Safdie brothers: Difference between revisions

Benny Safdie
Benny Safdie
Born	Benjamin Safdie; February 24, 1986 (age 38); New York City, New York, U.S.
Years active	2007–present

Josh Safdie
Josh Safdie
	Josh Safdie in 2010
Born	Joshua Safdie; April 3, 1984 (age 40); New York City, New York, U.S.
Years active	2007–present

The Safdie Brothers
The Safdie Brothers
Occupation(s)	Directors, writers, actors
Website	elarapictures.com

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Joshua Safdie (born April 3, 1984) and Benjamin Safdie (born February 24, 1986) are American independent filmmakers based in New York City, who frequently collaborate.

Early life

The Safdie brothers were raised in New York, the children of Amy and Alberto Safdie.^[4] They spent their childhood living between their father in Queens and with their mother and stepfather in Manhattan.^[5] Josh and Ben Safdie began making movies at a young age, inspired by their film-enthusiast father, Alberto. They attended P.S. 196 Grand Central Parkway in Queens and Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School in Manhattan.^[6] At Boston University, they co-founded, with Alex Kalman, the creative collective Red Bucket Films.^[5] The turmoil of their youth, as children of divorced parents, became an inspiration for later work.^[7] They are distantly related to famed architect Moshe Safdie.^[5] The Safdie brothers are Jewish. Their father, who is of Syrian Jewish ancestry, was raised in France and Italy.^[4]^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]

Career

The Pleasure of Being Robbed

In 2007, Josh Safdie was hired by Andy Spade and Anthony Sperduti to create a short film featuring Kate Spade Handbags.^[12] He devised a concise story about the adventures of a kleptomaniac woman.^[12] Eleonore Hendricks, who co-wrote the screenplay, portrayed the lead role.^[12] The project eventually turned into a feature film.^[12] The film, titled The Pleasure of Being Robbed, had its world premiere at the 2008 South by Southwest.^[13] It also screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, along with a short film The Acquaintances of a Lonely John directed by Benny Safdie.^[12]

Daddy Longlegs

Their second feature film, Daddy Longlegs, had its world premiere under the title Go Get Some Rosemary^[14] in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.^[15] Starring Ronald Bronstein, it was inspired by the filmmakers' younger years living with their father, Albert.^[7] Bronstein won the Breakthrough Actor Award at the Gotham Independent Film Awards 2010.^[16] The film won the John Cassavetes Award at the 26th Independent Spirit Awards.^[17]

Lenny Cooke

Their first full-length documentary film, Lenny Cooke, follows the life of Lenny Cooke, a once phenom high school basketball player, from adolescence to manhood.^[18] The film premiered at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival.^[19]

Heaven Knows What

In 2014, the Safdie Brothers produced Heaven Knows What under their Elara Pictures banner.^[20] The film centers around the real-life stories written in a book titled Mad Love in New York City by lead actress Arielle Holmes.^[21] The film had its world premiere at the 71st Venice International Film Festival.^[22] It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, the New York Film Festival, and the Tokyo International Film Festival.^[22]

Good Time

The Safdies directed the 2017 crime film Good Time, starring Robert Pattinson and Ben Safdie as siblings.^[23] The film was selected to compete for Palme d'Or in the main competition section at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.^[24]

Uncut Gems

The Safdies directed Uncut Gems, starring Adam Sandler, with Martin Scorsese serving as an executive producer.^[25] The film was inspired by their father's time working in the Manhattan Diamond District.^[7]^[10] The film had its world premiere at the 2019 Telluride Film Festival.^[26]

Future projects

In December 2017, The Hollywood Reporter announced that The Safdies will helm the 48 Hrs. remake with the script being written by Josh Safdie, Ronald Bronstein, and Jerrod Carmichael.^[27].

