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Silver Bear for Best Director

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Silver Bear for Best Director
Silberner Bär/Beste Regie (German)
2025 recipient: Huo Meng
Awarded forBest Achievement in Direction
CountryGermany
Presented byBerlin International Film Festival
First award1956
Currently held byHuo Meng
Living the Land (2025)
Websitewww.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

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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

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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), andPeppermint 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)
Huo Meng won for Living the Land (2025)

1950s

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Year Director English Title Original Title Ref.
1956 United States Robert Aldrich Autumn Leaves
1957 Italy Mario Monicelli Fathers and Sons Padri e figli
1958 Japan Tadashi Imai Jun'ai Monogatari 純愛物語
1959 Japan Akira Kurosawa The Hidden Fortress 隠し砦の三悪人 [1]

1960s

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Year Director English Title Original Title Ref.
1960 France Jean-Luc Godard Breathless À bout de souffle [2]
1961 Austria Switzerland Bernhard Wicki The Miracle of Father Malachia Das Wunder des Malachias
1962 Italy Francesco Rosi Salvatore Giuliano [3]
1963 Greece Nikos Koundouros Young Aphrodites Μικρές Αφροδίτες
1964 India Satyajit Ray Mahanagar মহানগর
1965 India Satyajit Ray Charulata চারুলতা
1966 Spain Carlos Saura The Hunt La Caza
1967 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Serbia Živojin Pavlović The Rats Woke Up Buđenje pacova
1968 Spain Carlos Saura Peppermint Frappé

1970s

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

1980s

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

1990s

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

2000s

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

2010s

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

2020s

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

Multiple winners

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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

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References

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  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.