DGC Award for Best Direction in a Feature Film

The DGC Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film is an annual Canadian award, presented by the Directors Guild of Canada to honour the year's best direction in feature films in Canada.

Winners and nominees

2000s

Year	Film	Director	Ref
2002
	Rare Birds	Sturla Gunnarsson	^[1]
	A Nero Wolfe Mystery: "The Christmas Party"	Holly Dale	^[2]
	Queer as Folk: "French Fried"	Jeremy Podeswa
	Twice in a Lifetime: "Moonshine Over Harlem"	David Winning
2003
	Spider	David Cronenberg	^[3]
	Ararat	Atom Egoyan	^[4]
	Marion Bridge	Wiebke von Carolsfeld
	Savage Messiah	Mario Azzopardi
2004
	The Barbarian Invasions (Les Invasions barbares)	Denys Arcand	^[5]
	The Blue Butterfly (Le papillon bleu)	Léa Pool	^[6]
	Falling Angels	Scott Smith
	The Saddest Music in the World	Guy Maddin
2005
	Saint Ralph	Michael McGowan	^[7]
	Blood	Jerry Ciccoritti	^[8]
	The Confessor	Lewin Webb
	Pure	Jim Donovan
2006
	A History of Violence	David Cronenberg	^[9]
	3 Needles	Thom Fitzgerald	^[10]
	Niagara Motel	Gary Yates
	Where the Truth Lies	Atom Egoyan
2007
	Away from Her	Sarah Polley	^[11]
	Bon Cop, Bad Cop	Érik Canuel	^[12]
	Fido	Andrew Currie
	Poor Boy's Game	Clement Virgo
2008
	Eastern Promises	David Cronenberg	^[13]
	Fugitive Pieces	Jeremy Podeswa	^[14]
	My Winnipeg	Guy Maddin
	The Stone Angel	Kari Skogland
2009
	Fifty Dead Men Walking	Kari Skogland	^[15]
	Kit Kittredge: An American Girl	Patricia Rozema	^[16]
	One Week	Michael McGowan
	Passchendaele	Paul Gross

2010s

Year	Film	Director	Ref
2010
	Leslie, My Name Is Evil	Reginald Harkema	^[17]
	Chloe	Atom Egoyan	^[18]
	Faith, Fraud, & Minimum Wage	George Mihalka
	A Wake	Penelope Buitenhuis
2011
	Barney's Version	Richard J. Lewis	^[19]
	Gunless	William Phillips	^[20]
	Score: A Hockey Musical	Michael McGowan
	Splice	Vincenzo Natali
2012
	A Dangerous Method	David Cronenberg	^[21]
	Goon	Michael Dowse	^[22]
	The Samaritan	David Weaver
	Take This Waltz	Sarah Polley
2013
	Still Mine	Michael McGowan	^[23]
	Home Again	Sudz Sutherland	^[24]
	Moving Day	Mike Clattenburg
	Whitewash	Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais
2014
	The Grand Seduction	Don McKellar	^[25]
	Cas & Dylan	Jason Priestley	^[26]
	Empire of Dirt	Peter Stebbings
	The F Word	Michael Dowse
2015
	Elephant Song	Charles Binamé	^[27]
	The Calling	Jason Stone	^[28]
	Fall	Terrance Odette
	Preggoland	Jacob Tierney
2016
	Hyena Road	Paul Gross	^[29]
	Born to Be Blue	Robert Budreau	^[30]
	Remember	Atom Egoyan
	The Saver	Wiebke von Carolsfeld
2017
	Weirdos	Bruce McDonald	^[31]
	Awakening the Zodiac	Jonathan Wright	^[32]
	Mean Dreams	Nathan Morlando
	Two Lovers and a Bear	Kim Nguyen
	Undercover Grandpa	Érik Canuel
2018
	The Grizzlies	Miranda de Pencier	^[33]
	Adventures in Public School	Kyle Rideout	^[34]
	Giant Little Ones	Keith Behrman
	Mary Goes Round	Molly McGlynn
2019
	Mouthpiece	Patricia Rozema	^[35]
	Stockholm	Robert Budreau	^[35]
	Firecrackers	Jasmin Mozaffari	^[36]
	Freaks	Zach Lipovsky, Adam Stein
	Red Snow	Marie Clements

