Independent Spirit Award for Best Director

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Awarded forBest Director
Presented byFilm Independent
First award1985
Independent Spirit Award for Best Director
The 2025 recipient: Clint Bentley
Awarded forBest Director
CountryUnited States
Presented byFilm Independent
First award1985
Currently held byClint Bentley for Train Dreams (2025)
Websitefilmindependent.org

The Film Independent's Spirit Award for Best Director is one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards.

It was first presented in 1985 with Joel Coen and Martin Scorsese being the first winners of the category for Blood Simple and After Hours, respectively.

Directors Barry Jenkins, Tom McCarthy, Joel Coen and Alexander Payne are the only winners who have received this award more than once, with two wins each. Todd Haynes holds the record of most nominations with six (winning one for Far from Heaven), followed by Gus Van Sant with five. Martha Coolidge was the first female director to win the award, receiving it in 1991. Chloé Zhao was the first female of color to win the category in 2020.

Winners and nominees

Multiple nominations and wins

References

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