| 1. Alfonso Cuarón - ROMA (BAFTA, BFCA win, DGA, GG win) |
| 2. Spike Lee - BlacKkKlansman (BAFTA, BFCA, DGA, GG) |
| 3. Bradley Cooper - A Star Is Born (BFCA, DGA, GG) |
| 4. Adam McKay - Vice (BAFTA, BFCA, DGA, GG) |
| 5. Barry Jenkins - If Beale Street Could Talk (Spirit) |
| 6. Yorgos Lanthimos - The Favourite (BAFTA, BFCA) |
| 7. Pawel Pawlikowski - Cold War (BAFTA) |
| 8. Peter Farrelly - Green Book (BFCA, DGA, GG) |
| 9. Damien Chazelle - First Man (BFCA) |
| 10. Ryan Coogler - Black Panther |
| OTHER CONTENDERS |
| Debra Granik - Leave No Trace (Spirit) |
| BAFTA - British Film Academy Awards |
BFCA - Broadcast Film Critics Association (Critics Choice) |
| DGA - Directors Guild of America |
| GG - Golden Globe |
| Spirit - Independent Spirit Awards |
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AwardsWatch Podcast Ep. 345: Recapping the 79th Cannes Film Festival and Looking to the Awards Future 
‘The Beloved’ Review: Javier Bardem Makes a Meal Out of Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s Movie-Making Buffet [B] 
‘The Dreamed Adventure’ Review: Valeska Grisebach’s Observant Thriller Examines the Grey Zones of Morality [B+] 
‘Minotaur’ Review: Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Timeless, Domestic Epic is an Unflinching Look at Putin’s Russia [A] Cannes