BAFTA Award for Best Direction Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids BAFTA Award for Best Direction
The 2025 recipient: Paul Thomas Anderson
Presented by	British Academy of Film and Television Arts
Location	London
Country	United Kingdom
First awarded	1968
Currently held by	Paul Thomas Anderson for One Battle After Another (2025)

The BAFTA Award for Best Direction is a very special prize given each year by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). It celebrates the best film director for their amazing work on a movie. Think of a director as the captain of a ship, guiding everyone to make a fantastic film!

BAFTA is a famous British group that gives out awards for the best in movies, TV shows, and even video games. Since 1968, they have honored talented directors with this award at a big ceremony in London, United Kingdom. It's a huge achievement for anyone working in film!

The Story of the Award
What Does a Film Director Do?
Amazing Directors Who Have Won
Directors Who Won or Were Nominated Many Times
- Directors with Many Nominations
- Directors with Multiple Wins
Images for kids
See also

The Story of the Award

This award used to be called the David Lean Award for Achievement in Direction. It was named after a very famous British director, David Lean. He made many classic movies!

The award has been given out almost every year since it started. There was one year, in 1986, when no winner or nominees were recorded for films released in 1985. But since then, the awards have continued to celebrate the best directors.

What Does a Film Director Do?

A film director is like the main storyteller for a movie. They are in charge of how the film looks, sounds, and feels. They work closely with the actors, telling them how to perform their roles. They also guide the camera crew, lighting team, and everyone else on set to make sure their vision for the movie comes to life. It's a very creative and important job!

Amazing Directors Who Have Won

Many incredible directors have received the BAFTA Award for Best Direction over the years. These talented individuals are recognized for their vision and skill in bringing stories to life on the big screen.

For example, Mike Nichols won early on for his film The Graduate in 1968. Later, Bob Fosse was honored for Cabaret in 1972, and François Truffaut for Day for Night in 1973.

Some directors have even won multiple times! Roman Polanski won twice, for Chinatown and The Pianist. Woody Allen also won twice, for Annie Hall and Hannah and Her Sisters.

More recently, Christopher Nolan won in 2023 for his epic film Oppenheimer. And the latest winner, in 2025, was Paul Thomas Anderson for One Battle After Another. These awards show how much hard work and creativity goes into directing a successful movie!

Directors Who Won or Were Nominated Many Times

It's a big deal to win a BAFTA, but it's also a huge honor just to be nominated! Some directors have been recognized many times for their excellent work.

Directors with Many Nominations

10 nominations

Martin Scorsese

6 nominations

Steven Spielberg

5 nominations

4 nominations

3 nominations

2 nominations

Directors with Multiple Wins

Some directors are so talented that they have won the Best Direction award more than once!

2 wins

Images for kids

Mike Nichols won for The Graduate (1967)
Bob Fosse won for Cabaret (1972)
François Truffaut won for Day for Night (1973)
Roman Polanski won twice for Chinatown (1974) and The Pianist (2002)
Woody Allen won twice for Annie Hall (1977) & Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
Francis Ford Coppola won for Apocalypse Now (1979)
Akira Kurosawa won for Kagemusha (1980)
Kenneth Branagh won for Henry V (1989)
Martin Scorsese won for Goodfellas (1990)
Robert Altman won for The Player (1992)
Steven Spielberg won for Schindler's List (1993)
Joel Coen won for Fargo (1996) and No Country for Old Men (2007)
Peter Weir won twice for The Truman Show (1998) and Master and Commander (2003)
Pedro Almodóvar won for All About My Mother (1999)
Ang Lee won twice for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) & Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Peter Jackson won for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Mike Leigh won for Vera Drake (2004)
Danny Boyle won for Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Kathryn Bigelow won for The Hurt Locker (2009)
David Fincher won for The Social Network (2010)
Alfonso Cuarón won twice for Gravity (2013) and Roma (2018)
Richard Linklater won for Boyhood (2014)
Alejandro G. Iñárritu won for The Revenant (2015)
Damien Chazelle won for La La Land (2016)
Guillermo del Toro won for The Shape of Water (2017)
Sam Mendes won for 1917 (2019)
Chloe Zhao won for Nomadland (2020)
Jane Campion won for The Power of the Dog (2021)
Edward Berger won for All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)
Christopher Nolan won for Oppenheimer (2023)
Brady Corbet won for The Brutalist (2024)