American film)|Milk]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[2009 in film|2009]]<br />{{small|[[82nd Academy Awards|(82nd)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Bigelow|[[Kathryn Bigelow]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Hurt|''[[The Hurt Locker]]''}}'''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars82">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2010|title=The 82nd Academy Awards (2010) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120929191037/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/82nd-winners.html|archive-date=September 29, 2012}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Cameron|[[James Cameron]]}}
|''[[Avatar (2009 film)|Avatar]]''
|-
|{{sort|Daniels|[[Lee Daniels]]}}
|''[[Precious (film)|Precious]]''
|-
|{{sort|Reitman|[[Jason Reitman]]}}
|''[[Up in the Air (2009 film)|Up in the Air]]''
|-
|{{sort|Tarantino|[[Quentin Tarantino]]}}
|''[[Inglourious Basterds]]''
|}

===2010s===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
!scope="col" style="width:8%;"| Year
!scope="col" style="width:30%;"| Director(s)
!scope="col" style="width:30%;"| Film
!scope="col" style="width:2%;" class="unsortable"|{{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[2010 in film|2010]]<br />{{small|[[83rd Academy Awards|(83rd)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Hooper|[[Tom Hooper]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|King's|''[[The King's Speech]]''}}'''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars83">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2011|title=The 83rd Academy Awards (2011) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110505013733/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/83/nominees.html|archive-date=May 5, 2011}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Aronofsky|[[Darren Aronofsky]]}}
|''[[Black Swan (film)|Black Swan]]''
|-
|{{sort|Coen|[[Coen brothers|Joel Coen and Ethan Coen]]}}
|''[[True Grit (2010 film)|True Grit]]''
|-
|{{sort|Fincher|[[David Fincher]]}}
|{{sort|Social|''[[The Social Network]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Russell|[[David O. Russell]]}}
|{{sort|Fighter|''[[The Fighter]]''}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[2011 in film|2011]]<br />{{small|[[84th Academy Awards|(84th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Hazanavicius|[[Michel Hazanavicius]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Artist|''[[The Artist (film)|The Artist]]''}}'''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars84">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2012|title=The 84th Academy Awards (2012) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141015232303/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2012|archive-date=October 15, 2014}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Allen|[[Woody Allen]]}}
|''[[Midnight in Paris]]''
|-
|{{sort|Malick|[[Terrence Malick]]}}
|{{sort|Tree|''[[The Tree of Life (film)|The Tree of Life]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Payne|[[Alexander Payne]]}}
|{{sort|Descendants|''[[The Descendants]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Scorsese|[[Martin Scorsese]]}}
|''[[Hugo (film)|Hugo]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[2012 in film|2012]]<br />{{small|[[85th Academy Awards|(85th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Lee|[[Ang Lee]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''''[[Life of Pi (film)|Life of Pi]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars85">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2013|title=The 85th Academy Awards (2013) Nominees and Winners|access-date=August 27, 2013|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014074656/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2013|archive-date=October 14, 2014}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Haneke|[[Michael Haneke]]}}
