| Awarded For: | "Outstanding achievement in cinematic direction" |
| Presenter: | Pula Film Festival Jury |
| Country: | Yugoslavia (1955–1991) Croatia (1992–present) |
| Year: | 1955 |
| Holder: | Zrinko Ogresta (2021) |
| Website: | Official Website |
See main article: Pula Film Festival.
The Golden Arena for Best Director (Croatian: Zlatna arena za režiju) is an award given for best director at the Pula Film Festival, which was until 1992 the Yugoslav equivalent of the Academy Awards. Since 1992 and the breakup of Yugoslavia the competition narrowed to Croatian films only. The first festival was held in 1954, but the award was introduced in 1955.
| Year | Director | International title | Original title | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | No jury prizes awarded in 1954. | [1] | ||||
| 1955 | scope=row | Moments of Decision | Trenutki odločitve | [2] | ||
| 1956 | scope=row | Don't Look Back, My Son | Ne okreći se sine | [3] | ||
| 1957 | scope=row | Priests Ćira and Spira | Pop Ćira i pop Spira | [4] | ||
| 1958 | scope=row | H-8 | H-8 | [5] | ||
| 1959 | scope=row | Three Quarters of a Sun | Tri četrtine sonca | [6] | ||
| 1960 | scope=row | Atomic War Bride | Rat | [7] | ||
| 1961 | Golden Arena for Best Director not awarded in 1961 and 1962. | [8] [9] | ||||
| 1962 | ||||||
| align=left rowspan=2 | 1963 | scope=row | Face to Face | Licem u lice | [10] | |
| scope=row | Wild Growth | Samorastniki | ||||
| align=left rowspan=2 | 1964 | scope=row | March on the Drina | Marš na Drinu | [11] | |
| scope=row | Don't Cry, Peter | Ne joči, Peter | ||||
| 1965 | scope=row | Three | Tri | [12] | ||
| 1966 | scope=row | Monday or Tuesday | Ponedjeljak ili utorak | [13] | ||
| align=left rowspan=2 | 1967 | scope=row | The Morning | Jutro | [14] | |
| scope=row | I Even Met Happy Gypsies | Skupljači perja | ||||
| 1968 | scope=row | When I Am Dead and Gone | Kad budem mrtav i beo | [15] | ||
| 1969 | scope=row | Downstream from the Sun | Nizvodno od sunca | [16] | ||
| 1970 | scope=row | Handcuffs | Lisice | [17] | ||
| 1971 | scope=row | Black Seed | Crno seme | [18] | ||
| 1972 | scope=row | The Master and Margaret | Maestro i Margarita | [19] | ||
| 1973 | scope=row | Blossoms in Autumn | Cvetje v jesen | [20] | ||
| 1974 | scope=row | Death and the Dervish | Derviš i smrt | [21] | ||
| 1975 | scope=row | Fear | Strah | [22] | ||
| 1976 | scope=row | Beach Guard in Winter | Čuvar plaže u zimskom periodu | [23] | ||
| 1977 | scope=row | Manhunt | Hajka | [24] | ||
| 1978 | scope=row | Fragrance of Wild Flowers | Miris poljskog cveća | [25] | ||
| 1979 | scope=row | Journalist | Novinar | [26] | ||
| 1980 | scope=row | Special Treatment | Poseban tretman | [27] | ||
| 1981 | Golden Arena for Best Director not awarded in 1981. | [28] | ||||
| 1982 | scope=row | Living Like the Rest of Us | Živeti kao sav normalan svet | [29] | ||
| 1983 | scope=row | Something in Between | Nešto između | [30] | ||
| 1984 | scope=row | In the Jaws of Life | U raljama života | [31] | ||
| 1985 | scope=row | When Father Was Away on Business | Otac na službenom putu | [32] | ||
| 1986 | scope=row | Evening Bells | Večernja zvona | [33] | ||
| 1987 | scope=row | Hi-Fi | Haj-faj | [34] | ||
| 1988 | scope=row | The House by the Railway Tracks | Kuće pored pruge | [35] | ||
| 1989 | scope=row | Cafe Astoria | Kavana Astoria | [36] | ||
| 1990 | scope=row | The Windhunter | Veter v mreži | [37] | ||
| Year | Director | International title | Original title | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Festival cancelled. | [38] | ||||
| 1992 | scope=row | Story from Croatia | Priča iz Hrvatske | [39] | ||
| 1993 | scope=row | The Golden Years | Zlatne godine | [40] | ||
| 1994 | National film programme cancelled, no prizes awarded. | [41] | ||||
| 1995 | scope=row | Washed Out | Isprani | [42] | ||
| 1996 | scope=row | How the War Started on My Island | Kako je počeo rat na mom otoku | [43] | ||
| 1997 | scope=row | Mondo Bobo | Mondo Bobo | [44] | ||
| 1998 | scope=row | When the Dead Start Singing | Kad mrtvi zapjevaju | [45] | ||
| 1999 | scope=row | Red Dust | Crvena prašina | [46] | ||
| 2000 | scope=row | Celestial Body | Nebo, sateliti | [47] | ||
| 2001 | scope=row | Slow Surrender | Polagana predaja | [48] | ||
| 2002 | scope=row | Fine Dead Girls | Fine mrtve djevojke | [49] | ||
| 2003 | scope=row | Witnesses | Svjedoci | [50] | ||
| 2004 | scope=row | Long Dark Night | Duga mračna noć | [51] | ||
| 2005 | scope=row | What Iva Recorded | Što je Iva snimila 21. listopada 2003. | [52] | ||
| 2006 | scope=row | All for Free | Sve džaba | [53] | ||
| 2007 | scope=row | The Living and the Dead | Živi i mrtvi | [54] | ||
| 2008 | scope=row | No One's Son | Ničiji sin | [55] | ||
| align=left rowspan=2 | 2009 | scope=row | The Blacks | Crnci | [56] | |
| scope=row | ||||||
| 2010 | scope=row | Just Between Us | Neka ostane među nama | [57] | ||
| 2011 | scope=row | Daddy | Ćaća | [58] | ||
| 2012 | scope=row | Vegetarian Cannibal | Ljudožder vegetarijanac | [59] | ||
| 2013 | scope=row | A Stranger | Obrana i zaštita | [60] | ||
| 2014 | scope=row | Number 55 | Broj 55 | [61] | ||
| 2015 | scope=row | The High Sun | Zvizdan | [62] | ||
| 2016 | scope=row | On the Other Side | S one strane | [63] | ||
| 2017 | scope=row | Quit Staring at My Plate | Ne gledaj mi u pijat | [64] | ||
| 2018 | scope=row | Comic Sans | Comic Sans | [65] | ||
| 2019 | scope=row | The Diary of Diana B | Dnevnik Diane Budisavljević | [66] | ||
| 2020 | scope=row | Tereza37 | Tereza37 | |||
| 2021 | scope=row | A Blue Flower | Plavi cvijet | |||
| 2022 | scope=row | The Staffroom | Zbornica | |||
| 2023 | scope=row | Safe Place | Sigurno mjesto | |||
The following directors have received multiple awards. The list is sorted by the number of total awards. Years in bold indicate wins in Yugoslav competition (1955–1990). Shared wins are indicated with an asterisk (*).