Independent Spirit Award for Best Director
| Independent Spirit Award for Best Director | |
|---|---|
 The 2025 recipient: Clint Bentley | |
| Awarded for | Best Director |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Film Independent |
| First award | 1985 |
| Currently held by | Clint Bentley for Train Dreams (2025) |
| Website | filmindependent |
The Film Independent's Spirit Award for Best Director is one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards.
History
It was first presented in 1985 with Joel Coen and Martin Scorsese being the first winners of the category for Blood Simple and After Hours, respectively.
Directors Barry Jenkins, Tom McCarthy, Joel Coen and Alexander Payne are the only winners who have received this award more than once, with two wins each. Todd Haynes holds the record of most nominations with six (winning one for Far from Heaven), followed by Gus Van Sant with five. Martha Coolidge was the first female director to win the award, receiving it in 1991. Chloé Zhao was the first female of color to win the category in 2020.
Winners and nominees
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1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Multiple nominations and wins
Multiple nominations
| Wins | Director |
|---|---|
7 |
Todd Haynes |
| 5 | Gus van Sant |
| 4 | Ang Lee |
| Alexander Payne | |
| 3 | Joel Coen[a] |
| Richard Linklater | |
| Jeff Nichols | |
| Ira Sachs | |
| Paul Schrader | |
| Steven Soderbergh | |
| Oliver Stone | |
| Sean Baker | |
Multiple wins
| Wins | Director |
|---|---|
| 2 | Barry Jenkins |
| Tom McCarthy | |
| Joel Coen[b] | |
| Ang Lee | |
| Alexander Payne | |
References
- ↑ Film Independent Spirit Awards - 34 Years of Nominees and Winners
- ↑ Barry Jenkins expected to join tiny group of double directing champs at Spirit Awards - GoldDerby
- ↑ The 1999 Spirit Awards: Gods, Monsters, Sex and Dog Turds|IndieWire
- ↑ "'The Limey,' 'Election' Got the Spirit". Hollywood.com. January 14, 2000. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
- ↑ "'Election' Elected by Spirit Awards". Hollywood.com. March 26, 2000. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
- ↑ "Tiger Takes 3 Spirit Awards". ABC News. March 24, 2001. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
- ↑ ""Memento" Has the Spirit". E! Online. March 23, 2002. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
- ↑ Hernandez, Eugene; Brooks, Brian (March 22, 2003). ""Far From Heaven" Sweeps 2003 Independent Spirit Awards". IndieWire. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
- ↑ Hernandez, Eugene (February 28, 2004). ""Lost In Translation" Tops Independent Spirit Awards, "Station Agent" Another Big Winner". IndieWire. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
- ↑ Hernandez, Eugene (February 28, 2005). "Sideways Wins Six at Independent Spirit Awards". IndieWire. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
- ↑ Germain, David (March 4, 2006). "'Brokeback' named best independent film". USA Today. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
- ↑ McNary, Dave (February 24, 2007). "'Sunshine' brightens Spirit Awards". Variety. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
- ↑ Siegel, Tatiana (February 23, 2008). "'Juno' tops Spirit Awards". Variety. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
- ↑ Brooks, Brian (February 21, 2009). ""The Wrestler" Leads 2009 Spirit Award Winners". IndieWire. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
- ↑ Breznican, Anthony (March 6, 2010). "'Precious' dominates Spirit Awards with 5 prizes". USA Today. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
- ↑ Knegt, Peter (February 27, 2011). ""Black Swan" Lead Spirit Award Winners". IndieWire. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
- ↑ McNary, Dave (February 25, 2012). "'The Artist' dominates Spirit Awards". Variety. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
- ↑ "Independent Spirit Awards 2013: Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. February 23, 2013. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
- ↑ Atkinson, Katie. "Independent Spirit Awards 2014: The winners list". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 26, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ↑ "Spirit Awards 2015: The Complete Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. February 21, 2015. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ↑ "Spirit Awards 2016: Complete Winners List". Variety. February 27, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ↑ Earl, William (February 26, 2017). "2017 Independent Spirit Awards: Full Winners List". IndieWire. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ↑ Nyren, Erin (March 3, 2018). "2018 Independent Spirit Awards: Winners List (Updating Live)". Variety. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ↑ Welk, Brian (February 24, 2019). "Independent Spirit Awards 2019: Complete Winners List". TheWrap. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony; Blyth, Antonia (February 8, 2020). "Independent Spirit Awards Redresses Female Balance With Wins For Lulu Wang, Olivia Wilde & Julia Reichert – Complete Winners List". Deadline. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ↑ Grobar, Matt (April 22, 2021). "'Nomadland' Wins Independent Spirit Awards For Best Picture, Director, Editing & Cinematography, Further Solidifying Oscars Prospects". Deadline. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
- ↑ Sharf, Zack (April 23, 2021). "2021 Independent Spirit Awards Winner's List". IndieWire. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
- ↑ Long, Brent; Tangcay, Jazz (December 14, 2021). "Indie Spirit Awards 2022: Full List of Nominations". Variety. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
- ↑ Davis, Clayton (November 22, 2022). "Independent Spirit Awards Nominations: 'Everything Everywhere' Leads With Eight Noms". Variety. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
- ↑ "Film Independent Spirit Awards (2024)". IMDb. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
- ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2024-12-04). "Spirit Awards Best Feature Nominees Include 'Anora', 'I Saw The TV Glow', 'Nickel Boys', 'Sing Sing' & 'The Substance'". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-12-04.
- ↑ Spirit Awards 2026 Nominations: Full List – Variety
- ↑ one with Ethan Coen
- ↑ First win was a tie with Martin Scorsese