2020s

Year	Film	Director	Ref
2020
	In the Tall Grass	Vincenzo Natali	^[37]
	Akilla's Escape	Charles Officer	^[38]
	Our Own (Les Nôtres)	Jeanne Leblanc
	Rustic Oracle	Sonia Boileau
	Target Number One	Daniel Roby
2021
	Sugar Daddy	Wendy Morgan	^[39]
	All My Puny Sorrows	Michael McGowan	^[40]
	Brother, I Cry	Jessie Anthony
	Cinema of Sleep	Jeffrey St. Jules
	Come True	Anthony Scott Burns
	The Righteous	Mark O'Brien
2022
	Crimes of the Future	David Cronenberg	^[41]
	Delia's Gone	Robert Budreau	^[42]
	Donkeyhead	Agam Darshi
	Night Raiders	Danis Goulet
	Run Woman Run	Zoe Leigh Hopkins
	You Can Live Forever	Sarah Watts, Mark Slutsky
2023
	Women Talking	Sarah Polley	^[43]
	Brother	Clement Virgo	^[44]
	Days of Happiness (Les Jours heureux)	Chloé Robichaud
	Fitting In	Molly McGlynn
	Infinity Pool	Brandon Cronenberg
2024
	The Queen of My Dreams	Fawzia Mirza	^[45]
	We Forgot to Break Up	Karen Knox	^[45]
	Code 8: Part II	Jeff Chan	^[46]
	Really Happy Someday	J Stevens
	Village Keeper	Karen Chapman
2025
	40 Acres	R. T. Thorne	^[47]
	Final Destination: Bloodlines	Zach Lipovsky, Adam Stein
	Nika and Madison	Eva Thomas
	Rumours	Guy Maddin
	Two Women (Deux femmes en or)	Chloé Robichaud