|''[[Amour (2012 film)|Amour]]''
|-
|{{sort|Russell|[[David O. Russell]]}}
|''[[Silver Linings Playbook]]''
|-
|{{sort|Spielberg|[[Steven Spielberg]]}}
|''[[Lincoln (film)|Lincoln]]''
|-
|{{sort|Zeitlin|[[Benh Zeitlin]]}}
|''[[Beasts of the Southern Wild]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[2013 in film|2013]]<br />{{small|[[86th Academy Awards|(86th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Cuarón|[[Alfonso Cuarón]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''''[[Gravity (2013 film)|Gravity]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars86">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2014|title=The 86th Academy Awards (2014) Nominees and Winners|access-date=April 10, 2014|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014193700/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2014|archive-date=October 14, 2014}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|McQueen|[[Steve McQueen (director)|Steve McQueen]]}}
|''[[12 Years a Slave (film)|12 Years a Slave]]''
|-
|{{sort|Payne|[[Alexander Payne]]}}
|''[[Nebraska (film)|Nebraska]]''
|-
|{{sort|Russell|[[David O. Russell]]}}
|''[[American Hustle]]''
|-
|{{sort|Scorsese|[[Martin Scorsese]]}}
|{{sort|Wolf|''[[The Wolf of Wall Street (2013 film)|The Wolf of Wall Street]]''}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[2014 in film|2014]]<br />{{small|[[87th Academy Awards|(87th)]]}}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Iñárritu|[[Alejandro González Iñárritu|Alejandro G. Iñárritu]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''''[[Birdman (film)|Birdman]]'''''
|rowspan="5"|<ref name="Oscars87">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2015|title=The 87th Academy Awards (2015) Nominees and Winners|access-date=January 15, 2015|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310051043/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2015|archive-date=March 10, 2015}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Anderson|[[Wes Anderson]]}}
|{{sort|Grand|''[[The Grand Budapest Hotel]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Linklater|[[Richard Linklater]]}}
|''[[Boyhood (2014 film)|Boyhood]]''
|-
|{{sort|Miller|[[Bennett Miller]]}}
|''[[Foxcatcher]]''
|-
|{{sort|Tyldum|[[Morten Tyldum]]}}
|{{sort|Imitation|''[[The Imitation Game]]''}}
|-
! scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center" | [[2015 in film|2015]] <br />{{small|[[88th Academy Awards|(88th)]] }}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Iñárritu|[[Alejandro González Iñárritu|Alejandro G. Iñárritu]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''''[[The Revenant (2015 film)|The Revenant]]'''''
| rowspan=5|<ref name="Oscars88">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2016|title=The 88th Academy Awards (2016) Nominees and Winners|access-date=January 14, 2016|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125161918/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2016|archive-date=January 25, 2016}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Abrahamson|[[Lenny Abrahamson]]}}
|''[[Room (2015 film)|Room]]''
|-
|{{sort|McCarthy|[[Tom McCarthy (director)|Tom McCarthy]]}}
|''[[Spotlight (film)|Spotlight]]''
|-
|{{sort|McKay|[[Adam McKay]]}}
|{{sort|Big|''[[The Big Short (film)|The Big Short]]''}}
|-
|{{sort|Miller|[[George Miller (filmmaker)|George Miller]]}}
|''[[Mad Max: Fury Road]]''
|-
! scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center" | [[2016 in film|2016]] <br />{{small|[[89th Academy Awards|(89th)]] }}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Chazelle|[[Damien Chazelle]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[La La Land]]'''''
