The feature directors panel on the morning of the annual awards has become one of the Guild's most popular events.

Over the past 30 years, Guild diversity committees have advanced the cause of women and minority members.

In the last two decades, Guild presidents have continued the fight for economic and creative rights.

Two films commissioned for the 75th anniversary commemorate the history of the Guild and the creative accomplishments of its members.

When Elliot Silverstein challenged the editing of a TV show, the DGA fought and won the battle for creative rights.

Amidst the rumblings of the blacklist, the Guild's membership met on Oct. 22, 1950 and battled over whether to recall its president. It turned out to be a crucial moment in Guild history.

As television arrived in the late ’40s and ’50s, the job of directing TV was defined. For young directors, it was the time of their lives.

The merger of East and West Coast directors in 1960 led to many of the benefits members enjoy today.

The Guild's youngest president was also a master craftsman and an unforgettable character, as a budding filmmaker recalls.

In 1949, the Guild launched its annual awards. Then as now, the idea was for directors to honor their own.

The commercial and documentary directors in the SDIG were initially fearful of being swallowed by the West Coast directors, but a happy merger was finally reached in 1965.

When President Frank Capra boldly threatened to boycott the Academy Awards in 1939, the Producers Association finally accepted the Guild.

The Guild and many prominent directors volunteered their creative talents to help win World War II. Their films from the front left a lasting record.

To understand how directors formed a guild - and, even more important, why they formed a guild - it's necessary to look at labor conditions in Hollywood in the '20s and early '30s.

When Josef von Sternberg's 1931 film An American Tragedy departed from Theodore Dreiser's novel, the author sued to protect his work. Dreiser lost, and the precedent-setting case established the right of studios and filmmakers to pursue their own vision.

Since the DGA Awards started in 1948, the show has evolved with the times, but the familial nature and collegial spirit have remained unchanged. Here's how it all happened.

The Visual History Program preserves a living record of the Guild with an ongoing series of in-depth interviews with members.

Over the years, the Guild and its professional staff have had to adjust to changing times, an industry in constant flux and the evolving needs of its members.

The Guild's history is a collection of accomplishments, big and small victories and extraordinary people who helped make it work. Here is a selective look at some of the highlights from the first 70 years.

The forward-thinking directors who came together to found the Guild in 1936 were seeking to protect the same creative rights the Guild fights for today.