What was the year all five nominees for the Academy Award for Best Director were not born in the United States?

The year of 1987 was the first time that all five nominees for Best Director were not born in the United States. They were from Italy, Bernardo Bertolucci, The Last Emperor (1987); Britain, John Boorman, Hope and Glory (1987); Sweden, Lasse Hallstrom, My Life as a Dog (1985); Canada, Norman Jewison, Moonstruck (1987); and Britain, Adrian Lyne, Fatal Attraction (1987).

It is not easy to be a motion picture director, and it is especially challenging to be a film director either inside or outside of Hollywood. If you want to be the next Martin Scorsese, Sofia Coppola, Ang Lee, Bernardo Bertolucci, Kathryn Bigelow, etc., you may be told that your creative ideas should flourish on the silver screen.

Film directors have ultimate control over the entire creative side of film production. They are responsible for making a film as powerful, entertaining and effective as possible. Without very skillful direction, a well-written film with an excellent cast of actors can totally fail. It is said that everyone who plays a part in the production of a film is important, but the film director is (arguably) the most vital member of the team.

Also, to be highly effective at making films, directors are leaders. They make great film when they have great storytelling. It is all about the storytelling and what is put into the film: dialog, props, lighting, a song, an edit, or subtext which is able to communicate something to the audience. It is the director who must make all of this down.