| rowspan=5|<ref name="Oscars89">{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2017|title=The 89th Academy Awards (2017) Nominees and Winners|access-date=January 14, 2017|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170303235233/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2017|archive-date=March 3, 2017}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Gibson|[[Mel Gibson]]}}
|''[[Hacksaw Ridge]]''
|-
|{{sort|Jenkins|[[Barry Jenkins]]}}
|''[[Moonlight (2016 film)|Moonlight]]''
|-
|{{sort|Lonergan|[[Kenneth Lonergan]]}}
|''[[Manchester by the Sea (film)|Manchester by the Sea]]''
|-
|{{sort|Villeneuve|[[Denis Villeneuve]]}}
|''[[Arrival (film)|Arrival]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center" | [[2017 in film|2017]] <br />{{small|[[90th Academy Awards|(90th)]] }}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|del Toro|[[Guillermo del Toro]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''''[[The Shape of Water]]'''''
| rowspan=5|<ref>{{cite news |first=Brooks |last=Barnes |title='The Shape of Water' Wins Best Picture as Oscars Project Diversity |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/04/movies/oscars-academy-awards.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 4, 2018 |access-date=March 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305023608/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/04/movies/oscars-academy-awards.html |archive-date=March 5, 2018 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Anderson|[[Paul Thomas Anderson]]}}
|''[[Phantom Thread]]''
|-
|{{sort|Gerwig|[[Greta Gerwig]]}}
|''[[Lady Bird (film)|Lady Bird]]''
|-
|{{sort|Nolan|[[Christopher Nolan]]}}
|''[[Dunkirk (2017 film)|Dunkirk]]''
|-
||{{sort|Peele|[[Jordan Peele]]}}
|''[[Get Out]]''
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center" | [[2018 in film|2018]] <br />{{small|[[91st Academy Awards|(91st)]] }}
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Cuarón|[[Alfonso Cuarón]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''''[[Roma (2018 film)|Roma]]'''''
| rowspan=5|<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2019-12-23|title=Netflix's 'Roma' wins three Oscars, including Best Director (but not Best Picture)|date=February 25, 2019|url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/24/netflix-roma-oscars/|archive-date=March 16, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316071301/https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/24/netflix-roma-oscars/|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Lanthimos|[[Yorgos Lanthimos]]}}
|''[[The Favourite]]''
|-
|{{sort|Lee|[[Spike Lee]]}}
|''[[BlacKkKlansman]]''
|-
|{{sort|McKay|[[Adam McKay]]}}
|''[[Vice (2018 film)|Vice]]''
|-
|{{sort|Pawilikowski|[[Paweł Pawlikowski]]}}
|''[[Cold War (2018 film)|Cold War]]''
|-
! scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center" | [[2019 in film|2019]] <br /><small>[[92nd Academy Awards|(92nd)]] </small>
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Bong|[[Bong Joon-ho]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''''[[Parasite (2019 film)|Parasite]]'''''
| rowspan=5|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jan/13/oscar-nominations-full-list-for-2020|title=The full list of 2020 Oscar nominations|date=January 14, 2020|work=Guardian|access-date=January 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114060413/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jan/13/oscar-nominations-full-list-for-2020|archive-date=January 14, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Mendes|[[Sam Mendes]]}}
| ''[[1917 (2019 film)|1917]]''
|-
|{{sort|Phillips|[[Todd Phillips]]}}
|''[[Joker (2019 film)|Joker]]''
|-
|{{sort|Scorsese|[[Martin Scorsese]]}}
| ''[[The Irishman]]''
|-
|{{sort|Tarantino|[[Quentin Tarantino]]}}
| ''[[Once Upon a Time in Hollywood]]''
|}

===2020s===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
!scope="col" style="width:8%;"| Year
!scope="col" style="width:30%;"| Director(s)
!scope="col" style="width:30%;"| Film
