# Silver Bear for Best Director

The Silver Bear for Best Director (German: Silberner Bär/Bester Regie) is an award presented annually at the Berlin International Film Festival since 1956. It is given for the best achievement in directing and is chosen by the International Jury from the films in the Competition slate at the festival.
At the 6th Berlin International Film Festival held in 1956, Robert Aldrich was the first winner of this award for his work on Autumn Leaves, and Philippe Garrel is the most recent winner in this category for his work on The Plough at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival in 2023.

## History

The award was first presented in 1956. The prize was not awarded on five occasions (1969, 1971, 1973–74, and 1981). In 1970, no awards were given as the festival was called off mid-way due to the controversy over official selection film, o.k. by Michael Verhoeven, which led to the resignation of the international jury. Mario Monicelli has received the most awards in this category, with three. Satyajit Ray is the only director to win the award in consecutive years, for Mahanagar (1964) and Charulata (1965). One directing team has shared the award: Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross for The Road to Guantánamo (2006). Astrid Henning-Jensen became the first woman to win the award, for Winterborn (1979).

## Winners
### 1950s

| Year | Director | English Title | Original Title |
| 1956 | Robert Aldrich | Autumn Leaves | Autumn Leaves |
| 1957 | Mario Monicelli | Fathers and Sons | Padri e figli |
| 1958 | Tadashi Imai | Jun'ai Monogatari | 純愛物語 |
| 1959 | Akira Kurosawa | The Hidden Fortress | 隠し砦の三悪人 |

### 1960s

| Year | Director | English Title | Original Title |
| 1960 | Jean-Luc Godard | Breathless | À bout de souffle |
| 1961 | Bernhard Wicki | The Miracle of Father Malachia | Das Wunder des Malachias |
| 1962 | Francesco Rosi | Salvatore Giuliano | Salvatore Giuliano |
| 1963 | Nikos Koundouros | Young Aphrodites | Μικρές Αφροδίτες |
| 1964 | Satyajit Ray | Mahanagar | মহানগর |
| 1965 | Satyajit Ray | Charulata | চারুলতা |
| 1966 | Carlos Saura | The Hunt | La Caza |
| 1967 | Živojin Pavlović | The Rats Woke Up | Buđenje pacova |
| 1968 | Carlos Saura | Peppermint Frappé | Peppermint Frappé |

### 1970s

| Year | Director | English Title | Original Title |
| 1972 | Jean-Pierre Blanc | The Old Maid | La Vieille Fille |
| 1975 | Sergei Solovyov | One Hundred Days After Childhood | Сто дней после детства |
| 1976 | Mario Monicelli | Caro Michele | Caro Michele |
| 1977 | Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón | Black Litter | Camada negra |
| 1978 | Georgi Djulgerov | Advantage | Авантаж |
| 1979 | Astrid Henning-Jensen | Winterborn | Vinterbørn |

### 1980s

| Year | Director | English Title | Original Title |
| 1980 | István Szabó | Bizalom | Bizalom |
| 1982 | Mario Monicelli | Il Marchese del Grillo | Il Marchese del Grillo |
| 1983 | Éric Rohmer | Pauline at the Beach | Pauline à la plage |
| 1984 | Costas Ferris | Rembetiko | Ρεμπέτικο |
| 1984 | Ettore Scola | Le Bal | Ballando ballando |
| 1985 | Robert Benton | Places in the Heart | Places in the Heart |
| 1986 | Giorgi Shengelaya | The Journey of a Young Composer | ახალგაზრდა კომპოზიტორის მოგზაურობა |
| 1987 | Oliver Stone | Platoon | Platoon |
| 1988 | Norman Jewison | Moonstruck | Moonstruck |
| 1989 | Dušan Hanák | I Love, You Love | Ja milujem, ty miluješ |