Filmography

Feature films

Title	Year	Director	Writer	Producer	Cinematographer	Editor	Actor
The Pleasure of Being Robbed	2008	Josh	Josh	Josh	Josh	Josh Benny	Josh
Daddy Longlegs	2009	Josh Benny	Josh Benny	—	Josh	Josh Benny	Josh
Lenny Cooke	2013	Josh Benny	—	—	Josh	Benny	—
Heaven Knows What	2014	Josh Benny	Josh	—	—	Benny	—
Good Time	2017	Josh Benny	Josh	—	—	Benny	Benny
Uncut Gems	2019	Josh Benny	Josh Benny	—	—	Benny	—

Awards and nominations

Year	Nominated work	Award	Category	Result
2009	Go Get Some Rosemary	Cannes Film Festival	C.I.C.A.E. Award	Nominated
2009		Gijón International Film Festival	Best Film	Nominated
2011		Independent Spirit Awards	John Cassavetes Award (Shared with Casey Neistat & Tom Scott)	Won
2014	Heaven Knows What	AFI Fest	American Independents	Nominated
2014	Lenny Cooke	Black Reel Awards	Outstanding Independent Documentary	Nominated
2015	Heaven Knows What	Gotham Awards	Best Feature (Shared with Oscar Boyson & Sebastian Bear-McClard)	Nominated
2015		Gotham Awards	Audience Award (Shared with Oscar Boyson & Sebastian Bear-McClard)	Nominated
2016		Independent Spirit Awards	Best Editing (Shared with Ronald Bronstein)	Nominated
2016		Independent Spirit Awards	John Cassavetes Award (Shared with Ronald Bronstein, Oscar Boyson & Sebastian Bear-McClard)	Nominated
2017	Good Time	Awards Circuit Community Awards	Honorable Mentions	Won
2017		Cannes Film Festival	Palme d'Or	Nominated
2017		Gotham Awards	Best Feature (Shared with Paris Kassidokostas-Latsis, Terry Dougas, Sebastian Bear-McClard & Oscar Boyson)	Nominated
2017		Gotham Awards	Audience Award (Shared with Paris Kassidokostas-Latsis, Terry Dougas, Sebastian Bear-McClard & Oscar Boyson)	Nominated
2018		Independent Spirit Awards	Best Director	Nominated
2018		Independent Spirit Awards	Best Editing (Shared with Ronald Bronstein)	Nominated
2019	Uncut Gems	Gotham Awards	Best Feature (Shared with Scott Rudin, Eli Bush & Sebastian Bear-McClard)	Nominated
2019		Gotham Awards	Audience Award (Shared with Scott Rudin, Eli Bush & Sebastian Bear-McClard)	Nominated
2019		Los Angeles Film Critics Association	Best Editing (Shared with Ronald Bronstein)	Nominated
2019		New York Film Critics Circle	Best Director	Won
2019		San Diego Film Critics Society	Best Director	Won
			Best Editing (Shared with Ronald Bronstein)	Nominated
			Best Original Screenplay	Nominated
2019		Seattle Film Critics Society	Best Director	Nominated
2019		Seattle Film Critics Society	Best Film Editing (Shared with Ronald Bronstein)	Nominated
2020		Critics' Choice Movie Awards	Best Director	Pending
2020		Critics' Choice Movie Awards	Best Editing (Shared with Ronald Bronstein)	Pending
2020		Independent Spirit Awards	Best Director	Pending
			Best Editing (Shared with Ronald Bronstein)	Pending
			Best Screenplay (Shared with Ronald Bronstein)	Pending