References

^ Agnes Poirier, "Rare Birds soars at first annual Directors Guild of Canada awards". Screen Daily, October 8, 2002.
^ Sarah Kennedy, "Directors Guild unveils awards". The Globe and Mail, August 16, 2002.
^ "Spider, Degrassi, Trudeau win at DGC". Playback, October 13, 2003.
^ Distin Dinoff, "Spider, Queer as Folk top DGC nominations". Playback, August 18, 2003.
^ D. E. Seguin, "Arcand's awards run continues with Directors Guild of Canada accolade". Screen Daily, October 3, 2004.
^ Mary Nersessian, "Arcand scores Directors Guild nods". The Globe and Mail, August 13, 2004.
^ "Saint Ralph, Lives of the Saints win DGC Awards". The Globe and Mail, October 4, 2005.
^ Kerrin McNamara, "Two nods for Ciccoritti". Playback, August 15, 2005.
^ "David Cronenberg sweeps Directors Guild of Canada awards". CBC Arts, October 15, 2006.
^ "ReGenesis, History of Violence lead DGC noms". Playback, August 21, 2006.
^ "'Away From Her' takes best picture at Guild Awards". CTV News, September 30, 2007.
^ "Bon Cop, Away From Her to vie for film directing honours". CBC Arts, August 13, 2007.
^ "Cronenberg's Eastern Promises triumphs at directors guild awards". CBC Arts, November 9, 2008.
^ Etan Vlessing, "Cronenberg, Podeswa lead DGCs". Playback, August 11, 2008.
^ "'Flashpoint,' 'Passchendaele' big winners at Directors Guild bash". CTV News, October 26, 2009.
^ "Directors Guild announces nominees". The Globe and Mail, August 5, 2009.
^ "Cairo Time, CBC big winners at directors' awards". CBC News, September 26, 2010.
^ Craig Takeuchi, "Directors Guild of Canada Awards: Atom Egoyan's Chloe leads nominees". The Georgia Straight, July 8, 2010.
^ "Barney's Version, John A lead winners at Directors Guild Awards". CBC News, October 31, 2011.
^ "2011 Directors Guild of Canada Awards Nominees Announced". Canada NewsWire, August 15, 2011
^ Etan Vlessing, "David Cronenberg's 'A Dangerous Method,' Jon Cassar's 'The Kennedys' Dominate Directors Guild of Canada Awards". The Hollywood Reporter, October 21, 2012.
^ "Cronenberg's weighty 'A Dangerous Method' leads directors guild nominees". Canadian Press, July 12, 2012.
^ Linda Barnard, "Michael McGowan takes Directors Guild of Canada prize for Still Mine". Toronto Star, October 26, 2013.
^ Pat Mullen, "'Still Mine', 'Mama' Lead Directors Guild of Canada Nominations". Cinemablographer, July 11, 2013.
^ "The Directors Guild of Canada Honours the Best in the Business at the 13th Annual DGC Awards". Canada NewsWire, October 25, 2014.
^ Julianna Cummins, "2014 DGC Award nominees announced". Playback, June 20, 2014.
^ Jordan Pinto, "Book of Negroes, Mommy win top prizes at DGC Awards". Playback, October 25, 2015.
^ Pat Mullen, "'The Calling' Leads Directors Guild of Canada Nominations". Cinemablographer, June 18, 2015.
^ Barry Hertz, "Paul Gross takes top film honours at Directors Guild of Canada Awards". The Globe and Mail, October 22, 2016.
^ Regan Reid, "DGC names nominees for 2016 awards". Playback, June 22, 2016.
^ Jordan Pinto, "Vikings, Mary Kills People win at DGC Awards". Playback, October 30, 2017.
^ Greg David, "2017 Directors Guild of Canada awards nominees announced". TV, eh?, June 26, 2017.
^ Etan Vlessing, "'The Shape of Water' Wins for Production Design at Directors Guild of Canada Awards". The Hollywood Reporter, October 21, 2018.
^ Pat Mullen, "2018 Directors Guild of Canada Nominees for Documentary" Archived 2019-07-31 at the Wayback Machine. Point of View, September 20, 2018.
^ "Directors Guild of Canada names best homegrown films and TV shows". Q, October 28, 2019.
^ Connie Thiessen, "Jasmin Mozaffari's Firecrackers leads DGC Award nominations". Broadcast Dialogue, September 12, 2019.
^ Lauren Malyk, "Michelle Latimer, Vincenzo Natali among DGC film winners". Playback, October 28, 2020.
^ "Directors Guild of Canada reveals feature, doc and short film nods". RealScreen, September 22, 2020.
^ Nick Krewen, "Directors Guild of Canada reveals feature, doc and short film winners". Playback, October 25, 2021.
^ Kelly Townsend, "All My Puny Sorrows leads film nominees for 2021 DGC Awards". Playback, September 24, 2021.
^ Angelica Babiera, "David Cronenberg, Charles Officer among DGC award winners". Playback, November 7, 2022.
^ Etan Vlessing, "DGC Awards: 'Nightmare Alley,' 'Crimes of the Future,' 'Night Raiders' Lead Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter, September 23, 2022.
^ Connie Thiessen, "‘Women Talking’ leads winners at 22nd annual DGC Awards". Broadcast Dialogue, October 22, 2023.
^ Taimur Sikander Mirza, "Women Talking leads film nominees for 2023 DGC Awards". Playback, September 20, 2023.
^ Alex Nino Gheciu, "‘Queen of My Dreams,’ ‘We Forgot to Break Up’ tie for top Directors Guild award". Brandon Sun, October 28, 2024.
^ Connie Thiessen, "Sweet Angel Baby leads DGC Awards’ film nominations". Broadcast Dialogue, September 20, 2024.
^ Connie Thiessen, "DGC unveils film, doc nominees; Discovery Award short list". Broadcast Dialogue, September 22, 2025.

[1] Agnes Poirier, "Rare Birds soars at first annual Directors Guild of Canada awards". Screen Daily, October 8, 2002.

[2] Sarah Kennedy, "Directors Guild unveils awards". The Globe and Mail, August 16, 2002.

[3] "Spider, Degrassi, Trudeau win at DGC". Playback, October 13, 2003.

[4] Distin Dinoff, "Spider, Queer as Folk top DGC nominations". Playback, August 18, 2003.

[5] D. E. Seguin, "Arcand's awards run continues with Directors Guild of Canada accolade". Screen Daily, October 3, 2004.

[6] Mary Nersessian, "Arcand scores Directors Guild nods". The Globe and Mail, August 13, 2004.

[7] "Saint Ralph, Lives of the Saints win DGC Awards". The Globe and Mail, October 4, 2005.

[8] Kerrin McNamara, "Two nods for Ciccoritti". Playback, August 15, 2005.

[9] "David Cronenberg sweeps Directors Guild of Canada awards". CBC Arts, October 15, 2006.

[10] "ReGenesis, History of Violence lead DGC noms". Playback, August 21, 2006.

[11] "'Away From Her' takes best picture at Guild Awards". CTV News, September 30, 2007.

[12] "Bon Cop, Away From Her to vie for film directing honours". CBC Arts, August 13, 2007.

[13] "Cronenberg's Eastern Promises triumphs at directors guild awards". CBC Arts, November 9, 2008.

[14] Etan Vlessing, "Cronenberg, Podeswa lead DGCs". Playback, August 11, 2008.

