His directorial debut, "The Seventh Continent", won the Bronze Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival in 1989. He later won the Grand Prix at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival for "The Piano Teacher" and the Best Director Award for "Caché" at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. He subsequently directed the 2007 remake of his controversial 1997 film "Funny Games".