References

^ ^a ^b Ross, Alex Robert (July 23, 2019). "The Weeknd will appear alongside Adam Sandler in crime thriller Uncut Gems". The Fader. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
^ "Josh Safdie". AlloCiné. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
^ "Benny Safdie". AlloCiné. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
^ ^a ^b https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/16/the-safdie-brothers-full-immersion-filmmaking
^ ^a ^b ^c Janke, Art (Spring 2009). "Benny and Josh Make Movies". Bostonia.
^ Larocca, Amy (May 21, 2015). "The Star on the Sidewalk: How Arielle Holmes Went from Homeless Addict to Hollywood Actress". Vulture. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c Lim, Denis (May 13, 2010). "Growing Up With Dad, Distilled With Bite". The New York Times. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
^ Robinson, George (August 17, 2010). "Being The Safdie Brothers". The Jewish Week. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
^ Zeitchik, Steven (August 10, 2017). "Safdie brothers bring a New York flavor to breakout thriller 'Good Time'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
^ ^a ^b Barshad, Amos (August 21, 2017). "The Safdie Brothers Are Classic New York Hustlers". The Fader. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
^ Pfefferman, Naomi (June 17, 2015). "Life as lived by a homeless junkie". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Retrieved November 2, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Kohn, Eric (October 2, 2008). "iW PROFILE | "The Pleasure of Being Robbed" Director Josh Safdie". IndieWire. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
^ "The Pleasure of Being Robbed". South by Southwest. 2008. Archived from the original on March 11, 2008. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
^ Hernandez, Eugene (January 7, 2010). "3 More Sundance Films Set for Immediate VOD Debut". IndieWire. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
^ Nelson, Rob (May 16, 2009). "Go Get Some Rosemary". Variety. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
^ Karger, Dave (November 29, 2010). "'Winter's Bone' wins big at Gotham Awards". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
^ Fernandez, Sofia M. (February 26, 2011). "2011 Independent Spirit Awards Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
^ Diaz, Angel (December 7, 2013). "Interview: Lenny Cooke and the Filmmakers of His Documentary Talk About LeBron, Their Process, and Lenny's Regrets". Complex. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
^ Harris, Brandon (December 6, 2013). "Hoop Dreams: Josh and Benny Safdie on Lenny Cooke". Filmmaker. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
^ Yamato, Jen (April 23, 2014). "Safdie Bros Launch Elara Pictures Banner With Drama 'Heaven Knows What'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
^ Macaulay, Scott (April 28, 2015). "I Want to Take You Higher: Josh and Ben Safdie on Heaven Knows What". Filmmaker. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
^ ^a ^b Khawj, Abdulrahman (May 11, 2015). "Watch: Electric New Trailer For Josh And Ben Safdie's Award Winning 'Heaven Knows What'". IndieWire. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
^ Hoby, Hermione (November 16, 2017). "Good Time directors the Safdie brothers: 'Robert Pattinson was just a guy chasing work'". The Guardian. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
^ Porreca, Brian (May 25, 2017). "Cannes: 'Good Time' Starring Robert Pattinson Gets Overwhelming Standing Ovation". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
^ Greenblatt, Leah (October 18, 2019). "Adam Sandler on getting beat 'black and blue,' shooting nude scenes for Safdie Brothers' Uncut Gems". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
^ Lattanzio, Ryan (August 31, 2019). "Telluride Audiences Rattled by 'Uncut Gems,' an Endurance Test With a Great Adam Sandler Performance". IndieWire. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
^ Kit, Borys (December 14, 2017). "'48 Hrs.' Remake in the Works with 'Good Time' Filmmakers (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 1, 2018.

External links

Josh Safdie at IMDb
Benny Safdie at IMDb
Red Bucket Films

[thefader-1] Ross, Alex Robert (July 23, 2019). "The Weeknd will appear alongside Adam Sandler in crime thriller Uncut Gems". The Fader. Retrieved September 28, 2019.

[2] "Josh Safdie". AlloCiné. Retrieved September 28, 2019.

[3] "Benny Safdie". AlloCiné. Retrieved September 28, 2019.

[nyrk1-4] ttps://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/16/the-safdie-brothers-full-immersion-filmmaking

[ReferenceA-5] Janke, Art (Spring 2009). "Benny and Josh Make Movies". Bostonia.

[6] Larocca, Amy (May 21, 2015). "The Star on the Sidewalk: How Arielle Holmes Went from Homeless Addict to Hollywood Actress". Vulture. Retrieved September 28, 2019.

[ReferenceB-7] Lim, Denis (May 13, 2010). "Growing Up With Dad, Distilled With Bite". The New York Times. Retrieved September 28, 2019.

