The BAFTA Award for Best Direction, formerly known as David Lean Award for Achievement in Direction, is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to a film director for a specific feature film.
BAFTA is a British organisation that hosts annual awards shows for film, television, and video games (and formerly also for children's film and television). Since 1968, selected films have been awarded with the BAFTA award for Best Direction at an annual ceremony.
In the following lists, the titles and names in bold with a gold background are the winners and recipients respectively; those not in bold are the remaining nominees. The winner is also the first name listed in each category.
History The award was originally known as David Lean Award for Achievement in Direction, in honour of British director David Lean.
There are no records showing any nominations, or a winner, for this award at the 39th British Academy Film Awards, presented in 1986 for films released in 1985.
Winners and nominees
1960s Year Director(s) Film Mike Nichols † The Graduate Lindsay Anderson if.... Carol Reed † Oliver! Franco Zeffirelli Romeo and Juliet John Schlesinger † Midnight Cowboy Richard Attenborough Oh! What a Lovely War Ken Russell Women in Love Peter Yates Bullitt
1970s Year Director(s) Film George Roy Hill Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Robert Altman M*A*S*H David Lean Ryan's Daughter Ken Loach Kes John Schlesinger Sunday Bloody Sunday Miloš Forman Taking Off Joseph Losey The Go-Between Luchino Visconti Death in Venice Bob Fosse † Cabaret Peter Bogdanovich The Last Picture Show William Friedkin † The French Connection Stanley Kubrick A Clockwork Orange François Truffaut Day for Night Luis Buñuel The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie Nicolas Roeg Don't Look Now Fred Zinnemann The Day of the Jackal Roman Polanski Chinatown Francis Ford Coppola The Conversation Sidney Lumet Murder on the Orient Express / Serpico Louis Malle Lacombe Lucien Stanley Kubrick Barry Lyndon Sidney Lumet Dog Day Afternoon Martin Scorsese Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore Steven Spielberg Jaws Miloš Forman † One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Alan J. Pakula All the President's Men Alan Parker Bugsy Malone Martin Scorsese Taxi Driver Woody Allen † Annie Hall Richard Attenborough A Bridge Too Far John G. Avildsen † Rocky Sidney Lumet Network Alan Parker Midnight Express Robert Altman A Wedding Steven Spielberg Close Encounters of the Third Kind Fred Zinnemann Julia Francis Ford Coppola Apocalypse Now Woody Allen Manhattan Michael Cimino † The Deer Hunter John Schlesinger Yanks
1980s Year Director(s) Film Akira Kurosawa Kagemusha Robert Benton † Kramer vs. Kramer David Lynch The Elephant Man Alan Parker Fame Louis Malle Atlantic City Bill Forsyth Gregory's Girl Hugh Hudson Chariots of Fire Karel Reisz The French Lieutenant's Woman Richard Attenborough † Gandhi Costa-Gavras Missing Mark Rydell On Golden Pond Steven Spielberg E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Bill Forsyth Local Hero James Ivory Heat and Dust Sydney Pollack Tootsie Martin Scorsese The King of Comedy Wim Wenders Paris, Texas Roland Joffé The Killing Fields Sergio Leone Once Upon a Time in America Peter Yates The Dresser Not awarded Woody Allen Hannah and Her Sisters Roland Joffé The Mission Neil Jordan Mona Lisa James Ivory A Room with a View Oliver Stone † Platoon Richard Attenborough Cry Freedom Claude Berri Jean de Florette John Boorman Hope and Glory Louis Malle Au revoir les enfants Gabriel Axel Babette's Feast Bernardo Bertolucci † The Last Emperor Charles Crichton A Fish Called Wanda Kenneth Branagh Henry V Stephen Frears Dangerous Liaisons Alan Parker Mississippi Burning Peter Weir Dead Poets Society