!scope="col" style="width:2%;" class="unsortable"|{{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;" | [[2020 in film|2020/21]]<br />{{efn|name=covid-19|The eligibility period for the 93rd ceremony was extended through to February 28, 2021, due to the impact of the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].}}<br /><small>[[93rd Academy Awards|(93rd)]]</small>
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Zhao|[[Chloé Zhao]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Nomadland|''[[Nomadland]]''}}'''
|rowspan=5|<ref name="Oscars93">{{cite news|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2021|title=The 93rd Academy Awards (2021) Nominees and Winners|access-date=March 14, 2023|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501233256/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2021|archive-date=May 1, 2021}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Chung|[[Lee Isaac Chung]]}}
|''[[Minari (film)|Minari]]''
|-
|{{sort|Fennel|[[Emerald Fennell]]}}
|''[[Promising Young Woman]]''
|-
|{{sort|Fincher|[[David Fincher]]}}
|''[[Mank]]''
|-
|{{sort|Vinterberg|[[Thomas Vinterberg]]}}
|{{sort|Another Round|''[[Another Round (film)|Another Round]]''}}
|-
! rowspan="5" |[[2021 in film|2021]]<br /><small>[[94th Academy Awards|(94th)]]</small>
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort| Campion|[[Jane Campion]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort| The Power of the Dog (film)|''[[The Power of the Dog (film)|The Power of the Dog]]''}}'''
| rowspan="5" |<ref name="Oscars94">{{cite news|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2022|title=The 94th Academy Awards (2022) Nominees and Winners|access-date=March 14, 2023|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220401051947/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2022|archive-date=April 1, 2022}}</ref>
|-
|{{sort|Anderson|[[Paul Thomas Anderson]]}}
|''[[Licorice Pizza]]''
|-
|{{sort|Branagh|[[Kenneth Branagh]]}}
|''[[Belfast (film)|Belfast]]''
|-
|{{sort|Hamaguchi|[[Ryusuke Hamaguchi]]}}
|''[[Drive My Car (film)|Drive My Car]]''
|-
|{{sort|Spielberg|[[Steven Spielberg]]}}
|''[[West Side Story (2021 film)|West Side Story]]''
|-
! rowspan="5" |[[2022 in film|2022]]<br /><small>[[95th Academy Awards|(95th)]]</small>
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Daniels|[[Daniels (directors)|Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Everything Everywhere All at Once|''[[Everything Everywhere All at Once]]''}}'''
| rowspan="5" |<ref name="Oscars95">{{cite news|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2023|title=The 95th Academy Awards (2023) Nominees and Winners|access-date=March 14, 2023|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314145222/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2023|archive-date=March 14, 2023}}</ref>
|-
|[[Todd Field]]
|''[[Tár]]''
|-
|[[Martin McDonagh]]
|''[[The Banshees of Inisherin]]''
|-
|[[Ruben Östlund]]
|''[[Triangle of Sadness]]''
|-
|[[Steven Spielberg]]
|''[[The Fabelmans]]''
|-
! rowspan="5" |[[2023 in film|2023]]<br /><small>[[96th Academy Awards|(96th)]]</small>
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Nolan|[[Christopher Nolan]]}}'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''{{sort|Oppenheimer|''[[Oppenheimer (film)|Oppenheimer]]''}}'''
| rowspan="5" |<ref name="Oscars96">{{cite news|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2024|title=The 96th Academy Awards (2024) Nominees and Winners|access-date=March 24, 2024|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322080415/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2024|archive-date=March 22, 2024}}</ref>
|-
|[[Jonathan Glazer]]
|''[[The Zone of Interest (film)|The Zone of Interest]]''
|-
|[[Yorgos Lanthimos]]
|''[[Poor Things (film)|Poor Things]]''
|-
|[[Martin Scorsese]]
|''[[Killers of the Flower Moon (film)|Killers of the Flower Moon]]''
|-
|[[Justine Triet]]
|''[[Anatomy of a Fall]]''
|-
