| César Award for Best Director | |
| Presenter: | Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma |
| Country: | France |
| Year: | 1976 |
| Holder: | Justine Triet for Anatomy of a Fall (2024) |
The César Award for Best Director (fr|César de la meilleure réalisation) is an award presented annually by the Académie des Lumières since 1976. It was presented as the César du meilleur réalisateur from 1976 to 2015.[1] [2] [3]
| Superlative | Men | Women | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Most awards | Roman Polanski | 5 | Tonie Marshall Justine Triet | 1 | |
| Most nominations | Alain Resnais | 8 | Nicole Garcia & Maïwenn | 3 | |
| Most nominations without winning | Claude Miller | 7 | Nicole Garcia & Maïwenn | 3 | |
| Oldest winner | Roman Polanski | 86 | Tonie Marshall | 48 | |
| Oldest nominee | Alain Resnais | 84 | Agnès Varda | 57 | |
| Youngest winner | Xavier Dolan | 27 | Justine Triet | 45 | |
| Youngest nominee | Luc Besson | 26 | Maïwenn | 35 | |
| Year | Winner and nominees | English title | Original title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 (1st) | Bertrand Tavernier | Let Joy Reign Supreme | Que la fête commence... |
| Robert Enrico | The Old Gun | Le Vieux Fusil | |
| Jean-Paul Rappeneau | Call me Savage | Le Sauvage | |
| François Truffaut | The Story of Adele H. | L'Histoire d'Adèle H. | |
| 1977 (2nd) | Joseph Losey | Mr. Klein | Monsieur Klein |
| Claude Miller | The Best Way to Walk | ||
| Bertrand Tavernier | The Judge and the Assassin | Le Juge et l'assassin | |
| André Téchiné | Barocco | ||
| 1978 (3rd) | Alain Resnais | Providence | |
| Luis Buñuel | That Obscure Object of Desire | Cet obscur objet du désir | |
| Claude Miller | This Sweet Sickness | Dites-lui que je l'aime | |
| Pierre Schoendoerffer | Drummer-Crab | Le Crabe-Tambour | |
| 1979 (4th) | Christian de Chalonge | Other People's Money | |
| Michel Deville | Dossier 51 | Le Dossier 51 | |
| Ariane Mnouchkine | Molière | ||
| Claude Sautet | A Simple Story | Une histoire simple | |
| Year | Winner and nominees | English title | Original title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 (45th) | Roman Polanski | An Officer and a Spy | J'accuse |
| Nicolas Bedos | La Belle Époque | ||
| François Ozon | By the Grace of God | Grâce à Dieu | |
| Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache | The Specials | Hors normes | |
| Ladj Ly | Les Misérables | ||
| Céline Sciamma | Portrait of a Lady on Fire | Portrait de la jeune fille en feu | |
| Arnaud Desplechin | Oh Mercy! | Roubaix, une lumière | |
| 2021 (46th) [4] | Albert Dupontel | Bye Bye Morons | Adieu les cons |
| DNA | ADN | ||
| Adolescents | Adolescentes | ||
| Love Affair(s) | Les Choses qu'on dit, les choses qu'on fait | ||
| Summer of 85 | Été 85 | ||
| 2022 (47th) [5] | Leos Carax | Annette | |
| Happening | L'Événement | ||
| Titane | |||
| Lost Illusions | Illusions perdues | ||
| Onoda, 10 000 nuits dans la jungle | |||
| The Stronghold | BAC Nord | ||
| Aline | |||
| 2023 (48th) | Dominik Moll | The Night of the 12th | La Nuit du 12 |
| The Innocent | L'Innocent | ||
| November | Novembre | ||
| Rise | En corps | ||
| Pacifiction | Pacifiction : Tourment sur les Îles | ||
| 2024 (49th) | Justine Triet (nominated for the Academy Award) | Anatomy of a Fall | Anatomie d'une chute |
| Last Summer | L'Été dernier | ||
| The Animal Kingdom | Le Règne animal | ||
| All Your Faces | Je verrai toujours vos visages | ||
| The Goldman Case | Le Procès Goldman | ||
The following individuals received two or more Best Director awards:
| Wins | Director |
|---|---|
| 5 | Roman Polanski |
| 3 | Jacques Audiard |
| 2 | Jean-Jacques Annaud |
| Albert Dupontel | |
| Abdellatif Kechiche | |
| Dominik Moll | |
| Alain Resnais | |
| Claude Sautet | |
| Bertrand Tavernier | |
The following individuals received three or more Best Director nominations:
| Nominations | Director |
|---|---|
| 8 | Alain Resnais |
| 7 | Jacques Audiard |
| Claude Miller | |
| Bertrand Tavernier | |
| André Téchiné | |
| 6 | Luc Besson |
| François Ozon | |
| 5 | Bertrand Blier |
| Arnaud Desplechin | |
| Patrice Leconte | |
| Roman Polanski | |
| 4 | Claude Berri |
| Michel Deville | |
| Jean-Paul Rappeneau | |
| Claude Sautet | |
| 3 | Patrice Chéreau |
| Alain Corneau | |
| Albert Dupontel | |
| Nicole Garcia | |
| Xavier Giannoli | |
| Abdellatif Kechiche | |
| Cedric Klapisch | |
| Maïwenn | |
| Olivier Nakache & Éric Toledano | |
| Maurice Pialat | |
| François Truffaut | |