The National Board of Review Award for Best Directorial Debut is an annual film award given (since 1997, with the exceptions of 1998 and 2000) by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.
Notes ‡ = Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director ≠ = Nominated in other Oscar categories
Winners 1990s Year Winner Film 1997 Kasi Lemmons Eve's Bayou 1999 Kimberly Peirce Boys Don't Cry
2000s Year Winner Film 2001 John Cameron Mitchell Hedwig and the Angry Inch 2002 Rob Marshall ‡ Chicago 2003 Vadim Perelman House of Sand and Fog 2004 Zach Braff Garden State 2005 Julian Fellowes Separate Lies 2006 Jason Reitman Thank You for Smoking 2007 Ben Affleck Gone Baby Gone 2008 Courtney Hunt≠ Frozen River 2009 Duncan Jones Moon Oren Moverman≠ The Messenger Marc Webb (500) Days of Summer
2010s Year Winner Film 2010 Tim Hetherington & Sebastian Junger≠ Restrepo 2011 J. C. Chandor≠ Margin Call 2012 Benh Zeitlin ‡ Beasts of the Southern Wild 2013 Ryan Coogler Fruitvale StationNational Board of Review Awards Announced|Hollywood Reporter 2014 Gillian Robespierre Obvious Child 2015 Jonas Carpignano Mediterranea 2016 Trey Edward Shults Krisha 2017 Jordan Peele ‡ Get OutNational Board of Review Announces 2017 Award Winners < < Rotten Tomatoes 2018 Bo Burnham Eighth GradeNational Board of Review 2018 Award Winners: List in Full|Hollywood Reporter 2019 Melina Matsoukas Queen & SlimNational Board of Review Names "The Irishmen" the Year's Best Film - Yahoo Entertainment
2020s Year Winner Film 2020 Channing Godfrey Peoples Miss Juneteenth2021 National Board of Review Winner and Analysis - Variety 2021 Michael Sarnoski PigNational Board of Review Winners 2021:|IndieWire 2022 Charlotte Wells AftersunTop Gun: Maverick Named Best Movie of 2022 by National Board of Review - The Hollywood Reporter 2023 Celine Song≠ Past Lives 2024 India Donaldson Good One 2025 Eva Victor Sorry, Baby
References