1990s Year Director(s) Film Martin Scorsese Goodfellas Woody Allen Crimes and Misdemeanors Bruce Beresford Driving Miss Daisy Giuseppe Tornatore Cinema Paradiso Alan Parker The Commitments Kevin Costner † Dances with Wolves Jonathan Demme † The Silence of the Lambs Ridley Scott Thelma & Louise Robert Altman The Player Clint Eastwood † Unforgiven James Ivory Howards End Neil Jordan The Crying Game Steven Spielberg † Schindler's List Richard Attenborough Shadowlands Jane Campion The Piano James Ivory The Remains of the Day Mike Newell Four Weddings and a Funeral Krzysztof Kieślowski Three Colours: Red Quentin Tarantino Pulp Fiction Robert Zemeckis † Forrest Gump Michael Radford Il Postino: The Postman Mel Gibson † Braveheart Nicholas Hytner The Madness of King George Ang Lee Sense and Sensibility Joel Coen Fargo Scott Hicks Shine Mike Leigh Secrets & Lies Anthony Minghella † The English Patient Baz Luhrmann Romeo + Juliet James Cameron † Titanic Peter Cattaneo The Full Monty Curtis Hanson L.A. Confidential Peter Weir The Truman Show Shekhar Kapur Elizabeth John Madden Shakespeare in Love Steven Spielberg † Saving Private Ryan1999 Pedro Almodóvar All About My Mother Neil Jordan The End of the Affair Sam Mendes † American Beauty Anthony Minghella The Talented Mr. Ripley M. Night Shyamalan The Sixth Sense
2000s Year Director(s) Film2000 Ang Lee Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Stephen Daldry Billy Elliot Ridley Scott Gladiator Steven Soderbergh † Erin Brockovich Traffic †2001 Peter Jackson The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Robert Altman Gosford Park Ron Howard † A Beautiful Mind Jean-Pierre Jeunet Amélie Baz Luhrmann Moulin Rouge!2002 Roman Polanski † The Pianist Stephen Daldry The Hours Peter Jackson The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Rob Marshall Chicago Martin Scorsese Gangs of New York2003 Peter Weir Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World Tim Burton Big Fish Sofia Coppola Lost in Translation Peter Jackson † The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Anthony Minghella Cold Mountain2004 Mike Leigh Vera Drake Marc Forster Finding Neverland Michel Gondry Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Michael Mann Collateral Martin Scorsese The Aviator2005 Ang Lee † Brokeback Mountain George Clooney Good Night, and Good Luck Paul Haggis Crash Fernando Meirelles The Constant Gardener Bennett Miller Capote2006 Paul Greengrass United 93 Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris Little Miss Sunshine Stephen Frears The Queen Alejandro González Iñárritu Babel Martin Scorsese † The Departed2007 Joel Coen and Ethan Coen † No Country for Old Men Paul Thomas Anderson There Will Be Blood Paul Greengrass The Bourne Ultimatum Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck The Lives of Others Joe Wright Atonement2008 Danny Boyle † Slumdog Millionaire Stephen Daldry The Reader Clint Eastwood Changeling David Fincher The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Ron Howard Frost/Nixon2009 Kathryn Bigelow † The Hurt Locker Neill Blomkamp District 9 James Cameron Avatar Lone Scherfig An Education Quentin Tarantino Inglourious Basterds