[8] Robinson, George (August 17, 2010). "Being The Safdie Brothers". The Jewish Week. Retrieved December 4, 2017.

[9] Zeitchik, Steven (August 10, 2017). "Safdie brothers bring a New York flavor to breakout thriller 'Good Time'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 28, 2019.

[thefader2017-10] Barshad, Amos (August 21, 2017). "The Safdie Brothers Are Classic New York Hustlers". The Fader. Retrieved November 14, 2019.

[11] Pfefferman, Naomi (June 17, 2015). "Life as lived by a homeless junkie". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Retrieved November 2, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

[iw2008-12] Kohn, Eric (October 2, 2008). "iW PROFILE | "The Pleasure of Being Robbed" Director Josh Safdie". IndieWire. Retrieved November 14, 2019.

[13] "The Pleasure of Being Robbed". South by Southwest. 2008. Archived from the original on March 11, 2008. Retrieved November 14, 2019.

[14] Hernandez, Eugene (January 7, 2010). "3 More Sundance Films Set for Immediate VOD Debut". IndieWire. Retrieved November 14, 2019.

[15] Nelson, Rob (May 16, 2009). "Go Get Some Rosemary". Variety. Retrieved November 14, 2019.

[16] Karger, Dave (November 29, 2010). "'Winter's Bone' wins big at Gotham Awards". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 14, 2019.

[17] Fernandez, Sofia M. (February 26, 2011). "2011 Independent Spirit Awards Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 14, 2019.

[18] Diaz, Angel (December 7, 2013). "Interview: Lenny Cooke and the Filmmakers of His Documentary Talk About LeBron, Their Process, and Lenny's Regrets". Complex. Retrieved November 14, 2019.

[19] Harris, Brandon (December 6, 2013). "Hoop Dreams: Josh and Benny Safdie on Lenny Cooke". Filmmaker. Retrieved September 28, 2019.

[20] Yamato, Jen (April 23, 2014). "Safdie Bros Launch Elara Pictures Banner With Drama 'Heaven Knows What'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 23, 2014.

[21] Macaulay, Scott (April 28, 2015). "I Want to Take You Higher: Josh and Ben Safdie on Heaven Knows What". Filmmaker. Retrieved November 14, 2019.

[indiewire2015-22] Khawj, Abdulrahman (May 11, 2015). "Watch: Electric New Trailer For Josh And Ben Safdie's Award Winning 'Heaven Knows What'". IndieWire. Retrieved November 14, 2019.

[23] Hoby, Hermione (November 16, 2017). "Good Time directors the Safdie brothers: 'Robert Pattinson was just a guy chasing work'". The Guardian. Retrieved September 28, 2019.

[24] Porreca, Brian (May 25, 2017). "Cannes: 'Good Time' Starring Robert Pattinson Gets Overwhelming Standing Ovation". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 28, 2019.

[25] Greenblatt, Leah (October 18, 2019). "Adam Sandler on getting beat 'black and blue,' shooting nude scenes for Safdie Brothers' Uncut Gems". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 14, 2019.

[26] Lattanzio, Ryan (August 31, 2019). "Telluride Audiences Rattled by 'Uncut Gems,' an Endurance Test With a Great Adam Sandler Performance". IndieWire. Retrieved November 14, 2019.

[27] Kit, Borys (December 14, 2017). "'48 Hrs.' Remake in the Works with 'Good Time' Filmmakers (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 1, 2018.

