In 1968, no awards were given as the festival was called off mid-way due to the May 1968 events in France.

Also, the jury vote was tied, and the prize was shared by two films on 10 occasions (1967, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1989, 1990, 1994, 2011, and 2021–22).

Andrei Tarkovsky, Bruno Dumont, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, and Matteo Garrone have won the most awards in this category, each winning twice.

Three directing teams have shared the award: Paolo and Vittorio Taviani for The Night of the Shooting Stars (1982), Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne for The Kid with a Bike (2011), and Joel and Ethan Coen for Inside Llewyn Davis (2013).

Márta Mészáros was the first woman to have won the award, for 1984's Diary for My Children.