| European Film Award for Best Director | |
|---|---|
 The 2023 recipient: Justine Triet | |
| Awarded for | Best Achievement in Directing |
| Presented by | European Film Academy |
| First awarded | Wim Wenders Wings of Desire (1988) |
| Currently held by | Justine Triet Anatomy of a Fall (2023) |
| Website | europeanfilmacademy |
The European Film Award for Best Director is an award given out at the annual European Film Awards to recognize a director who has exhibited outstanding directing while working in a film industry. The award is presented by the European Film Academy (EFA) and was first presented in 1988 to German director Wim Wenders for Wings of Desire.
Michael Haneke is the director with most wins in the category with three, followed by Pedro Almodóvar, Paolo Sorrentino and Paweł Pawlikowski, with two wins each. Almodovar is the most nominated director with six nominations for the award. Danish director Susanne Bier was the first female director to receive the award, winning for In a Better World in 2011.
| Year | Winner and nominees | English title | Original title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 (1st) |
 Wim Wenders |
Wings of Desire | Der Himmel über Berlin |
 Terence Davies |
Distant Voices, Still Lives | ||
 Manoel de Oliveira |
The Cannibals | Os Canibais | |
 Louis Malle |
Au revoir, les enfants | ||
 Sergei Parajanov |
Ashik Kerib | აშიკ-ქერიბი | |
| 1989 (2nd) |
 Géza Bereményi |
Eldorádó | |
 Theodoros Angelopoulos |
Landscape in the Mist | Τοπίο στην ομίχλη | |
 Maciej Dejczer |
300 Miles to Heaven | 300 mil do nieba | |
| Vasili Pichul |
Little Vera | Ма́ленькая Ве́ра (Malenkaya Vera) | |
 Jim Sheridan |
My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown | ||
| Year | Winner and nominees | English title | Original title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 (33rd) [22][23] |
 Thomas Vinterberg
|
Another Round | Druk |
| Agnieszka Holland |
Charlatan | Šarlatán | |
| Jan Komasa |
Corpus Christi | Boże Ciało | |
 Pietro Marcello |
Martin Eden | ||
| François Ozon |
Summer of 85 | Été 85 | |
 Maria Sødahl |
Hope | Håp | |
| 2021 (34th) |
 Jasmila Žbanić
|
Quo Vadis, Aida? | |
 Radu Jude |
Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn | Babardeală cu bucluc sau porno balamuc | |
| Florian Zeller |
The Father | ||
| Paolo Sorrentino |
The Hand of God | È stata la mano di Dio | |
| Julia Ducournau |
Titane | ||
| 2022 (35th) [24] |
 Ruben Östlund
|
Triangle of Sadness | |
 Lukas Dhont |
Close | ||
 Marie Kreutzer |
Corsage | ||
| Jerzy Skolimowski
|
Eo | ||
/  Ali Abbasi |
Holy Spider | ||
| Alice Diop
|
Saint Omer | ||
| 2023 (36th) |
Justine Triet
|
Anatomy of a Fall | Anatomie d'une chute |
 Aki Kaurismäki |
Fallen Leaves | Kuolleet lehdet | |
| Agnieszka Holland |
Green Border | Zielona granica | |
| Matteo Garrone |
Me Captain | Io capitano | |
| Jonathan Glazer |
The Zone of Interest | ||
| Wins | Director |
|---|---|
| 3 | Michael Haneke
|
| 2 |  Pedro Almodóvar
|
| Ruben Östlund
| |
| Paweł Pawlikowski
| |
| Paolo Sorrentino
|