! rowspan="5" |[[2024 in film|2024]]<br /><small>[[97th Academy Awards|(97th)]]</small>
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''[[Sean Baker]]'''
| style="background:#FAEB86;" |'''''[[Anora]]'''''
| rowspan="5" |<ref name="Oscars97">{{cite news|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2025|title=The 97th Academy Awards (2025) Nominees and Winners|access-date=January 25, 2024|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)}}</ref>
|-
|[[Jacques Audiard]]
|''[[Emilia Pérez]]''
|-
|[[Brady Corbet]]
|''[[The Brutalist]]''
|-
|[[Coralie Fargeat]]
|''[[The Substance]]''
|-
|[[James Mangold]]
|''[[A Complete Unknown]]''
|}

==Multiple wins and nominations==
=== Multiple wins ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! scope="col" width="55"     | Wins
! scope="col" align="center" | Director
|-
| {{center|4}}
| [[John Ford]]
|-
| rowspan=2 style="text-align:center;" | 3
| [[Frank Capra]]
|-
| [[William Wyler]]
|-
| rowspan=18 style="text-align:center;" | 2
| [[Frank Borzage]]
|-
| [[Alfonso Cuarón]]
|-
| [[Clint Eastwood]]
|-
| [[Miloš Forman]]
|-
| [[Alejandro González Iñárritu|Alejandro G. Iñárritu]]
|-
| [[Elia Kazan]]
|-
| [[David Lean]]
|-
| [[Ang Lee]]
|-
| [[Frank Lloyd]]{{efn|name=2nd}}
|-
| [[Joseph L. Mankiewicz]]
|-
| [[Leo McCarey]]
|-
| [[Lewis Milestone]]
|-
| [[Steven Spielberg]]
|-
| [[George Stevens]]
|-
| [[Oliver Stone]]
|-
| [[Billy Wilder]]
|-
| [[Robert Wise]]{{efn|name=wise}}
|-
| [[Fred Zinnemann]]
|}

===Three or more nominations===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! scope="col" width="55"     | Nominations
! scope="col" align="center" | Director
|-
|rowspan="1" style="text-align:center;" | 12
| [[William Wyler]]
|-
|rowspan="1" style="text-align:center;" | 10
| [[Martin Scorsese]]<!--This is ONLY for his DIRECTOR nominations. Do not factor his writing (Screenplay) or producing (Best Picture) nominations into this tally.-->
|- 
|rowspan="1" style="text-align:center;" | 9
| [[Steven Spielberg]]<!--This is ONLY for his DIRECTOR nominations. Do not factor his writing (Screenplay) or producing (Best Picture) nominations into this tally.-->
|-
|rowspan="1" style="text-align:center;" | 8
| [[Billy Wilder]]
|-
|rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | 7
| [[Woody Allen]]<!--This is ONLY for his DIRECTOR nominations. Do not factor his writing (Screenplay) or producing (Best Picture) nominations into this tally.-->
|-
| [[David Lean]]
|-
| [[Fred Zinnemann]]
|-
| rowspan="1" style="text-align:center;" | 6
| [[Frank Capra]]
|-
| rowspan="9" style="text-align:center;" | 5
| [[Robert Altman]]
|-
| [[Clarence Brown]]{{efn|name=clarence}}
|-
| [[George Cukor]]
|-
| [[John Ford]]
|-
| [[Alfred Hitchcock]]
|-
| [[John Huston]]
|-
| [[Elia Kazan]]
|-
| [[George Stevens]]
|-
| [[King Vidor]]
|-
| rowspan="10" style="text-align:center;" | 4
| [[Francis Ford Coppola]]
|-
| [[Michael Curtiz]]{{efn|name=write-in}}
|-
| [[Clint Eastwood]]
|-
| [[Federico Fellini]]
|-
| [[Stanley Kubrick]]
|-
| [[Frank Lloyd]]{{efn|name=2nd}}
|-
| [[Sidney Lumet]]
|-
| [[Joseph L. Mankiewicz]]
|-
| [[Mike Nichols]]
|-
| [[Peter Weir]]
|-
| rowspan="30" style="text-align:center;" | 3
| [[Paul Thomas Anderson]]
|-
| [[Ingmar Bergman]]
|-
| [[Richard Brooks]]
|-
| [[Coen brothers|Joel Coen]]{{efn|name=Coens|While the [[Coen brothers|Coen Brothers]], as a directing duo, earned two nominations, their work on ''[[Fargo (1996 film)|Fargo]]'' was credited as being split apart: Ethan was given [[Academy Award for Best Picture|sole producer credit]], while Joel was listed as the sole director. Joel thus has one additional directing nomination combined with his work as part of their dual efforts.}}
|-
| [[Stephen Daldry]]
|-
| [[David Fincher]]
|-
| [[Miloš Forman]]
|-
| [[Bob Fosse]]
|-
| [[Alejandro González Iñárritu]]
|-
| [[James Ivory]]
|-
| [[Norman Jewison]]
|-
| [[Stanley Kramer]]
|-
| [[Ang Lee]]
|-
| [[Ernst Lubitsch]]
|-
| [[David Lynch]]
|-
| [[Leo McCarey]]
|-
