Thursday, December 5

Cannes – Best Director

Click through each award to see the full list of nominees and winners!

2019 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Young Ahmed Jean-Pierre Dardenne

Young Ahmed

Jean-Pierre Dardenne

2018 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Cold War Pawel Pawlikowski

Cold War

Pawel Pawlikowski

2017 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

The Beguiled Sofia Coppola

The Beguiled

Sofia Coppola

2016 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Graduation Cristian Mungiu

Graduation

Cristian Mungiu

2016 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Personal Shopper Olivier Assayas

Personal Shopper

Olivier Assayas

2015 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

The Assassin Hsiao-Hsien Hou

The Assassin

Hsiao-Hsien Hou

2014 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Foxcatcher Bennett Miller

Foxcatcher

Bennett Miller

2013 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Heli Amat Escalante

Heli

Amat Escalante

2012 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Post Tenebras Lux Carlos Reygadas

Post Tenebras Lux

Carlos Reygadas

2011 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Drive Nicolas Winding Refn

Drive

Nicolas Winding Refn

2010 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

On Tour Mathieu Amalric

On Tour

Mathieu Amalric

2009 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Kinatay Brillante Mendoza

Kinatay

Brillante Mendoza

2008 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Three Monkeys Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Three Monkeys

Nuri Bilge Ceylan

2007 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Julian Schnabel

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Julian Schnabel

2006 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Babel Alejandro G. Iñárritu

Babel

Alejandro G. Iñárritu

2005 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Caché Michael Haneke

Caché

Michael Haneke

2004 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Exiles Tony Gatlif

Exiles

Tony Gatlif

2003 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Elephant Gus Van Sant

Elephant

Gus Van Sant

2002 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Painted Fire Kwon-taek Im

Painted Fire

Kwon-taek Im

2002 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Punch-Drunk Love Paul Thomas Anderson

Punch-Drunk Love

Paul Thomas Anderson

2001 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Mulholland Drive David Lynch

Mulholland Drive

David Lynch

2001 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

The Man Who Wasn't There Joel Coen

The Man Who Wasn’t There

Joel Coen

2000 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Yi yi Edward Yang

Yi yi

Edward Yang

1999 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

All About My Mother Pedro Almodóvar

All About My Mother

Pedro Almodóvar

1998 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

The General John Boorman

The General

John Boorman

1997 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Happy Together Kar-Wai Wong

Happy Together

Kar-Wai Wong

1996 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Fargo Joel Coen

Fargo

Joel Coen

1995 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

La haine Mathieu Kassovitz

La haine

Mathieu Kassovitz

1994 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Dear Diary Nanni Moretti

Dear Diary

Nanni Moretti

1993 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Naked Mike Leigh

Naked

Mike Leigh

1992 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

The Player Robert Altman

The Player

Robert Altman

1991 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Barton Fink Joel Coen

Barton Fink

Joel Coen

1990 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Taxi Blues Pavel Lungin

Taxi Blues

Pavel Lungin

1989 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Time of the Gypsies Emir Kusturica

Time of the Gypsies

Emir Kusturica

1988 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

The South Fernando E. Solanas

The South

Fernando E. Solanas

1987 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Wings of Desire Wim Wenders

Wings of Desire

Wim Wenders

1986 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

After Hours Martin Scorsese

After Hours

Martin Scorsese

1985 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Rendez-vous André Téchiné

Rendez-vous

André Téchiné

1984 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

A Sunday in the Country Bertrand Tavernier

A Sunday in the Country

Bertrand Tavernier

1983 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

L'argent Robert Bresson

L’argent

Robert Bresson

1983 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Nostalgia Andrei Tarkovsky

Nostalgia

Andrei Tarkovsky

1982 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Fitzcarraldo Werner Herzog

Fitzcarraldo

Werner Herzog

1979 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Days of Heaven Terrence Malick

Days of Heaven

Terrence Malick

1978 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Empire of Passion Nagisa Ôshima

Empire of Passion

Nagisa Ôshima

1976 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Ugly, Dirty and Bad Ettore Scola

Ugly, Dirty and Bad

Ettore Scola

1975 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Orderers Michel Brault

Orderers

Michel Brault

1975 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Special Section Costa-Gavras

Special Section

Costa-Gavras

1972 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Red Psalm Miklós Jancsó

Red Psalm

Miklós Jancsó

1970 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Leo the Last John Boorman

Leo the Last

John Boorman

1969 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

All My Compatriots Vojtech Jasný

All My Compatriots

Vojtech Jasný

1969 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Antonio das Mortes Glauber Rocha

Antonio das Mortes

Glauber Rocha

1967 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Tízezer nap Ferenc Kósa

Tízezer nap

Ferenc Kósa

1966 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Lenin v Polshe Sergei Yutkevich

Lenin v Polshe

Sergei Yutkevich

1965 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Forest of the Hanged Liviu Ciulei

Forest of the Hanged

Liviu Ciulei

1961 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

The Story of the Flaming Years Yuliya Solntseva

The Story of the Flaming Years

Yuliya Solntseva

1959 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

The 400 Blows François Truffaut

The 400 Blows

François Truffaut

1958 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Brink of Life Ingmar Bergman

Brink of Life

Ingmar Bergman

1957 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

A Man Escaped Robert Bresson

A Man Escaped

Robert Bresson

1956 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Othello Sergei Yutkevich

Othello

Sergei Yutkevich

1955 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Heroes of Shipka Sergey Vasilev

Heroes of Shipka

Sergey Vasilev

1955 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Rififi Jules Dassin

Rififi

Jules Dassin

1952 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

Fanfan la Tulipe Christian-Jaque

Fanfan la Tulipe

Christian-Jaque

1951 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

The Young and the Damned Luis Buñuel

The Young and the Damned

Luis Buñuel

1949 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

The Walls of Malapaga René Clément

The Walls of Malapaga

René Clément

1946 Cannes Film Festival – Best Director

The Battle of the Rails René Clément

The Battle of the Rails

René Clément