Silver Bear for Best Director

Silver Bear for Best Director
Silberner Bär/Beste Regie (German)
2025 recipient: Huo Meng
Awarded for	Best Achievement in Direction
Country	Germany
Presented by	Berlin International Film Festival
First award	1956
Currently held by	Huo Meng Living the Land (2025)
Website	www.berlinale.de

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

Akira Kurosawa won for The Hidden Fortress (1956)

Satyajit Ray won twice for Mahanagar (1964) and Charulata (1965)

Mario Monicelli won thrice Fathers and Sons (1957), Caro Michele (1976), and Il Marchese del Grillo (1982)

Carlos Saura won twice for The Hunt (1966), and Peppermint Frappé (1968)

Eric Rohmer won for Pauline at the Beach (1983)

Richard Linklater won twice for Before Sunrise (1995), and Boyhood (2014)

Paul Thomas Anderson won for There Will Be Blood (2007)

Asghar Farhadi won for About Elly (2009)

Wes Anderson won for Isle of Dogs (2018)

Claire Denis won for Both Sides of the Blade (2022)

Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias won for Pepe (2024)

1950s

Year	Director	English Title	Original Title
1956	Robert Aldrich	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 [1]	隠し砦の三悪人

1960s

Year	Director	English Title	Original Title
1960	Jean-Luc Godard	Breathless [2]	À bout de souffle
1961	Bernhard Wicki	The Miracle of Father Malachia	Das Wunder des Malachias
1962	Francesco Rosi	Salvatore Giuliano [3]
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

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
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
1982	Mario Monicelli	Il Marchese del Grillo
1983	Éric Rohmer	Pauline at the Beach	Pauline à la plage
1984	Costas Ferris	Rembetiko	Ρεμπέτικο
	Ettore Scola	Le Bal	Ballando ballando
1985	Robert Benton	Places in the Heart
1986	Giorgi Shengelaya	The Journey of a Young Composer	ახალგაზრდა კომპოზიტორის მოგზაურობა
1987	Oliver Stone	Platoon
1988	Norman Jewison	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
	Ricky Tognazzi	Ultra	Ultrà
1992	Jan Troell	Il Capitano: A Swedish Requiem	Il Capitano
1993	Andrew Birkin	The Cement Garden
1994	Krzysztof Kieślowski	Three Colours: White	Trois couleurs : Blanc
1995	Richard Linklater	Before Sunrise
1996	Richard Loncraine	Richard III
	Yim Ho	The Sun Has Ears	太陽有耳
1997	Eric Heumann	Port Djema
1998	Neil Jordan	The Butcher Boy
1999	Stephen Frears	The Hi-Lo Country

2000s

Year	Director	English Title	Original Title
2000	Miloš Forman	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
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
2007	Joseph Cedar	Beaufort	בופור
2008	Paul Thomas Anderson	There Will Be Blood
2009	Asghar Farhadi	About Elly	درباره الی

2010s

Year	Director	English Title	Original Title
2010	Roman Polanski	The Ghost Writer
2011	Ulrich Köhler	Sleeping Sickness	Schlafkrankheit
2012	Christian Petzold	Barbara
2013	David Gordon Green	Prince Avalanche
2014	Richard Linklater	Boyhood
2015	Radu Jude	Aferim!
	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
2019	Angela Schanelec	I Was at Home, But	Ich war zuhause, aber

2020s

Year	Director	English Title	Original Title	Ref.
2020	Hong Sang-soo	The Woman Who Ran	도망친 여자	[4]
2021	Dénes Nagy	Natural Light	Természetes fény
2022	Claire Denis	Both Sides of the Blade	Avec amour et acharnement	[5]
2023	Philippe Garrel	The Plough	Le grand chariot	[6]
2024	Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias	Pepe
2025	Huo Meng	Living the Land	生息之地	[7]

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)
	Carlos Saura	Spain	The Hunt (1966), Peppermint Frappé (1968)
	Richard Linklater	United States	Before Sunrise (1995), Boyhood (2014)

See also

• Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director
• Silver Lion

References

1. Best Samurai Movies of All Time, Ranked - MovieWeb
2. Jean-Luc Godard, Enfant Terrible of Modern French Cinema, Dies at 91|The Hollywood Reporter
3. 8 Movies That Have Gotten Martin Scorsese's Seal of Approval - MovieWeb
4. Hong Sang-soo's latest film to compete at this year's Berlin film fest - Yonhap News Agency
5. Berlin Film Festival Awards: ‘Alcarràs’ Wins Golden Bear, Claire Denis Named Best Director - Deadline
6. Scott Roxborough (25 February 2023). "Berlin: French Documentary 'On the Adamant' Wins Golden Bear for Best Film". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
7. "The Prizes of the International Jury". www.berlinale.de. Retrieved 2025-02-22.

External links

• Berlinale website