| [[Lewis Milestone]]
|-
| [[Alexander Payne]]
|-
| [[Arthur Penn]]
|-
| [[Roman Polanski]]
|-
| [[Sydney Pollack]]
|-
| [[Carol Reed]]
|-
| [[David O. Russell]]
|-
| [[John Schlesinger]]
|-
| [[Ridley Scott]]
|-
| [[Oliver Stone]]
|-
| [[Quentin Tarantino]]
|-
| [[William A. Wellman]]
|-
| [[Robert Wise]]{{efn|name=wise|Wise earned two individual nominations (resulting in one win); and one joint nomination with [[Jerome Robbins]], which also resulted in the pair of them winning.}}
|-
| [[Sam Wood]]
|}

==Age superlatives==
{{Main|List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees#Best Director}}
{| class="wikitable" 
|-
! scope="col" | Record
! scope="col" | Director
! scope="col" | Film
! scope="col" | Age 
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
| Oldest winner
| [[Clint Eastwood]]
| ''[[Million Dollar Baby]]''
| 74 years, 272 days
| <ref name="Age">{{cite news|title=Oldest/Youngest Directing Nominees and Winners |url=http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/help/helpMain.jsp?helpContentURL=statistics/indexStats.html |access-date=November 19, 2015 |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090301005626/http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/help/helpMain.jsp?helpContentURL=statistics%2FindexStats.html |archive-date=March 1, 2009}}</ref>
|- 
| Oldest nominee
| [[Martin Scorsese]]
| ''[[Killers of the Flower Moon (film)|Killers of the Flower Moon]]''
| 81 years, 67 days
| <ref name="Oscars96"/>
|- 
| Youngest winner
| [[Damien Chazelle]]
| ''[[La La Land]]''
| 32 years, 38 days
| <ref name="Age" />
|- 
| Youngest nominee
| [[John Singleton]]
| ''[[Boyz n the Hood]]''
| 24 years, 44 days
| <ref name="Age" />
|}

== Records ==
* [[John Ford]] has received the most awards in this category, with four. [[Frank Capra]] and [[William Wyler]] won three each.
** Wyler has the most nominations, with 12—including a record four years in a row. [[Martin Scorsese]] is currently second, with 10 nominations.
** [[Clarence Brown]] has the most nominations without a win (6). [[Alfred Hitchcock]] and [[King Vidor]] each received 5 nominations without a win.
* Four directors have won twice for films that did not win [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]: [[Frank Borzage]], [[George Stevens]], [[Ang Lee]], and [[Alfonso Cuarón]].
** Of John Ford's four wins, the only film which also won Best Picture was ''[[How Green Was My Valley (film)|How Green Was My Valley]]'' (1941).
** Ford (1940–1941), [[Joseph L. Mankiewicz]] (1949–1950), and [[Alejandro González Iñárritu]] (2014–2015) are the only directors to have won the award in two consecutive years.
** [[Francis Ford Coppola]] is the only director to be nominated for each film of a trilogy, [[The Godfather (film series)|The Godfather trilogy]], winning for the [[The Godfather Part II|second film]].
* Four directing teams have been nominated together (a total of five times, winning on three occasions): [[Robert Wise]] and [[Jerome Robbins]] for ''[[West Side Story (1961 film)|West Side Story]]'' (1961, winners); [[Warren Beatty]] and [[Buck Henry]] for ''[[Heaven Can Wait (1978 film)|Heaven Can Wait]]'' (1978); [[Coen brothers|Joel and Ethan Coen]] for ''[[No Country for Old Men]]'' (2007, winners) and ''[[True Grit (2010 film)|True Grit]]'' (2010); and [[Daniels (directors)|Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert]] for ''[[Everything Everywhere All at Once]]'' (2022, winners).
** The Coen Brothers are the only siblings to have won the award.
* Six directors won the award for their feature film debut: [[Delbert Mann]] for ''[[Marty (film)|Marty]]'' (1955), Jerome Robbins for ''West Side Story'' (1961), [[Robert Redford]] for ''[[Ordinary People]]'' (1980), [[James L. Brooks]] for ''[[Terms of Endearment]]'' (1983), [[Kevin Costner]] for ''[[Dances With Wolves]]'' (1990), and [[Sam Mendes]] for ''[[American Beauty (1999 film)|American Beauty]]'' (1999). 
