German Film Award for Best Director
| German Film Award for Best Director | |
|---|---|
 Nora Fingscheidt | |
| Awarded for | Excellence in Cinematic Direction |
| Country | Germany |
| Presented by | Deutsche Filmakademie |
| First awarded | Josef von Báky Two Times Lotte (1951) |
| Currently held by | Nora Fingscheidt System Crasher (2020) |
| Website | deutscher-filmpreis |
The German Film Award for Best Director recognizes a film director who has exhibited outstanding directing while working in the German film industry.
Multiple wins and nominations
The following individuals received two or more Best Director awards:
| Wins | Director |
|---|---|
| 4 | Bernhard Wicki |
| 3 | Andreas Dresen |
| Volker Schlöndorff | |
| Werner Schroeter | |
| Wim Wenders | |
| 2 | Fatih Akin |
| Helmut Dietl | |
| Rainer Werner Fassbinder | |
| Helmut Käutner | |
| Peter Lilienthal | |
| Johannes Schaaf | |
| Tom Tykwer |
The following individuals received three or more Best Director nominations:
| Nominations | Director |
|---|---|
| 6 | Andreas Dresen |
| Tom Tykwer | |
| 5 | Christian Petzold |
| Wim Wenders | |
| 4 | Dominik Graf |
| Christian Petzold | |
| 3 | Caroline Link |
| Hans-Christian Schmid |
All winners and nominees
1956-1996
1990s
| Year | Winners and nominees | English title | Original title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Sönke Wortmann | Maybe… Maybe Not | Der bewegte Mann |
| Doris Dörrie | Nobody Loves Me | Keiner liebt mich | |
| Dominik Graf | The Invincibles | Die Sieger | |
| 1996 | Romuald Karmakar | Deathmaker | Der Totmacher |
| Rainer Kaufmann | Talk of the Town | Stadtgespräch | |
| Dani Levy | Silent Night | Stille Nacht | |
| 1997 | Helmut Dietl | Rossini | Rossini – oder die mörderische Frage, wer mit wem schlief |
| Caroline Link | Beyond Silence | Jenseits der Stille | |
| Roland Suso Richter | 14 Days to Life | 14 Tage lebenslänglich | |
| 1998 | Wim Wenders | The End of Violence | Am Ende der Gewalt |
| Tom Tykwer | Winter Sleepers | Winterschläfer | |
| Joseph Vilsmaier | The Harmonists | Comedian Harmonists | |
| 1999 | Tom Tykwer | Run Lola Run | Lola rennt |
Fatih Akın |
Short Sharp Shock | Kurz und schmerzlos | |
| Andreas Dresen | Nightshapes | Nachtgestalten |
2000s
2010s
2020s
| Year | Winners and nominees | English title |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Nora Fingscheidt | System Crasher |
| Ilker Çatak | I Was, I Am, I Will Be | |
| Burhan Qurbani | Berlin Alexanderplatz |