The Directors Guild of America Awards are issued annually by the Directors Guild of America. The first DGA Award was an "Honorary Life Member" award issued in 1938 to D. W. Griffith. The statues are made by New York firm, Society Awards.
Categories
Competitive categories
Special awards
Discontinued categories
Winners – Motion Picture
Lifetime Achievement Award
(formerly the D. W. Griffith Lifetime Achievement Award)
1953: Cecil B. DeMille 1954: John Ford 1955: No award 1956: Henry King 1957: King Vidor 1958: No award 1959: Frank Capra 1960: George Stevens 1961: Frank Borzage 1962–1965: No award 1966: William Wyler 1967: No award 1968: Alfred Hitchcock 1969: No award 1970: Fred Zinnemann 1971–1972: No award 1973: William A. Wellman and David Lean 1974–1980: No award 1981: George Cukor 1982: Rouben Mamoulian 1983: John Huston 1984: Orson Welles 1985: Billy Wilder 1986: Joseph L. Mankiewicz 1987: Elia Kazan 1988: Robert Wise 1989: No award 1990: Ingmar Bergman 1991: No award 1992: Akira Kurosawa 1993: Sidney Lumet 1994: Robert Altman 1995: James Ivory 1996: Woody Allen 1997: Stanley Kubrick 1998: Francis Ford Coppola 1999: No award 2000: Steven Spielberg 2001: No award 2002: Martin Scorsese 2003: No award 2004: Mike Nichols 2005: No award 2006: Clint Eastwood 2007–2009: No award 2010: Norman Jewison 2011: Alice Guy-Blaché 2012: Miloš Forman 2013–2015: No award 2016: Ridley Scott 2017–2020: No award 2021: Spike Lee 2022–2023: No award 2024: Ang Lee
Outstanding Achievement in Feature Film
1948: Joseph L. Mankiewicz – A Letter to Three Wives ¿ 1949: Robert Rossen – All the King's Men ¿ ** 1950: Joseph L. Mankiewicz – All About Eve † ** 1951: George Stevens – A Place in the Sun † 1952: John Ford – The Quiet Man † 1953: Fred Zinnemann – From Here to Eternity † ** 1954: Elia Kazan – On the Waterfront † ** 1955: Delbert Mann – Marty † ** 1956: George Stevens – Giant † 1957: David Lean – The Bridge on the River Kwai † ** 1958: Vincente Minnelli – Gigi † ** 1959: William Wyler – Ben-Hur † ** 1960: Billy Wilder – The Apartment † ** 1961: Robert Wise – West Side Story † ** 1962: David Lean – Lawrence of Arabia † ** 1963: Tony Richardson – Tom Jones † ** 1964: George Cukor – My Fair Lady † ** 1965: Robert Wise – The Sound of Music † ** 1966: Fred Zinnemann – A Man for All Seasons † ** 1967: Mike Nichols – The Graduate † 1968: Anthony Harvey – The Lion in Winter ‡ 1969: John Schlesinger – Midnight Cowboy † ** 1970: Franklin Schaffner – Patton † ** 1971: William Friedkin – The French Connection † ** 1972: Francis Ford Coppola – The Godfather ‡ ** 1973: George Roy Hill – The Sting † ** 1974: Francis Ford Coppola – The Godfather Part II † ** 1975: Miloš Forman – One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest † ** 1976: John G. Avildsen – Rocky † ** 1977: Woody Allen – Annie Hall † ** 1978: Michael Cimino – The Deer Hunter † ** 1979: Robert Benton – Kramer vs. Kramer † ** 1980: Robert Redford – Ordinary People † ** 1981: Warren Beatty – Reds † 1982: Richard Attenborough – Gandhi † ** 1983: James L. Brooks – Terms of Endearment † ** 1984: Miloš Forman – Amadeus † ** 1985: Steven Spielberg – The Color Purple § 1986: Oliver Stone – Platoon † ** 1987: Bernardo Bertolucci – The Last Emperor † ** 1988: Barry Levinson – Rain Man † ** 1989: Oliver Stone – Born on the Fourth of July † 1990: Kevin Costner – Dances with Wolves † ** 1991: Jonathan Demme – The Silence of the Lambs † ** 1992: Clint Eastwood – Unforgiven † ** 1993: Steven Spielberg – Schindler's List † ** 1994: Robert Zemeckis – Forrest Gump † ** 1995: Ron Howard – Apollo 13 § 1996: Anthony Minghella – The English Patient † ** 1997: James Cameron – Titanic † ** 1998: Steven Spielberg – Saving Private Ryan † 1999: Sam Mendes – American Beauty † ** 2000: Ang Lee – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ‡ 2001: Ron Howard – A Beautiful Mind † ** 2002: Rob Marshall – Chicago ‡ ** 2003: Peter Jackson – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King † ** 2004: Clint Eastwood – Million