The

German Film Award The German Film Award (), also known as Lola after its prize statuette, is the national film award of Germany. It is presented at an annual ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in the Cinema of Germany, German film industry. Besides being ...

for Best Director recognizes a

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

who has exhibited outstanding directing while working in the

German film industry The film industry in Germany can be traced back to the late 19th century. German cinema made major technical and artistic contributions to early film, broadcasting and television technology. Babelsberg became a household synonym for the early 2 ...

Multiple wins and nominations

The following individuals received two or more Best Director awards: The following individuals received three or more Best Director nominations:

All winners and nominees

1956-1996

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

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Nora Fingscheidt Nora Fingscheidt ( ) is a German director and screenwriter. She has been a participant of the film festival since 2011 for her short films, winning the prize in 2017 for ''Without This World'' (''Ohne diese Welt''). She became widely known for ...

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System Crasher ''System Crasher'' () is a 2019 German drama film directed by Nora Fingscheidt. Plot The nine-year-old Bernadette, known as “Benni”, is considered aggressive and wayward. If anyone but her mother touches her face, she lashes out – a conse ...

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İlker Çatak İlker Çatak (born in 1984 in Berlin) is a German film director and screenwriter of Turks in Germany, Turkish descent. He won the Foreign Film Gold Medal at the 2015 Student Academy Awards with his graduation film ''Fidelity'' (Original: ''Sadaka ...

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Burhan Qurbani Burhan Qurbani () (born in Erkelenz on 15 November 1980) is a German film director, writer and actor of Afghans in Germany, Afghan origin. His directing, writing, and acting works include ''Shahada (film), Shahada'' (2010), ''20xBrandenburg'' (20 ...

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Berlin Alexanderplatz ''Berlin Alexanderplatz'' () is a 1929 novel by Alfred Döblin. It is considered one of the most important and innovative works of the Weimar culture, Weimar Republic. In a 2002 poll of 100 noted writers, the book was named among the top 100 bo ...

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Maria Schrader Maria Schrader (born 27 September 1965) is a German actress, screenwriter, and director. She directed the award-winning 2007 film ''Love Life'' and the 2020 Netflix miniseries '' Unorthodox'', for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Ou ...

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Dominik Graf Dominik Graf (born 6 September 1952) is a German film director. He studied film direction at University of Television and Film Munich, from where he graduated in 1975. While he has directed several theatrically released feature films since the 198 ...

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Andreas Dresen Andreas Dresen (born 16 August 1963) is a German film director. His directing credits include ''Wolke Neun, Cloud 9'', ''Summer in Berlin (film), Summer in Berlin'', ''Grill Point'' and ''Night Shapes''. His film ''Stopped on Track'' premiered at ...

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Great Freedom ''Great Freedom'' () is a 2021 drama film directed by . In June 2021, the film was selected to compete in the ''Un Certain Regard'' section at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. At Cannes, the film won the Jury Prize in the ''Un Certain Regard'' sec ...

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Holy Spider ''Holy Spider'' () is a 2022 Persian-language crime thriller film co-produced, co-written and directed by Ali Abbasi, starring Mehdi Bajestani and Zar Amir Ebrahimi. Based on the true story of Saeed Hanaei, a serial killer who targeted street ...

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Edward Berger Edward Berger (; born 1970) is a Swiss nationality , Swiss and Austrian nationality law, Austrian director and screenwriter. He is known for his work in Germany, where he was born and grew up, such as the German films ''Jack (2014 film), Jack'' ...

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All Quiet on the Western Front ''All Quiet on the Western Front'' () is a semi-autobiographical novel by Erich Maria Remarque, a German veteran of World War I. The book describes the German soldiers' extreme physical and mental trauma during the war as well as the detachme ...

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Ayşe Polat Ayşe Polat (born 19 October 1970) is a German-Kurdish film director, screenwriter and film producer. Career In 1992 she releases the short film ''Fremdennacht'', which is supported by the Hamburg Film Bureau. Her 1994 short film :de:Ein_Fest_fü ...

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In the Blind Spot ''In the Blind Spot'' () is a 2023 German mystery thriller film directed and written by Ayşe Polat. Starring Katja Bürkle, Ahmet Varlı, Çağla Yurga and Aybi Era, the film is about Melek, a 7–year–old Turkish girl and her father Zafer, w ...

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Matthias Glasner Matthias Glasner is a German film director. Selected filmography *'' The Meds'' (1995) *''Sexy Sadie'' (1996) *''Fandango'' (2000) *''High Score'' (2001, TV film) *''Tatort: Flashback'' (2002, TV series episode) *''Die fremde Frau'' (2003, TV f ...

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Dying Dying is the final stage of life which will eventually lead to death. Diagnosing dying is a complex process of clinical decision-making, and most practice checklists facilitating this diagnosis are based on cancer diagnoses. Signs of dying ...

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Timm Kröger Timm Kröger (born 17 November 1985) is a German film director, screenwriter, cinematographer, producer and film editor. Life and career Born in Itzehoe, Kröger studied at the European Film College in Ebeltoft, Denmark and at the Film Academy ...

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Director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Awards established in 1951 Awards for best director