Independent Spirit Award for Best Director

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.

Joel Coen , half of the established Coen Brothers , has won this award twice, for Blood Simple in 1985 and Fargo in 1996.
Martin Scorsese won in 1985 for After Hours .
Oliver Stone won for Platoon .
John Huston received the award posthumously for The Dead .
Charles Burnett won for To Sleep with Anger .
Robert Altman won for Short Cuts .
Quentin Tarantino received the award for Pulp Fiction .
Wes Anderson won for Rushmore .
Alexander Payne has won the award twice, for Election (1999) and Sideways (2004).
Ang Lee has won twice, for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and Brokeback Mountain (2005).
Todd Haynes won for Far from Heaven .
Sofia Coppola won for Lost in Translation .
Julian Schnabel won for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly .
Tom McCarthy has won for The Visitor (2008) and Spotlight (2015).
Darren Aronofsky won for Black Swan .
Steve McQueen won for 12 Years a Slave .
Richard Linklater won for Boyhood .
Barry Jenkins has won for Moonlight (2006) and If Beale Street Could Talk (2018).
Jordan Peele won for Get Out .