[15] "'Flashpoint,' 'Passchendaele' big winners at Directors Guild bash". CTV News, October 26, 2009.

[16] "Directors Guild announces nominees". The Globe and Mail, August 5, 2009.

[17] "Cairo Time, CBC big winners at directors' awards". CBC News, September 26, 2010.

[18] Craig Takeuchi, "Directors Guild of Canada Awards: Atom Egoyan's Chloe leads nominees". The Georgia Straight, July 8, 2010.

[19] "Barney's Version, John A lead winners at Directors Guild Awards". CBC News, October 31, 2011.

[20] "2011 Directors Guild of Canada Awards Nominees Announced". Canada NewsWire, August 15, 2011

[21] Etan Vlessing, "David Cronenberg's 'A Dangerous Method,' Jon Cassar's 'The Kennedys' Dominate Directors Guild of Canada Awards". The Hollywood Reporter, October 21, 2012.

[22] "Cronenberg's weighty 'A Dangerous Method' leads directors guild nominees". Canadian Press, July 12, 2012.

[23] Linda Barnard, "Michael McGowan takes Directors Guild of Canada prize for Still Mine". Toronto Star, October 26, 2013.

[24] Pat Mullen, "'Still Mine', 'Mama' Lead Directors Guild of Canada Nominations". Cinemablographer, July 11, 2013.

[25] "The Directors Guild of Canada Honours the Best in the Business at the 13th Annual DGC Awards". Canada NewsWire, October 25, 2014.

[26] Julianna Cummins, "2014 DGC Award nominees announced". Playback, June 20, 2014.

[27] Jordan Pinto, "Book of Negroes, Mommy win top prizes at DGC Awards". Playback, October 25, 2015.

[28] Pat Mullen, "'The Calling' Leads Directors Guild of Canada Nominations". Cinemablographer, June 18, 2015.

[29] Barry Hertz, "Paul Gross takes top film honours at Directors Guild of Canada Awards". The Globe and Mail, October 22, 2016.

[30] Regan Reid, "DGC names nominees for 2016 awards". Playback, June 22, 2016.

[31] Jordan Pinto, "Vikings, Mary Kills People win at DGC Awards". Playback, October 30, 2017.

[32] Greg David, "2017 Directors Guild of Canada awards nominees announced". TV, eh?, June 26, 2017.

[33] Etan Vlessing, "'The Shape of Water' Wins for Production Design at Directors Guild of Canada Awards". The Hollywood Reporter, October 21, 2018.

[34] Pat Mullen, "2018 Directors Guild of Canada Nominees for Documentary" Archived 2019-07-31 at the Wayback Machine. Point of View, September 20, 2018.

[35] "Directors Guild of Canada names best homegrown films and TV shows". Q, October 28, 2019.

[36] Connie Thiessen, "Jasmin Mozaffari's Firecrackers leads DGC Award nominations". Broadcast Dialogue, September 12, 2019.

[37] Lauren Malyk, "Michelle Latimer, Vincenzo Natali among DGC film winners". Playback, October 28, 2020.

[38] "Directors Guild of Canada reveals feature, doc and short film nods". RealScreen, September 22, 2020.

[39] Nick Krewen, "Directors Guild of Canada reveals feature, doc and short film winners". Playback, October 25, 2021.

[40] Kelly Townsend, "All My Puny Sorrows leads film nominees for 2021 DGC Awards". Playback, September 24, 2021.

[41] Angelica Babiera, "David Cronenberg, Charles Officer among DGC award winners". Playback, November 7, 2022.

[42] Etan Vlessing, "DGC Awards: 'Nightmare Alley,' 'Crimes of the Future,' 'Night Raiders' Lead Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter, September 23, 2022.

[43] Connie Thiessen, "‘Women Talking’ leads winners at 22nd annual DGC Awards". Broadcast Dialogue, October 22, 2023.

[44] Taimur Sikander Mirza, "Women Talking leads film nominees for 2023 DGC Awards". Playback, September 20, 2023.

[45] Alex Nino Gheciu, "‘Queen of My Dreams,’ ‘We Forgot to Break Up’ tie for top Directors Guild award". Brandon Sun, October 28, 2024.

[46] Connie Thiessen, "Sweet Angel Baby leads DGC Awards’ film nominations". Broadcast Dialogue, September 20, 2024.

[47] Connie Thiessen, "DGC unveils film, doc nominees; Discovery Award short list". Broadcast Dialogue, September 22, 2025.

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DGC Award for Best Direction in a Feature Film

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