Winners

• 1999 (as Best Debut): Spike Jonze
  Spike Jonze
  Spike Jonze is an American director, producer and actor, whose work includes music videos, commercials, film and television...
  
  

for directing Being John Malkovich

Being John Malkovich

Being John Malkovich is a 1999 American black comedy-fantasy film written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Spike Jonze. It stars John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, and John Malkovich, who plays a fictional version of himself...

• 2001: Christopher Nolan
  Christopher Nolan
  Christopher Jonathan James Nolan is a British-American film director, screenwriter and producer.He received serious notice after his second feature Memento , which he wrote and directed based on a story idea by his brother, Jonathan Nolan. Jonathan went to co-write later scripts with him,...
  
  

for directing Memento

• 2002: Mark Romanek
  Mark Romanek
  Mark Romanek is an American filmmaker, whose directing work includes feature films, music videos and commercials.He wrote and directed the critically acclaimed 2002 film One Hour Photo starring Robin Williams...
  
  

for directing One Hour Photo

One Hour Photo

One Hour Photo is a 2002 American psychological thriller written and directed by Mark Romanek and starring Robin Williams. Fox Searchlight Pictures distributed the film in the United States. One Hour Photo also starred Connie Nielsen, Michael Vartan, Gary Cole, and Eriq La Salle. Williams won a...

• 2003: Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini

for directing American Splendor

American Splendor (film)

American Splendor is a 2003 American biographical comedy-drama film about Harvey Pekar, the author of the American Splendor comic book series. The film is also in part an adaptation of the comics, which dramatize Pekar's life...

• 2004: Zach Braff
  Zach Braff
  Zachary Israel "Zach" Braff is an American actor, screenwriter, producer, comedian, and director. Braff first became known in 2001 for his role as Dr. John Dorian on the television series Scrubs, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and three Golden Globe Awards.In 2004, Braff made his...
  
  

for directing Garden State

Garden State (film)

Garden State is a 2004 comedy-drama film written by, directed by, and starring Zach Braff, with Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, and Sir Ian Holm. The film centers on Andrew Largeman , a 26-year-old actor/waiter who returns to his hometown in New Jersey after his mother dies...

• 2005: Paul Haggis
  Paul Haggis
  Paul Edward Haggis is a Canadian screenwriter, producer, and director. He spent his early career producing and directing various American and Canadian television network series.-Early life and education:...
  
  

for directing Crash

Crash (2004 film)

Crash is a 2004 American drama film co-written, produced, and directed by Paul Haggis. The film is about racial and social tensions in Los Angeles, California. A self-described "passion piece" for Haggis, Crash was inspired by a real life incident in which his Porsche was carjacked outside a video...

• 2006: Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
  Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
  Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris are a team of American music video directors, also husband and wife, that received critical acclaim for their feature film directorial debut, Little Miss Sunshine....
  
  

for directing Little Miss Sunshine

Little Miss Sunshine

Little Miss Sunshine is a 2006 American comedy-drama film. The road movie's plot follows a family's trip to a children's beauty pageant.Little Miss Sunshine was the directorial film debut of the husband-wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. The screenplay was written by first-time writer...

• 2007: Sarah Polley
  Sarah Polley
  Sarah Polley is a Canadian actress, singer, film director, and screenwriter. Polley first attained notice in her role as Sara Stanley in the Canadian television series, Road to Avonlea...
  
  

for directing Away From Her

Away From Her

Away from Her is a 2006 Canadian film which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival and also played in the Premier category at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival...

• 2008: Tomas Alfredson
  Tomas Alfredson
  Tomas Alfredson is a Swedish film director, best known internationally for directing the 2008 vampire film Let the Right One In...
  
  

for directing Let the Right One In