The award was first presented in 1946. The prize was not awarded on 12 occasions (1947, 1953–54, 1960, 1962–64, 1971, 1973–74, 1977, 1980). Additionally, the festival was not held at all in 1948, 1950 and 2020; while in 1968 no awards were given as the festival was called off mid-way due to the May 1968 events in France. Also, the jury vote was tied and prize was shared by two directors on seven occasions (1955, 1969, 1975, 1983, 2001, 2002, and 2016). Joel Coen of the Coen brothers has received the most awards in this category with three. One directing team have shared the award; Jean-Pierre &amp; Luc Dardenne for Young Ahmed in 2019. Yuliya Solntseva was the first woman to have won the award, for 1961's "Chronicle of Flaming Years".