Film & Television

Best Director Academy Award Winners Trivia Word Search

74 original clues · new puzzle every time you play

Test your knowledge of Best Director Academy Award Winners with a free trivia word search from thewordfind.com. Read each clue, work out the answer, then find it hidden in the letter grid — every puzzle is freshly generated, so no two plays are ever quite the same. Don't know an answer? Tap the hint button in-game to reveal the first letter, or just scan the grid — every answer is hiding in there somewhere. Between the clues and the full answer key below, this topic doubles as a quick study guide — good for a trivia night, a classroom quiz, or just picking up something new about Best Director Academy Award Winners along the way.

Play This Puzzle →

A few sample clues

This director won Best Director in 1982 for a biopic titled simply '_ _ _ _ _ _.'

George _ _ _ _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 1951 for 'A Place in the Sun.'

Woody _ _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 1977 for 'Annie Hall.'

Milos _ _ _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 1975 for 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.'

This film's director won the 2010 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'The King's Speech.'

_ _ _ _ _ _

Show all questions & answers

All 74 questions in this topic, with answers — use it to study, or just browse. Every actual play of the puzzle only pulls a random handful of these into one game, so knowing them all here won't spoil which ones show up or where they're hidden in the grid. Play it here.

Lewis _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 1929 for 'All Quiet on the Western Front.'

MILESTONE

Vincente _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 1958 for 'Gigi.'

MINNELLI

This film's director won the 2001 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'A Beautiful Mind.'

HOWARD

James L. _ _ _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 1983 for 'Terms of Endearment.'

BROOKS

This film's director won the 1992 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'Unforgiven.'

EASTWOOD

This film's director won the 1964 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'My Fair Lady.'

CUKOR

Oliver _ _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 1986 for 'Platoon.'

STONE

This film's director won the 1943 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'Casablanca.'

CURTIZ

James _ _ _ _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 1997 for 'Titanic.'

CAMERON

Daniel _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 2022 for 'Everything Everywhere All at Once.'

KWAN

Ang _ _ _ won Best Director in 2005 for 'Brokeback Mountain.'

LEE

Chloe _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 2020 for 'Nomadland.'

ZHAO

Roman _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 2002 for 'The Pianist.'

POLANSKI

This film's director won the 1974 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'The Godfather Part II.'

COPPOLA

This film's director won the 1939 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'Gone with the Wind.'

FLEMING

Kathryn _ _ _ _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 2009 for 'The Hurt Locker.'

BIGELOW

This 1969 Best Director winner is titled 'Midnight _ _ _ _ _ _.'

COWBOY

Leo _ _ _ _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 1937 for 'The Awful Truth.'

MCCAREY

This film's director won the 1953 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'From Here to Eternity.'

ZINNEMANN

Jonathan _ _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 1991 for 'The Silence of the Lambs.'

DEMME

This director won Best Director in both 1949 and 1950, the second time for 'All About _ _ _.'

EVE

This film's director won the 1978 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'The Deer Hunter.'

CIMINO

Guillermo del _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 2017 for 'The Shape of Water.'

TORO

Barry _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 1988 for 'Rain Man.'

LEVINSON

This film's director won the 1996 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'The English Patient.'

MINGHELLA

Warren _ _ _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 1981 for 'Reds.'

BEATTY

Delbert _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 1955 for 'Marty.'

MANN

This film's director won the 1994 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'Forrest Gump.'

ZEMECKIS

This film's director won the 1970 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'Patton.'

SCHAFFNER

Robert _ _ _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 1979 for 'Kramer vs. Kramer.'

BENTON

George Roy _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 1973 for 'The Sting.'

HILL

This film's director won the 1947 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'Gentleman's Agreement.'

KAZAN

This film's director won the 2016 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'La La Land.'

CHAZELLE

This 1987 Best Director winner, about China's last monarch, is titled 'The Last _ _ _ _ _ _ _.'

EMPEROR

William _ _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 1942 for 'Mrs. Miniver.'

WYLER

This film's director won the 2008 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'Slumdog Millionaire.'

BOYLE

This 2000 Best Director winner about the drug trade is titled simply '_ _ _ _ _ _ _.'

TRAFFIC

This South Korean director won Best Director in 2019 for 'Parasite.'

BONG

This film's director won the 1990 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'Dances with Wolves.'

COSTNER

Mel _ _ _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 1995 for 'Braveheart.'

GIBSON

This film's director won the 1928 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'The Divine Lady.'

LLOYD

John _ _ _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 1948 for 'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.'

HUSTON

This film's director won the 1985 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'Out of Africa.'

POLLACK

This 1963 Best Director winner about a spirited 18th-century orphan is titled 'Tom _ _ _ _ _.'

JONES

This mostly silent, black-and-white film won Best Director in 2011; it's titled 'The _ _ _ _ _ _.'

ARTIST

This film's director won the 1976 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'Rocky.'

AVILDSEN

This film's director won the 2023 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'Oppenheimer.'

NOLAN

This film's director won the 1935 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'The Informer.'

FORD

This film's director won the 2006 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'The Departed.'

SCORSESE

Frank _ _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 1934 for 'It Happened One Night.'

CAPRA

Steven _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 1993 for 'Schindler's List.'

SPIELBERG

Frank _ _ _ _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 1927 for '7th Heaven.'

BORZAGE

This film's director won the 2021 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'The Power of the Dog.'

CAMPION

Sean _ _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 2024 for 'Anora.'

BAKER

This film's director won the 2003 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'The Return of the King.'

JACKSON

Billy _ _ _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 1945 for 'The Lost Weekend.'

WILDER

This film's director won the 2025 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'One Battle After Another.'

ANDERSON

This film's director won the 1957 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'The Bridge on the River Kwai.'

LEAN

Alejandro G. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 2014 for 'Birdman.'

INARRITU

This film's director won the 1972 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'Cabaret.'

FOSSE

This film's director won the 1980 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'Ordinary People.'

REDFORD

Mike _ _ _ _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 1967 for 'The Graduate.'

NICHOLS

Joel _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 2007 for 'No Country for Old Men.'

COEN

This film's director won the 2013 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'Gravity.'

CUARON

This film's director won the 1961 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'West Side Story.'

WISE

This film's director won the 1968 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'Oliver!.'

REED

William _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ won Best Director in 1971 for 'The French Connection.'

FRIEDKIN

This film's director won the 1930 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'Skippy.'

TAUROG

This film's director won the 1999 Best Director Oscar; the film is titled 'American Beauty.'

MENDES

← Browse all categories