- Chinonye Chukwu – “Till” (Orion/United Artists Releasing)
- Lukas Dhont – “Close” (A24)
- Todd Field – “Tár” (Focus Features)
- Matthew Heineman – “Retrograde” (National Geographic)
- S.S. Rajamouli – “RRR” (Variance Films)
Winner: Todd Field, “Tár”
Runner Up: Lukas Dhont
Honorable mentions: (in alphabetical order) — Ali Abbasi – “Holy Spider” (Utopia); Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert – “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24); George Miller – “Three Thousand Years of Longing” (MGM/United Artists Releasing); Sarah Polley – “Women Talking” (MGM/United Artists Releasing); Gina Prince-Bythewood – “The Woman King” (Sony Pictures)