Dollar Baby † ** 2005: Ang Lee – Brokeback Mountain † 2006: Martin Scorsese – The Departed † ** 2007: Joel and Ethan Coen – No Country for Old Men † ** 2008: Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire † ** 2009: Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker † ** 2010: Tom Hooper – The King's Speech † ** 2011: Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist † ** 2012: Ben Affleck – Argo § ** 2013: Alfonso Cuarón – Gravity † 2014: Alejandro G. Iñárritu – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) † ** 2015: Alejandro G. Iñárritu – The Revenant † 2016: Damien Chazelle – La La Land † 2017: Guillermo del Toro – The Shape of Water † ** 2018: Alfonso Cuarón — Roma † 2019: Sam Mendes — 1917 ‡ 2020: Chloe Zhao — Nomadland † ** 2021: Jane Campion — The Power of the Dog † 2022: The Daniels — Everything Everywhere All at Once † ** 2023: Christopher Nolan — Oppenheimer † ** 2024: Sean Baker - Anora † ** 2025: Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another † **
† – Director won the Academy Award. ‡ – Director did not win the Academy Award. § – Director was not nominated for Academy Award that year. ** – Film also won the Academy Award for Best Picture. ¿ – Originally, the DGA used a non-calendar year for its award. Both films competed in the 22nd Academy Awards for 1949, and both directors were nominated for Best Director; Mankiewicz won. All the King's Men won Best Picture; Rossen's DGA was not awarded until after the Oscars. (Beginning with the 1951 award in 1952, the DGA has been always awarded before the Oscars.)
Outstanding Achievement in Documentary
1991: Barbara Kopple – American Dream 1992: Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky – Brother's Keeper 1993: Barbara Kopple – Fallen Champ: The Untold Story of Mike Tyson 1994: Steve James – Hoop Dreams 1995: Terry Zwigoff – Crumb 1996: Al Pacino – Looking for Richard 1997: Michael Uys and Lexy Lovell – Riding the Rails 1998: Jerry Blumenthal, Peter Gilbert, and Gordon Quinn – Vietnam, Long Time Coming 1999: Nanette Burstein and Brett Morgen – On the Ropes 2000: Chuck Braverman – High School Boot Camp 2001: Chris Hegedus and Jehane Noujaim – Startup.com 2002: Tasha Oldham – The Smith Family 2003: Nathaniel Kahn – My Architect 2004: Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni – The Story of the Weeping Camel 2005: Werner Herzog – Grizzly Man 2006: Arūnas Matelis – Before Flying Back to Earth 2007: Asger Leth – Ghosts of Cité Soleil 2008: Ari Folman – Waltz with Bashir 2009: Louie Psihoyos – The Cove 2010: Charles Ferguson – Inside Job 2011: James Marsh – Project Nim 2012: Malik Bendjelloul – Searching for Sugar Man 2013: Jehane Noujaim – The Square 2014: Laura Poitras – Citizenfour 2015: Matthew Heineman – Cartel Land 2016: Ezra Edelman – O.J.: Made in America 2017: Matthew Heineman – City of Ghosts 2018: Tim Wardle – Three Identical Strangers 2019: Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert — American Factory 2020: Michael Dweck & Gregory Kershaw — The Truffle Hunters 2021: Stanley Nelson Jr. — Attica 2022: Sara Dosa – Fire of Love 2023: Mstyslav Chernov – 20 Days in Mariupol 2024: Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev – Porcelain War
Outstanding Achievement in First-Time Feature Film
2015: Alex Garland – Ex Machina 2016: Garth Davis – Lion 2017: Jordan Peele – Get Out 2018: Bo Burnham – Eighth Grade 2019: Alma Har'el — Honey Boy 2020: Darius Marder — Sound of Metal 2021: Maggie Gyllenhaal – The Lost Daughter 2022: Charlotte Wells – Aftersun 2023: Celine Song – Past Lives 2024: RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys 2025: Charlie Polinger - The Plague
Winners – Television
Lifetime Achievement Award 2014: James Burrows and Robert Butler 2015: Joe Pytka 2018: Don Mischer 2022: Robert A. Fishman 2023: David Nutter
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials 2012: Alejandro González Iñárritu (Procter & Gamble, "Best Job")
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series
