Nominees for the Michael Apted Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Theatrical Feature Film Also Announced.
Los Angeles – Directors Guild of America President Christopher Nolan today announced the nominees for the DGA Awards for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film and for the Michael Apted Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Theatrical Feature Film for 2025.
“We could not be prouder to recognize the incredible work of this year’s nominees for their dedication to the art of filmmaking” said Nolan. “On behalf of the entire Guild community, I extend my congratulations to these directors on this achievement, and we look forward to celebrating your work at the DGA Awards.”
The winners will be announced at the 78th Annual DGA Awards on Saturday, February 7, 2026.
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Outstanding Directorial Achievement in
Theatrical Feature Film
The nominees for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film for 2025 are (in alphabetical order):
Paul Thomas Anderson
One Battle After Another
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
Directorial Team:
- Unit Production Manager: Will Weiske
- First Assistant Director: Adam Somner
- Second Assistant Director: Trevor Tavares, Ian Stone
- Second Second Assistant Director: Dominic Pacitti, Rafael Sanz-Jimenez
- Additional Second Assistant Director: Nuekellar Hardy, Chunning Chang, Kit Conners, Kasia Trojak, Tyler Young
Ryan Coogler
Sinners
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
Directorial Team:
- Unit Production Manager: Will Greenfield, Kenneth Yu
- First Assistant Director: Marvin Williams
- Second Assistant Director: Amir R. Khan
- Additional Second Assistant Director: Gregg Carr, Desiree Stevenson
Guillermo Del Toro
Frankenstein
(Netflix)
Directorial Team:
- Unit Production Manager: J. Miles Dale
- First Assistant Director: Walter Gasparovic
- Second Assistant Director: Chad Belair
Josh Safdie
Marty Supreme
(A24)
Directorial Team:
- Unit Production Manager: Anthony Katagas, Joe Guest
- First Assistant Director: Jeremy Marks
- Second Assistant Director: Zach Citarella
- Second Second Assistant Director: Kailyn Dabkowski
- Assistant Unit Production Manager: Max Samu, Suk Yi Mar, Samson Jacobson
- Location Manager: Matthew Kania, Ross Brodar
Chloé Zhao
Hamnet
(Focus Features)
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Michael Apted Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in
First-Time Theatrical Feature Film
The nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Theatrical Feature Film for 2025 are (in alphabetical order):
Hasan Hadi
The President’s Cake
(Sony Pictures Classics)
Harry Lighton
Pillion
(A24)
Charlie Polinger
The Plague
(Independent Film Company)
Alex Russell
Lurker
(MUBI)
Eva Victor
Sorry, Baby
(A24)
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For a complete list of nominations in all categories, please visit the Awards section.