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@@ Line 134: / Line 134: @@
 |-
 | [[2009 Cannes Film Festival|2009]]
-| ''[[Go Get Some Rosemary]]''
+| rowspan="3"| ''[[Go Get Some Rosemary]]''
 | [[Cannes Film Festival]]
 | [[Cannes Film Festival|C.I.C.A.E. Award]]
 | {{nom}}
+|
+|-
+| [[Gijón International Film Festival|2009]]
+| [[Gijón International Film Festival]]
+| [[Gijón International Film Festival|Best Film]]
+| {{nom}}
+|
+|-
+| [[26th Independent Spirit Awards|2011]]
+| [[Independent Spirit Awards]]
+| [[Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award|John Cassavetes Award]]<br/><small>(Shared with [[Casey Neistat]] & Tom Scott)</small>
+| {{won}}
 |
 |-
@@ Line 153: / Line 165: @@
 | {{nom}}
 |
+|-
+| rowspan="2"| [[Gotham Independent Film Awards 2015|2015]]
+| rowspan="4"| ''[[Heaven Knows What]]''
+| rowspan="2"| [[Gotham Awards]]
+| [[Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Feature|Best Feature]]<br/><small>(Shared with Oscar Boyson & Sebastian Bear-McClard)</small>
+| {{nom}}
+| rowspan="2"|
+|-
+| [[Gotham Awards|Audience Award]]<br/><small>(Shared with Oscar Boyson & Sebastian Bear-McClard)</small>
+| {{nom}}
+|-
+| rowspan="2"| [[31st Independent Spirit Awards|2016]]
+| rowspan="2"| [[Independent Spirit Awards]]
+| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Editing|Best Editing]]<br/><small>(Shared with [[Ronald Bronstein]])</small>
+| {{nom}}
+| rowspan="2"|
+|-
+| [[Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award|John Cassavetes Award]]<br/><small>(Shared with [[Ronald Bronstein]], Oscar Boyson & Sebastian Bear-McClard)</small>
+| {{nom}}
 |-
 | 2017
-| rowspan="2"| ''[[Good Time (film)|Good Time]]''
+| rowspan="6"| ''[[Good Time (film)|Good Time]]''
 | Awards Circuit Community Awards
 | Honorable Mentions
@@ Line 166: / Line 197: @@
 | {{nom}}
 |
+|-
+| rowspan="2"| [[Gotham Independent Film Awards 2017|2017]]
+| rowspan="2"| [[Gotham Awards]]
+| [[Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Feature|Best Feature]]<br/><small>(Shared with Paris Kassidokostas-Latsis, Terry Dougas, Sebastian Bear-McClard & Oscar Boyson)</small>
+| {{nom}}
+| rowspan="2"|
+|-
+| [[Gotham Awards|Audience Award]]<br/><small>(Shared with Paris Kassidokostas-Latsis, Terry Dougas, Sebastian Bear-McClard & Oscar Boyson)</small>
+| {{nom}}
+|-
+| rowspan="2"| [[33rd Independent Spirit Awards|2018]]
+| rowspan="2"| [[Independent Spirit Awards]]
+| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
+| {{nom}}
+| rowspan="2"|
+|-
+| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Editing|Best Editing]]<br/><small>(Shared with [[Ronald Bronstein]])</small>
+| {{nom}}
+|-
+|-
+| rowspan="2"| [[Gotham Independent Film Awards 2019|2019]]
+| rowspan="14"| ''[[Uncut Gems]]''
+| rowspan="2"| [[Gotham Awards]]
+| [[Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Feature|Best Feature]]<br/><small>(Shared with Scott Rudin, Eli Bush & Sebastian Bear-McClard)</small>
+| {{nom}}
+| rowspan="2"|
+|-
+| [[Gotham Awards|Audience Award]]<br/><small>(Shared with Scott Rudin, Eli Bush & Sebastian Bear-McClard)</small>
+| {{nom}}
 |-
 | [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association|2019]]
-| rowspan="9"| ''[[Uncut Gems]]''
 | [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association]]
-| [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Editing|Best Editing]] <small>(Shared with [[Ronald Bronstein]])</small>
+| [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Editing|Best Editing]]<br/><small>(Shared with [[Ronald Bronstein]])</small>
 | {{nom}}
 |
@@ Line 186: / Line 245: @@
 | rowspan="3"|
 |-
-| [[San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing|Best Editing]] <small>(Shared with [[Ronald Bronstein]])</small>
+| [[San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing|Best Editing]]<br/><small>(Shared with [[Ronald Bronstein]])</small>
 | {{nom}}
 |-
@@ Line 198: / Line 257: @@
 | rowspan="2"|
 |-
-| [[Seattle Film Critics Society|Best Film Editing]] <small>(Shared with [[Ronald Bronstein]])</small>
+| [[Seattle Film Critics Society|Best Film Editing]]<br/><small>(Shared with [[Ronald Bronstein]])</small>
 | {{nom}}
 |-
@@ Line 207: / Line 266: @@
 | rowspan="2"|
 |-
-| [[Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Editing|Best Editing]] <small>(Shared with [[Ronald Bronstein]])</small>
+| [[Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Editing|Best Editing]]<br/><small>(Shared with [[Ronald Bronstein]])</small>
+| {{pending}}
+|-
+| rowspan="3"| [[35th Independent Spirit Awards|2020]]
+| rowspan="3"| [[Independent Spirit Awards]]
+| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
+| {{pending}}
+| rowspan="3"|
+|-
+| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Editing|Best Editing]]<br/><small>(Shared with [[Ronald Bronstein]])</small>
+| {{pending}}
+|-
+| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]]<br/><small>(Shared with [[Ronald Bronstein]])</small>
 | {{pending}}
 |}

