Ariel Award for Best Director
The Ariel Award for Best Director is an award presented by the Academia Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas in Mexico. It is given in honor of a film director who has exhibited outstanding directing while working in the Mexican film industry. In 1947, the 1st and 2nd Ariel Awards were held, with Roberto Gavaldón and Emilio "El Indio" Fernández winning for the films La Barraca and Enamorada, respectively. With the exception of the years 1959 to 1971, when the Ariel Awards were suspended, the award has been given annually. Nominees and winners are determined by a committee formed every year consisting of academy members, previous winners and individuals with at least two Ariel nominations; the committee members submit their votes through the official AMACC website.
In 1953, filmmakers Luis Buñuel, Alfredo B. Crevenna and Gavaldón were nominated, but no winner was declared. Carlos Carrera and Fernández hold the record for most wins in the category, with four each. Carerra's El Crimen del Padre Amaro was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2003. Since 1976, Felipe Cazals has been nominated at least once every decade, winning three times for El Año de la Peste, Bajo la metralla, and Las Vueltas del Citrillo. Buñuel and Amat Escalante won the Ariel for Best Director and the same award at the Cannes Film Festival for Los Olvidados and Heli, respectively. Alfonso Cuarón won the Ariel and the Academy Award for Best Direction, Cuarón is the first one to win both accolades for the same film. Since its inception, the award has been given to 39 directors. As of the 2019 ceremony, Cuarón is the most recent winner in this category for his work on Roma.
Winners and nominees
Multiple wins and nominations
The following individuals have received multiple Best Director awards:| Wins | Director |
| 4 | Carlos Carrera |
| 4 | Emilio "El Indio" Fernández |
| 3 | Felipe Cazals |
| 3 | Jorge Fons |
| 3 | Roberto Gavaldón |
| 2 | Luis Buñuel |
| 2 | Guillermo del Toro |
| 2 | Fernando Eimbcke |
| 2 | Amat Escalante |
| 2 | Luis Estrada |
| 2 | Alejandro Galindo |
| 2 | José Luis García Agraz |
| 2 | Jaime Húmberto Hermosillo |
| 2 | Arturo Ripstein |
The following directors received four or more Best Director nominations:
| Nominations | Director |
| 8 | Felipe Cazals |
| 8 | Roberto Gavaldón |
| 6 | Carlos Carrera |
| 6 | Emilio "El Indio" Fernández |
| 6 | Arturo Ripstein |
| 4 | Julio Bracho |
| 4 | Luis Buñuel |
| 4 | Alfredo B. Crevenna |
| 4 | Juan Antonio de la Riva |
| 4 | Jorge Fons |
| 4 | Alberto Isaac |