| AACTA Award Best Direction | |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Presented by | Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) |
| First awarded | 1971 |
| Currently held by | Baz Luhrmann, Elvis (2022) |
| Website | http://www.aacta.org |
The AACTA Award for Best Direction is an award presented by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA), a non-profit organisation whose aim is to "identify, award, promote and celebrate Australia's greatest achievements in film and television."[1] The award is presented at the annual AACTA Awards, which hand out accolades for achievements in feature film, television, documentaries and short films.[2]
From 1969 to 2010, the category was presented by the Australian Film Institute (AFI), the Academy's parent organisation, at the annual Australian Film Institute Awards (known as the AFI Awards).[3] When the AFI launched the Academy in 2011, it changed the annual ceremony to the AACTA Awards, with the current award being a continuum of the AFI Award for Best Direction.[3]
Bruce Beresford, Rolf de Heer, Ray Lawrence, Baz Luhrmann, George Miller, Fred Schepisi, Peter Weir and Jennifer Kent have received the award the most times with two each. Paul Cox has been nominated seven times, more than any other director with one win.
In the following table, the years listed correspond to the year of film release; the ceremonies are usually held the same year.[A] The director in bold and in dark blue background have received a special award; those in bold and in yellow background have won a regular competitive award. Those that are neither highlighted nor in bold are the nominees. Within each year, the table lists the winning director first and then the other nominees.[4][5]