2010s Year Director(s) Film2010 David Fincher The Social Network Darren Aronofsky Black Swan Danny Boyle 127 Hours Tom Hooper † The King's Speech Christopher Nolan Inception2011 Michel Hazanavicius † The Artist Tomas Alfredson Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Lynne Ramsay We Need to Talk About Kevin Nicolas Winding Refn Drive Martin Scorsese Hugo2012 Ben Affleck Argo Kathryn Bigelow Zero Dark Thirty Michael Haneke Amour Ang Lee † Life of Pi Quentin Tarantino Django Unchained2013 Alfonso Cuarón † Gravity Paul Greengrass Captain Phillips Steve McQueen 12 Years a Slave David O. Russell American Hustle Martin Scorsese The Wolf of Wall Street2014 Richard Linklater Boyhood Wes Anderson The Grand Budapest Hotel Damien Chazelle Whiplash Alejandro G. Iñárritu † Birdman James Marsh The Theory of Everything2015 Alejandro G. Iñárritu † The Revenant Todd Haynes Carol Adam McKay The Big Short Ridley Scott The Martian Steven Spielberg Bridge of Spies2016 Damien Chazelle † La La Land Tom Ford Nocturnal Animals Ken Loach I, Daniel Blake Kenneth Lonergan Manchester by the Sea Denis Villeneuve Arrival2017 Guillermo del Toro † The Shape of Water Luca Guadagnino Call Me by Your Name Martin McDonagh Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Christopher Nolan Dunkirk Denis Villeneuve Blade Runner 20492018 Alfonso Cuarón † Roma Bradley Cooper A Star Is Born Yorgos Lanthimos The Favourite Spike Lee BlacKkKlansman Paweł Pawlikowski Cold War2019 Sam Mendes 1917 Bong Joon-ho † Parasite Todd Phillips Joker Martin Scorsese The Irishman Quentin Tarantino Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
2020s Year Director(s) Film 2020 Chloé Zhao † Nomadland Lee Isaac Chung Minari Sarah Gavron Rocks Shannon Murphy Babyteeth Thomas Vinterberg Another Round Jasmila Žbanić Quo Vadis, Aida?2021 Jane Campion † The Power of the Dog Paul Thomas Anderson Licorice Pizza Audrey Diwan Happening Julia Ducournau Titane Ryusuke Hamaguchi Drive My Car Aleem Khan After Love2022 Edward Berger All Quiet on the Western Front Park Chan-wook Decision to Leave Todd Field Tár Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert † Everything Everywhere All at Once Martin McDonagh The Banshees of Inisherin Gina Prince-Bythewood The Woman King2023 Christopher Nolan † Oppenheimer Bradley Cooper Maestro Jonathan Glazer The Zone of Interest Andrew Haigh All of Us Strangers Alexander Payne The Holdovers Justine Triet Anatomy of a Fall2024 Brady Corbet The Brutalist Jacques Audiard Emilia Pérez Sean Baker † Anora Edward Berger Conclave Coralie Fargeat The Substance Denis Villeneuve Dune: Part Two 2025 Paul Thomas Anderson † One Battle After Another Ryan Coogler Sinners Yorgos Lanthimos Bugonia Josh Safdie Marty Supreme Joachim Trier Sentimental Value Chloé Zhao Hamnet
Multiple wins and nominations Multiple nominations
10 nominations Martin Scorsese
6 nominations Steven Spielberg
5 nominations Richard Attenborough Alan Parker
4 nominations Woody Allen Robert Altman James Ivory Ang Lee Quentin Tarantino
3 nominations Paul Thomas Anderson Stephen Daldry Alejandro González Iñárritu Paul Greengrass Peter Jackson Neil Jordan Sidney Lumet Louis Malle Anthony Minghella Christopher Nolan John Schlesinger Ridley Scott Denis Villeneuve Peter Weir
2 nominations Edward Berger Kathryn Bigelow Danny Boyle James Cameron Jane Campion Damien Chazelle Joel Coen Bradley Cooper
Francis Ford Coppola Alfonso Cuarón Clint Eastwood David Fincher Miloš Forman Bill Forsyth Stephen Frears Ron Howard Roland Joffé Stanley Kubrick Yorgos Lanthimos Mike Leigh Ken Loach Baz Luhrmann Martin McDonagh Sam Mendes Roman Polanski Steven Soderbergh Peter Yates Chloe Zhao Fred Zinnemann
Multiple wins
2 wins Woody Allen Joel Coen Alfonso Cuarón Ang Lee
Louis Malle Alan Parker Roman Polanski John Schlesinger Peter Weir
See also Academy Award for Best Director 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
Notes
A: According to the BAFTAs database, Sidney Lumet received a single joint nomination for two different films.
References