The Goya Award for Best Director (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

: ''Premio Goya a la mejor dirección'') is one of the

Goya Awards The Goya Awards ( es, Premios Goya) are Spain's main national annual film awards, commonly referred to as the Academy Awards of Spain. The awards were established in 1987, a year after the founding of the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sci ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

's principal national

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

awards. The category has been presented ever since the

first edition The bibliographical definition of an edition includes all copies of a book printed from substantially the same setting of type, including all minor typographical variants. First edition According to the definition of ''edition'' above, a b ...

of the

Fernando Fernán Gómez Fernando Fernández Gómez (28 August 1921 – 21 November 2007) better known as Fernando Fernán Gómez was a Spanish actor, screenwriter, film director, theater director and member of the Royal Spanish Academy for seven years. He was born i ...

was the first winner of this award for his film ''

Voyage to Nowhere ''Voyage to Nowhere'' ( es, El viaje a ninguna parte) is a 1986 Spanish comedy drama film written, starred and directed by Fernando Fernán Gómez. It is based on his own novel with the same title. Awards The film won the First Goya Award ever g ...

''.

Pedro Almodóvar Pedro Almodóvar Caballero (; (often known simply as Almodóvar) born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish filmmaker. His films are marked by melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular culture, and complex narra ...

holds the record of most wins and nominations for this category, with three wins out of eleven nominations, winning for '' All About My Mother'' (1999), '' Volver'' (2006) and ''

Pain and Glory ''Pain and Glory'' ( es, Dolor y gloria) is a 2019 Spanish drama film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. It stars Antonio Banderas, Asier Etxeandia, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Nora Navas, Julieta Serrano, and Penélope Cruz. The film was relea ...

'' (2019). Fernando León de Aranoa shares the record of most wins, having won three times out of four nominations, winning for ''

Barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish word that means " quarter" or " neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residential, commercial, industrial, etc.), social, a ...

'' (1998), ''

Mondays in the Sun ''Mondays in the Sun'' ( es, Los lunes al sol, links=no) is a 2002 drama film directed by Fernando León de Aranoa, starring Javier Bardem, Luis Tosar and José Ángel Egido. The film depicts the degrading effects of unemployment on a group of ...

'' (2002) and ''

The Good Boss ''The Good Boss'' ( es, El buen patrón, links=no) is a 2021 Spanish comedy-drama film directed and written by Fernando León de Aranoa and starring Javier Bardem. A corporate satire, the plot tracks a charismatic and manipulative factory owner m ...

'' (2021). Directors

Fernando Trueba Fernando Rodríguez Trueba (born 18 January 1955), known as Fernando Trueba, is a Spanish book editor, screenwriter, film director and producer. Between 1974 and 1979, he worked as a film critic for Spain's leading daily newspaper ''El País''. ...

Alejandro Amenábar Alejandro Fernando Amenábar Cantos (born March 31, 1972) is a Spanish-Chilean film director, screenwriter and composer. He has won nine Goyas—including a Goya Award for Best Director for his 2001 film '' The Others''— two European Film A ...

Isabel Coixet Isabel Coixet Castillo (; born 9 April 1960 ) is a Spanish film director. She is one of the most prolific film directors of contemporary Spain, having directed twelve feature-length films since the beginning of her film career in 1988, in additio ...

, and

Juan Antonio Bayona Juan Antonio García Bayona (born 9 May 1975) is a Spanish film director. He directed the 2007 horror film '' The Orphanage'', the 2012 drama film '' The Impossible'', and the 2016 fantasy drama film ''A Monster Calls''. Bayona's latest film i ...

have received this award twice. In the list below the winner of the award for each year is shown first, followed by the other nominees.