### 1990s

| Year | Director | English Title | Original Title |
| 1990 | Michael Verhoeven | The Nasty Girl | Das schreckliche Mädchen |
| 1991 | Jonathan Demme | The Silence of the Lambs | The Silence of the Lambs |
| 1991 | Ricky Tognazzi | Ultra | Ultrà |
| 1992 | Jan Troell | Il Capitano: A Swedish Requiem | Capitano|Il Capitano |
| 1993 | Andrew Birkin | The Cement Garden | The Cement Garden |
| 1994 | Krzysztof Kieślowski | Three Colours: White | Trois couleurs : Blanc |
| 1995 | Richard Linklater | Before Sunrise | Before Sunrise |
| 1996 | Richard Loncraine | Richard III | Richard III |
| 1996 | Yim Ho | The Sun Has Ears | 太陽有耳 |
| 1997 | Eric Heumann | Port Djema | Port Djema |
| 1998 | Neil Jordan | The Butcher Boy | The Butcher Boy |
| 1999 | Stephen Frears | The Hi-Lo Country | The Hi-Lo Country |

### 2000s

| Year | Director | English Title | Original Title |
| 2000 | Miloš Forman | Man on the Moon | Man on the Moon |
| 2001 | Lin Cheng-sheng | Betelnut Beauty | 愛你愛我 |
| 2002 | Otar Iosseliani | Monday Morning | Lundi matin |
| 2003 | Patrice Chéreau | Son frère | Son frère |
| 2004 | Kim Ki-duk | Samaritan Girl | 사마리아 |
| 2005 | Marc Rothemund | Sophie Scholl - The Final Days | Sophie Scholl - Die letzten Tage |
| 2006 | Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross | The Road to Guantánamo | The Road to Guantánamo |
| 2007 | Joseph Cedar | Beaufort | בופור |
| 2008 | Paul Thomas Anderson | There Will Be Blood | There Will Be Blood |
| 2009 | Asghar Farhadi | About Elly | درباره الی |

### 2010s

| Year | Director | English Title | Original Title |
| 2010 | Roman Polanski | The Ghost Writer | The Ghost Writer |
| 2011 | Ulrich Köhler | Sleeping Sickness | Schlafkrankheit |
| 2012 | Christian Petzold | Barbara | Barbara |
| 2013 | David Gordon Green | Prince Avalanche | Prince Avalanche |
| 2014 | Richard Linklater | Boyhood | Boyhood |
| 2015 | Radu Jude | Aferim! | Aferim! |
| 2015 | Malgorzata Szumowska | Body | Ciało |
| 2016 | Mia Hansen-Løve | Things to Come | L'Avenir |
| 2017 | Aki Kaurismäki | The Other Side of Hope | Toivon tuolla puolen |
| 2018 | Wes Anderson | Isle of Dogs | Isle of Dogs |
| 2019 | Angela Schanelec | I Was at Home, But | Ich war zuhause, aber |

### 2020s

| Year | Director | English Title | Original Title |
| 2020 | Hong Sang-soo | The Woman Who Ran | 도망친 여자 |
| 2021 | Dénes Nagy | Natural Light | Természetes fény |
| 2022 | Claire Denis | Both Sides of the Blade | Avec amour et acharnement |
| 2023 | Philippe Garrel | The Plough | Le grand chariot |
| 2024 | Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias | Pepe | Pepe |
| 2025 | Huo Meng | Living the Land | 生息之地 |

## Multiple winners

The following individuals received two or more Best Director awards:
| Number of Wins | Director(s) | Nationality | Films |
| 3 | Mario Monicelli | Italy | Fathers and Sons (1957), Caro Michele (1976), Il Marchese del Grillo (1982) |
| 2 | Satyajit Ray | India | Mahanagar (1964), Charulata (1965) |
| 2 | Carlos Saura | Spain | The Hunt (1966), Peppermint Frappé (1968) |
| 2 | Richard Linklater | United States | Before Sunrise (1995), Boyhood (2014) |