1990: James Burrows – Cheers ("Woody Interruptus") 1991: Peter Bonerz – Murphy Brown ("Uh-Oh: Part 2") 1992: Tom Cherones – Seinfeld ("The Contest") 1993: James Burrows – Frasier ("The Good Son") 1994: David Lee – Frasier ("The Matchmaker") 1995: Gordon Hunt – Mad About You ("The Alan Brady Show") 1996: Andy Ackerman – Seinfeld ("The Rye") 1997: Andy Ackerman – Seinfeld ("The Betrayal") 1998: Thomas Schlamme – Sports Night ("Pilot") 1999: Thomas Schlamme – Sports Night ("Small Town") 2000: James Burrows – Will & Grace ("Lows in the Mid-Eighties") 2001: Todd Holland – Malcolm in the Middle ("Bowling") 2002: Bryan Gordon – Curb Your Enthusiasm ("The Special Section") 2003: Tim Van Patten – Sex and the City ("Boy, Interrupted") 2004: Tim Van Patten – Sex and the City ("An American Girl in Paris: Part Deux") 2005: Marc Buckland – My Name Is Earl ("Pilot") 2006: Richard Shepard – Ugly Betty ("Pilot") 2007: Barry Sonnenfeld – Pushing Daisies ("Pie-lette") 2008: Paul Feig – The Office ("Dinner Party") 2009: Jason Winer – Modern Family ("Pilot") 2010: Michael Spiller – Modern Family ("Halloween") 2011: Robert B. Weide – Curb Your Enthusiasm ("Palestinian Chicken") 2012: Lena Dunham – Girls ("Pilot") 2013: Beth McCarthy-Miller – 30 Rock ("Hogcock!" / "Last Lunch") 2014: Joey Soloway (as Jill Soloway) – Transparent ("Best New Girl") 2015: Chris Addison – Veep ("Election Night") 2016: Becky Martin – Veep ("Inauguration") 2017: Beth McCarthy-Miller – Veep ("Chicklet") 2018: Bill Hader – Barry ("Chapter One: Make Your Mark") 2019: Bill Hader – Barry ("ronny/lily") 2020: Susanna Fogel – The Flight Attendant ("In Case of Emergency") 2021: Lucia Aniello – Hacks ("There Is No Line")
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series
1971: Daniel Petrie – The Man and the City ("Hands of Love") 1972: Robert Butler – The Waltons ("Dust Bowl Cousins") 1973: Charles S. Dubin – Kojak ("Knockover") 1974: David Friedkin – Kojak ("Cross Your Heart, Hope to Die") 1975: James Cellan Jones – Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill 1976: Glenn Jordan – Family ("Rites of Friendship") 1977: John Erman – Roots ("Part II") 1978: Gene Reynolds – Lou Grant ("Prisoner") 1979: Roger Young – Lou Grant ("Cop") 1980: Roger Young – Lou Grant ("Lou") 1981: Robert Butler – Hill Street Blues ("Hill Street Station") 1982: David Anspaugh – Hill Street Blues ("Personal Foul") 1983: Jeff Bleckner – Hill Street Blues ("Life in the Minors") 1984: Thomas Carter – Hill Street Blues ("The Rise and Fall of Paul the Wall") 1985: Will Mackenzie – Moonlighting ("My Fair David") 1986: Will Mackenzie – Moonlighting ("Atomic Shakespeare") 1987: Marshall Herskovitz – thirtysomething ("Pilot") 1988: Marshall Herskovitz – thirtysomething ("Therapy") 1989: Eric Laneuville – L.A. Law ("I'm in the Nude for Love") 1990: Michael Zinberg – Quantum Leap ("The Leap Home" – Part II) 1991: Eric Laneuville – I'll Fly Away ("All God's Children") 1992: Rob Thompson – Northern Exposure ("Cicely") 1993: Gregory Hoblit – NYPD Blue ("Pilot") 1994: Charles Haid – ER ("Into That Good Night") 1995: Christopher Chulack – ER ("Hell and High Water") 1996: Christopher Chulack – ER ("Fear of Flying") 1997: Barbara Kopple – Homicide: Life on the Street ("The Documentary") 1998: Paris Barclay – NYPD Blue ("Hearts and Souls") 1999: David Chase – The Sopranos ("The Sopranos") 2000: Thomas Schlamme – The West Wing ("Noël") 2001: Alan Ball – Six Feet Under ("Pilot") 2002: John Patterson – The Sopranos ("Whitecaps") 2003: Christopher Misiano – The West Wing ("Twenty Five") 2004: Walter Hill – Deadwood ("Deadwood") 2005: Michael Apted – Rome ("The Stolen Eagle") 2006: Jon Cassar – 24 ("Day 5: 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.") 2007: Alan Taylor – Mad Men ("Smoke Gets in Your Eyes") 2008: Dan Attias – The Wire ("Transitions") 2009: Lesli Linka Glatter – Mad Men ("Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency") 2010: Martin Scorsese – Boardwalk Empire ("Boardwalk Empire")