The Asian Film Award for Best Director is presented annually by the Asian Film Awards Academy (AFAA), a non-profit organization founded by Busan International Film Festival, Hong Kong International Film Festival and Tokyo International Film Festival with the shared goal of celebrating excellence in Asian cinema.
History It was first presented in 2007 during the first edition of the awards. Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke was the first recipient of the award for his work in the drama Still Life. The most recent winner is Japanese director Daihachi Yoshida for the film Teki Cometh.
Japanese film director Hirokazu Kore-eda and South Korean director Lee Chang-dong both hold the record of most wins in the category with three; Kore-eda for Still Walking (2009), Broker (2023) and Monster (2024); Lee for Secret Sunshine (2008), Poetry (2011) and Burning (2019). They are also the only directors with multiple wins in the category. Hirokazu Koreeda is also the director with the most nominations for the award with six.
Winners and nominees
2000s Year Recipient(s) English title Original title 2007 Jia ZhangkeStill Life 三峡好人 Hong Sang-sooWoman on the Beach해변의 여인 Jafar PanahiOffsideآفساید Johnnie ToExiled放逐 Tsai Ming-liangI Don't Want to Sleep Alone黑眼圈 Apichatpong WeerasethakulSyndromes and a Centuryอภิชาติพงศ์ วีระเศรษฐกุล2008 Lee Chang-dongSecret Sunshine밀양 Peter ChanThe Warlords投名状 Jiang WenThe Sun Also Rises太阳照常升起 Ang LeeLust, Caution投名状 Masayuki SuoI Just Didn't Do Itそれでもボクはやってない Zhang LuDesert Dream경계2009 Hirokazu Kore-edaStill Walking歩いても 歩いても Feng XiaogangIf You Are the One 非诚勿扰 Kim Jee-woonThe Good, the Bad, the Weird좋은 놈, 나쁜 놈, 이상한 놈 Brillante MendozaServiceSerbis Hayao MiyazakiPonyo on the Cliff by the Sea崖の上のポニョ John WooRed Cliff赤壁
2010s Year Recipient(s) English title Original title 2010 Lu ChuanCity of Life and Death南京! 南京! Bong Joon-hoMother마더 Asghar FarhadiAbout Elly درباره الی, Darbareye Elly Brillante MendozaGrandmotherLola Sion SonoLove Exposure愛のむきだし YonfanPrince of Tears 淚王子2011 Lee Chang-dongPoetry시 Feng XiaogangAftershock唐山大地震 Jiang WenLet the Bullets Fly让子弹飞 Takashi Miike13 Assassins 十三人の刺客 Na Hong-jinThe Yellow Sea황해 Tetsuya NakashimaConfessions告白2012 Asghar FarhadiA Separation جدایی نادر از سیمین, Jodái-e Náder az Simin Teddy SoeriaatmadjaLovely Man Sion SonoGuilty of Romance 恋の罪 Tsui HarkFlying Swords of Dragon Gate龍門飛甲 Wei Te-shengSeediq Bale賽德克·巴萊 Zhang YimouThe Flowers of War金陵十三钗2013 Takeshi KitanoOutrage Beyondアウトレイジ ビヨンド Anurag Kashyap Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1 & 2 Abbas KiarostamiLike Someone in Loveライク・サムワン・イン・ラブ Kim Ki-dukPietà 피에타 Lou YeMystery浮城谜事2014 Wong Kar-waiThe Grandmaster一代宗師 Bong Joon-ho Snowpiercer 설국열차 Anthony Chen Ilo Ilo 爸妈不在家 Hirokazu Kore-edaLike Father, Like Son そして父になる, Soshite Chichi ni Naru Tsai Ming-liangStray Dogs Jiao You2015 Ann HuiThe Golden Era黃金時代 Vishal BhardwajHaider Lav DiazFrom What Is Before Mula sa Kung Ano ang Noon Hong Sang-sooHill of Freedom자유의 언덕 Lou YeBlind Massage推拿 Shinya TsukamotoFires on the PlainNobi2016 Hou Hsiao-hsienThe Assassin刺客聶隱娘 Guan HuMr. Six老炮兒 Jia ZhangkeMountains May Depart山河故人 Hirokazu Kore-edaOur Little Sister海街diary Ryoo Seung-wanVeteran베테랑2017 Na Hong-jinThe Wailing곡성 Lav DiazThe Woman Who LeftAng Babaeng Humayo Feng XiaogangI Am Not Madame Bovary我不是潘金莲 Kōji FukadaHarmonium淵に立つ Derek TsangSoul Mate七月與安生 2018 Yuya Ishii The Tokyo Night Sky Is Always the Densest Shade of Blue 映画 夜空はいつでも最高密度の青色だ Sylvia ChangLove Education 相愛相親 Chen KaigeLegend of the Demon Cat妖猫传 Feng XiaogangYouth芳华 Hong Sang-sooThe Day After그 후 Ann HuiOur Time Will Come明月幾時有2019 Lee Chang-dongBurning버닝 Pema Tseden Jinpa 撞死了一只羊 Rajkumar Hirani Sanju Hirokazu Kore-eda Shoplifters 万引き家族 Fruit Chan Three Husbands 三夫
2020s Year Recipient(s) English title Original title 2020 Wang XiaoshuaiSo Long, My Son地久天长 Pema TsedenBalloonདབུགས་ལྒང་། (Tibetan); 气球 (Simplified Chinese) Tsai Ming-liangDays 日子 Bong Joon-hoParasite 기생충 Chung Mong-hongA Sun 陽光普照 Nobuhiro SuwaVoices in the Wind 風の電話2021 Zhang Yimou One Second一秒钟 Adhilkan YerzhanovYellow Cat Kiyoshi Kurosawa Wife of a Spy スパイの妻 Ryusuke Hamaguchi Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy 偶然と想像 Lee Joon-ik The Book of Fish 자산어보 2023 Hirokazu Kore-eda Broker 브로커 Park Chan-wook Decision to Leave 헤어질 결심 Ryusuke Hamaguchi Drive My Car ドライブ・マイ・カー Davy Chou Return to Seoul Retour à Séoul Darezhan Omirbaev Poet Akyn 2024 Hirokazu Kore-eda Monster 怪物 Gu Xiaogang Dwelling by the West Lake 草木人間 Ryusuke Hamaguchi Evil Does Not Exist 悪は存在しない Kim Sung-su 12.12: The Day 서울의 봄 Prasanna Vithanage Paradise 2025 Daihachi Yoshida Teki Cometh 敵 Payal Kapadia All We Imagine as Light Jang Jae-hyun Exhuma 파묘 Guan Hu Black Dog 狗阵 Rithy Panh Meeting with Pol Pot Rendez-vous avec Pol Pot
See also Blue Dragon Film Award for Best Director Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director European Film Award for Best Director Golden Horse Award for Best Director Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director Silver Lion
References
External links Asian Film Awards Academy