| German Film Award for Best Director | |
| Image Upright: | 0.85 |
| Awarded For: | Excellence in Cinematic Direction |
| Presenter: | Deutsche Filmakademie |
| Country: | Germany |
| Year: | Josef von Báky Two Times Lotte (1951) |
| Holder: | Nora Fingscheidt System Crasher (2020) |
The German Film Award for Best Director recognizes a film director who has exhibited outstanding directing while working in the German film industry.
The following individuals received two or more Best Director awards:
| Wins | Director |
|---|---|
| 4 | Bernhard Wicki |
| 3 | Andreas Dresen |
| Volker Schlöndorff | |
| Werner Schroeter | |
| Wim Wenders | |
| 2 | Fatih Akin |
| Helmut Dietl | |
| Rainer Werner Fassbinder | |
| Helmut Käutner | |
| Peter Lilienthal | |
| Johannes Schaaf | |
| Tom Tykwer | |
The following individuals received three or more Best Director nominations:
| Nominations | Director |
|---|---|
| 7 | Andreas Dresen |
| 6 | Tom Tykwer |
| 5 | Dominik Graf |
| Christian Petzold | |
| Wim Wenders | |
| 4 | Fatih Akin |
| Volker Schlöndorff | |
| Bernhard Wicki | |
| Year | Winner | English title | Original title | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Josef von Báky | Two Times Lotte | Das doppelte Lottchen | |
| 1952 | Award not given | |||
| 1953 | Rudolf Jugert | Nights on the Road (aka The Mistress) | Nachts auf den Straßen | |
| 1954 | Helmut Käutner | The Last Bridge | Die letzte Brücke | |
| 1955 | Alfred Weidenmann | Canaris | ||
| 1956 | Award not given | |||
| 1957 | Helmut Käutner | The Captain from Köpenick | Der Hauptmann von Köpenick | |
| 1958 | Robert Siodmak | The Devil Strikes at Night | Nachts, wenn der Teufel kam | |
| 1959 | Frank Wisbar | (aka Battle Inferno) | Hunde, wollt ihr ewig leben | |
| 1960 | Bernhard Wicki | The Bridge | Die Brücke | |
| 1961– 1964 | Award not given | |||
| 1965 | Kurt Hoffmann | The House in Karp Lane | Das Haus in der Karpfengasse | |
| 1966 | Ulrich Schamoni | It | Es | |
| Volker Schlöndorff | Young Törless | Der junge Törless | ||
| 1967 | Alexander Kluge | Yesterday Girl | Abschied von gestern (Anita G.) | |
| 1968 | Johannes Schaaf | Tattoo | Tätowierung | |
| 1969 | Peter Zadek | I'm an Elephant, Madame | Ich bin ein Elefant, Madame | |
| 1970 | Award not given | |||
| 1971 | Michael Fengler, Rainer Werner Fassbinder | Why Does Herr R. Run Amok? | Warum läuft Herr R. Amok? | |
| Volker Schlöndorff | The Sudden Wealth of the Poor People of Kombach | Der plötzliche Reichtum der armen Leute von Kombach | ||
| 1972 | Johannes Schaaf | Trotta | ||
| Bernhard Wicki | Das falsche Gewicht | |||
| 1973 | Award not given | |||
| 1974 | Roland Klick | Supermarket | Supermarkt | |
| 1975 | Wim Wenders | The Wrong Move | Falsche Bewegung | |
| 1976 | Award not given | |||
| 1977 | Volker Schlöndorff | Coup de Grâce | Der Fangschuß | |
| 1978 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | Despair | Despair – Eine Reise ins Licht | |
| Wim Wenders | The American Friend | Der amerikanische Freund | ||
| 1979 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | The Marriage of Maria Braun | Die Ehe der Maria Braun | |
| Werner Schroeter | Neapolitanische Geschwister | |||
| 1980 | Heidi Genée | 1+1=3 [de] | ||
| 1981 | Walter Bockmayer Rolf Bührmann | |||
| 1982 | Werner Schroeter | Day of the Idiots | Tag der Idioten | |
| 1983 | Peter Lilienthal | Dear Mr. Wonderful | ||
| Aufdermauer | ||||
| 1984 | Josef Rusnak | Cold Fever | Kaltes Fieber | |
| Kanakerbraut | ||||
| 1985 | Maria Knilli | Dear Karl | Lieber Karl | |
| Bernhard Wicki | Die Grünstein-Variante | |||
| 1986 | Hans-Jürgen Syberberg | Die Nacht | ||
| 1987 | Peter Lilienthal | Das Schweigen des Dichters | ||
| 1988 | Dominik Graf | The Cat | Die Katze | |
| 1989 | Maria Theresia Wagner | Die Nacht des Marders | ||
| 1990 | Uli Edel | Last Exit to Brooklyn | Letzte Ausfahrt Brooklyn | |
| Bernhard Wicki | Spider's Web | Das Spinnennetz | ||
| 1991 | Werner Schroeter | Malina | ||
| 1992 | Helmut Dietl | Schtonk! | ||
| 1993 | Adolf Winkelmann | Nordkurve | ||
| 1994 | ||||
| Year | Winners and nominees | English title | Original title | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Maybe… Maybe Not | " style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Der bewegte Mann | |
| Doris Dörrie | Nobody Loves Me | Keiner liebt mich | ||
| Dominik Graf | Die Sieger | |||
| 1996 | Romuald Karmakar | Deathmaker | " style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Der Totmacher |
| Rainer Kaufmann | Talk of the Town | Stadtgespräch | ||
| Dani Levy | Silent Night | Stille Nacht | ||
| 1997 | Helmut Dietl | Rossini – oder die mörderische Frage, wer mit wem schlief | ||
| Caroline Link | Beyond Silence | Jenseits der Stille | ||
| Roland Suso Richter | 14 Days to Life | 14 Tage lebenslänglich | ||
| 1998 | Wim Wenders | The End of Violence | Am Ende der Gewalt | |
| Tom Tykwer | Winter Sleepers | Winterschläfer | ||
| Joseph Vilsmaier | The Harmonists | Comedian Harmonists | ||
| 1999 | Tom Tykwer | Run Lola Run | Lola rennt | |
| Fatih Akın | Short Sharp Shock | Kurz und schmerzlos | ||
| Andreas Dresen | Nightshapes | Nachtgestalten | ||
| Year | Winners and nominees | English title |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | System Crasher | |
| I Was, I Am, I Will Be | ||
| Berlin Alexanderplatz | ||
| 2021 | I'm Your Man | |
| Maria Speth | Herr Bachmann und seine Klasse | |
| 2022 | Andreas Kleinert | Dear Thomas |
| Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush | ||
| Sebastian Meise | Great Freedom | |
| 2023 | The Teachers' Lounge | |
| Holy Spider | ||
| All Quiet on the Western Front | ||
| Sonja Heiss | Wann wird es endlich wieder so, wie es nie war | |
| 2024 | In the Blind Spot | |
| Dying | ||
| The Universal Theory | ||