v t e Films directed by Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie
Feature films directed together	Daddy Longlegs (2009) Heaven Knows What (2014) Good Time (2017) Uncut Gems (2019)
Josh only	The Pleasure of Being Robbed (2008) Adam Sandler: Love You (2024)
Benny only	The Smashing Machine (2025)
Documentaries	Lenny Cooke (2013, together)

v t e New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director
1935–1950	John Ford (1935) Rouben Mamoulian (1936) Gregory La Cava (1937) Alfred Hitchcock (1938) John Ford (1939) John Ford (1940) John Ford (1941) John Farrow (1942) George Stevens (1943) Leo McCarey (1944) Billy Wilder (1945) William Wyler (1946) Elia Kazan (1947) John Huston (1948) Carol Reed (1949) Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1950)
1951–1975	Elia Kazan (1951) Fred Zinnemann (1952) Fred Zinnemann (1953) Elia Kazan (1954) David Lean (1955) John Huston (1956) David Lean (1957) Stanley Kramer (1958) Fred Zinnemann (1959) Jack Cardiff / Billy Wilder (1960) Robert Rossen (1961) No Award (1962) Tony Richardson (1963) Stanley Kubrick (1964) John Schlesinger (1965) Fred Zinnemann (1966) Mike Nichols (1967) Paul Newman (1968) Costa-Gavras (1969) Bob Rafelson (1970) Stanley Kubrick (1971) Ingmar Bergman (1972) François Truffaut (1973) Federico Fellini (1974) Robert Altman (1975)
1976–2000	Alan J. Pakula (1976) Woody Allen (1977) Terrence Malick (1978) Woody Allen (1979) Jonathan Demme (1980) Sidney Lumet (1981) Sydney Pollack (1982) Ingmar Bergman (1983) David Lean (1984) John Huston (1985) Woody Allen (1986) James L. Brooks (1987) Chris Menges (1988) Paul Mazursky (1989) Martin Scorsese (1990) Jonathan Demme (1991) Robert Altman (1992) Jane Campion (1993) Quentin Tarantino (1994) Ang Lee (1995) Lars von Trier (1996) Curtis Hanson (1997) Terrence Malick (1998) Mike Leigh (1999) Steven Soderbergh (2000)
2001–present	Robert Altman (2001) Todd Haynes (2002) Sofia Coppola (2003) Clint Eastwood (2004) Ang Lee (2005) Martin Scorsese (2006) Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (2007) Mike Leigh (2008) Kathryn Bigelow (2009) David Fincher (2010) Michel Hazanavicius (2011) Kathryn Bigelow (2012) Steve McQueen (2013) Richard Linklater (2014) Todd Haynes (2015) Barry Jenkins (2016) Sean Baker (2017) Alfonso Cuarón (2018) Joshua Safdie and Benjamin Safdie (2019) Chloé Zhao (2020) Jane Campion (2021) S. S. Rajamouli (2022) Christopher Nolan (2023)