** Robbins is the only director to have won for his only career directing credit.
* [[Lina Wertmüller]] was the first woman nominated in the category, for ''[[Seven Beauties]]'' (1976).
** [[Kathryn Bigelow]] became the first woman to win the award, for ''[[The Hurt Locker]]'' (2009).
** [[Chloé Zhao]] is the first woman of color to win the award, for ''[[Nomadland]]'' (2020).
** [[Jane Campion]] is the first woman to be nominated twice for the award: ''[[The Piano]]'' (1993) and ''[[The Power of the Dog (film)|The Power of the Dog]]'' (2021)—winning for the latter.
* [[John Singleton]] is the first Black (and youngest) nominee for ''[[Boyz n the Hood]]'' (1991).
** [[Steve McQueen (director)|Steve McQueen]] is the first Black nominee to direct a [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]] winner, for ''[[12 Years a Slave (film)|12 Years a Slave]]''. [[Barry Jenkins]] subsequently did the same three years later, with ''[[Moonlight (2016 film)|Moonlight]]'' (2016).
* [[David Lean]] was the first non-American to win—and twice, for ''[[The Bridge on the River Kwai]]'' (1957) and ''[[Lawrence of Arabia (film)|Lawrence of Arabia]]'' (1962). This did not recur for five decades with any other non-American directors, until Ang Lee, Alfonso Cuarón, and Alejandro González Iñárritu each won twice themselves.
** Lee was the first Asian director to win the award, for ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]'' (2005). He won again for ''[[Life of Pi (film)|Life of Pi]]'' (2012).
** Cuarón was the first Mexican (and Latin American) director to win the award, for ''[[Gravity (2013 film)|Gravity]]'' (2013). He won again for ''[[Roma (2018 film)|Roma]]'' (2018).
* No married or ex-married couple have won the award for the same film, though [[James Cameron]] (1997's ''[[Titanic (1997 film)|Titanic]]'') and [[Kathryn Bigelow]] (2008's ''[[The Hurt Locker]]'') were the first (and so far, only) ex-married couple to both win the award.
** It was also the first time in Oscar history that ex-married couple were [[82nd Academy Awards|nominated against each other in competition for an award in the same year]].

==Notes==
{{notelist-la}}

==See also==
* [[BAFTA Award for Best Direction]]
* [[Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Director]]
* [[Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film]]
* [[Golden Globe Award for Best Director]]
* [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Director]]
* [[List of Academy Award–nominated films]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}

* {{cite book |last       = Crouse
 |first      = Richard
 |title      = Reel Winners: Movie Award Trivia
 |year       = 2005
 |isbn       = 978-1-55002-574-3
 |location   = [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], Canada
 |publisher  = [[University of Toronto Press]]
 |url-access = registration
 |url        = https://archive.org/details/reelwinnersmovie0000crou
}}
* {{cite book
 | last       = Levy
 | first      = Emanuel
 | title      = All About Oscar: The History and Politics of the Academy Awards
 | year       = 2003
 | isbn       = 978-0-8264-1452-6
 | location   = [[New York (state)|New York]], United States
 | publisher  = [[Continuum International Publishing Group]]
 | ref        = Levy
}}

{{refend}}

==External links==
* [http://www.oscars.org/ Oscars.org] (official Academy site)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080913120840/http://www.oscars.org/awardsdatabase/index.html The Academy Awards Database] (official site)
* [http://www.oscar.com/ Oscar.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304014303/http://www.oscar.com/ |date=March 4, 2009 }} (official ceremony promotional site)

{{Academy Awards}}
{{Academy Awards lists}}
{{Academy Award Best Directing}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Academy Award For Best Directing}}
[[Category:Academy Awards|Directing]]
[[Category:Awards for best director]]