The Black Reel Award for Outstanding Director is an award presented annually by the Black Reel Awards (BRA). It is given in honor of a film director who has exhibited outstanding directing while working in the film industry.
| Black Reel Award for Outstanding Director | |
|---|---|
 The 2026 recipient: Ryan Coogler | |
| Awarded for | Outstanding Director |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Black Reel Awards (BRAs) |
| First award | 2000 (to Malcolm D. Lee for The Best Man) |
| Most recent winner | Ryan Coogler Sinners (2026) |
| Most awards | Ryan Coogler / Gina Prince-Bythewood (3) |
| Most nominations | Spike Lee (12) |
| Website | blackreelawards |
History
editDirector, Malcolm D. Lee took home the first award for The Best Man at the 1st Annual Black Reel Awards.
The Black Reel Awards for Outstanding Director and Black Reel Award for Outstanding Film has been closely linked throughout their history. Out of the 22 films that have been awarded Outstanding Film, 10 have also been awarded Outstanding Director.
Since its inception, the award has been given to 18 directors or directing teams. Ava DuVernay, Ryan Coogler, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Jordan Peele & Steve McQueen has received the most awards in this category with two. Spike Lee has been nominated eleven times, more than any other individual. At age 29, Ryan Coogler became the youngest director to win this award for his work on Creed. Thomas Carter holds the record for the oldest director to win at 52 for Coach Carter.
Brothers, Albert Hughes & Allen Hughes are the only directing team to share this award as they won for The Book of Eli at the 11th Annual Black Reel Awards. Gina Prince-Bythewood became the first woman to be nominated and win in this category for Love & Basketball.
Winners and nominees
editWinners are listed first and highlighted in bold.
2000s
edit2010s
edit2020s
editMultiple nominations and wins
editMultiple wins
editMultiple Nominees
edit
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Age superlatives
edit| Record | Director | Film | Age (in years) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oldest winner | Thomas Carter | Coach Carter | 52 |
| Oldest nominee | Spike Lee | Highest 2 Lowest | 68 |
| Youngest winner | Ryan Coogler | Creed | 29 |
| Youngest nominee | Rick Famuyiwa | The Wood | 26 |
Diversity of Nominees
editFemale nominees/winners
editTwenty female directors have been nominated for a total twenty-eight times in this category, and three have won the award.
- 2001 - Gina Prince-Bythewood for Love & Basketball‡
- 2007 - Sanaa Hamri for Something New
- 2008 - Gina Prince-Bythewood for The Secret Life of Bees†
- 2008 - Darnell Martin for Cadillac Records‡
- 2011 - Tanya Hamilton for Night Catches Us‡
- 2011 - Sanaa Hamri for Just Wright†
- 2012 - Ava DuVernay for I Will Follow
- 2012 - Dee Rees for Pariah†
- 2013 - Ava DuVernay for Middle of Nowhere†
- 2015 - Ava DuVernay for Selma‡
- 2015 - Amma Asante for Belle†
- 2015 - Gina Prince-Bythewood for Beyond the Lights†
- 2018 - Maggie Betts for Novitiate
- 2018 - Dee Rees for Mudbound †
- 2020 - Mati Diop for Atlantics
- 2020 - Kasi Lemmons for Harriet
- 2020 - Melina Matsoukas for Queen & Slim †
- 2021 - Regina King for One Night in Miami... †
- 2021 - Radha Blank for The Forty-Year-Old Version
- 2021 - Channing Godfrey Peoples for Miss Juneteenth
- 2022 - Halle Berry for Bruised
- 2022 - Nia DaCosta for Candyman
- 2022 - Rebecca Hall for Passing †
- 2023 - Gina Prince-Bythewood for The Woman King
- 2023 - Chinonye Chukwu for Till
- 2024 - Ava DuVernay for Origin †
- 2024 - A. V. Rockwell for A Thousand and One
- 2025 - Zoë Kravitz for Blink Twice
- 2026 - Nia DaCosta for Hedda
- 2026 - Rungano Nyoni for On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
Documentary nominees/winners
editThree directors of a documentary film have been nominated in this category.
- 2001 - Albert Hughes & Allen Hughes for American Pimp
- 2005 - Antoine Fuqua for Lightning in a Bottle
Animated nominees/winners
editOne director of an animated film has been nominated in this category.
- 2013 - Peter Ramsey for Rise of the Guardians
Non-English language nominees/winners
editReferences
edit- ↑ "Black Reel Awards (2000)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Black Reel Awards (2001)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Black Reel Awards (2002)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Black Reel Awards (2003)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Black Reel Awards (2004)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Black Reel Awards (2005)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Black Reel Awards (2006)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Black Reel Awards (2007)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Black Reel Awards (2008)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Black Reel Awards (2010)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Black Reel Awards (2011)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Black Reel Awards (2012)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Critics Wild About Beasts". Black Reel Awards. February 8, 2013. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
- ↑ "2014 Black Reel Awards – Nominees". Black Reel Awards. December 11, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
- ↑ "Black Reel Awards (2015)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Black Reel Awards (2016)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Black Reel Awards (2017)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Black Reel Awards (2018)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Black Reel Awards (2019)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Black Reel Awards (2020)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Black Reel Awards (2021)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Black Reel Awards (2022)". IMDb.
- ↑ The 22nd Black Reel Awards Honors its Winners, Led by The Harder They Fall|Festival & Awards|Roger Ebert
- ↑ "Black Reel Awards (2023)". IMDb.
- ↑ 23rd Black Reel award winners: 'The Woman King', 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever', 'The Inspection' - AwardsWatch
- ↑ Complex, Valerie (January 16, 2024). "Black Reel Awards Reveals Winners of Film and Television Categories; 'American Fiction' and 'The Color Purple' Take Home Top Honors". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
- ↑ "25th Annual Black Reel Awards Nominees". Black Reel Awards. December 19, 2024. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
- ↑ "26th Annual Black Reel Awards Nominees". Black Reel Awards. December 18, 2025. Retrieved December 18, 2025.